hi, we havent got as long this year, plus the turbo is going on my van ! anyhow was considering renting a mobile home for a week, but was looking to go at least as far as the dordogne, im the only driver so am looking for suugestions on where to stay on or near the motorway, is there a reputable chain of hotels like travelodge reasonable costs ?
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
B&B (ie the hotel chain called B&B https://www.hotel-bb.com/en ) was our first choice when doing this kind of thing, not as cheap n cheerful as Formule 1, not as grand as others eg Novotel, but for us it was the right combo of comfort and price. They are almost all just off motorways or main roads and tend to have some sort of chain restaurant nearby eg Courtepaille. There are loads of other hotel chains that do the same thing eg Ibis, Campanile, Kyriad.
I second B&B Hotels, and am staying at one of theirs in Cite Europe for my trip to France later this year.
I also like Ibis hotels when I am in France, and they have different grades to suit all budgets.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
B&B Hotels, Ibis Budget, Premiere Classe (some better than others - the one at Barjouville near Chartes is one of the better ones). But don't dismiss family run places, or Chambre d'hotes. We use booking.com, and go by review scores, never staying anywhere with less than 7.5 (except if there is just one or two really bad reviews, in a sea of excellent ones).
I too like to use Booking.com for hotel bookings, especially for the initial research for suitable hotels, before checking if it is cheaper to book directly.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Campanile also good although they can be in fairly industrial locations -they all have an on-site restaurant. But echo the suggestion about chambre d’hotes - not sure if they still do but Brittany Ferries used to print an accommodation brochure with them in.
------------- Seeking luxury in unexpected places
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Easy motorway access and handy for a visit to the "Parc Floral" if you've got a few hours to kill during the day. Big LeClerc supermarket not too far away if you want to stock up before going on to the Dordogne. Lots of other chains in the same suburb - Novotel, Mercure, Kyriad, Comfort Hotel.
I like F1 - it's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination but it is cheap. The bathrooms and toilets are shared which sounds grim but they're cleaned automatically between uses and the shower cubicles are enormous.
The beds tend to be the bunk bed over a double bed type.
They're usually just off a motorway with a restaurante - courte paille/similar on the same area to eat in.
If you're not too fussed about where you stay it might be worth driving until you've had enough and then pulling off the motorway into the first one you find.
------------- pork
Remember a good wife always helps her husband with the dishes.
I was wondering how easy it is to drive and just find a hotel when you are ready to stop if you are travelling in August? We're off to the Dordogne and usually book the stops in advance but wondering how much of a chance we'd be taking to book en route
Whenever we have used French overnight hotels we have arrived without booking no probs. Mostly used Premier Classe as one of the cheapest. Usually easy to find in any town just off main road or autoroute.
------------- Every day should be a holiday!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I really cannot comment on August, sorry. But we have never booked a hotel in France unless we want a particular room, ie sea view in Roscoff, Ibis is a safe bet, as are Camponile. Good luck. 👍
Quote: Originally posted by billy on 13/4/2023
Whenever we have used French overnight hotels we have arrived without booking no probs. Mostly used Premier Classe as one of the cheapest. Usually easy to find in any town just off main road or autoroute.
I stopped using Premier Classe after making the mistake of pulling the mattress cover off and saw the multiple stains on the mattress.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Don’t do grotty on industrial estates
We paid £80: at a four star hotel in the Best Western group, near the river on the edge of Nantes. Worth every penny.
That's really helpful thanks. I think we are going to try B&B hotels this time. Not had the best experience with the F1 or Premiere Classe hotels we've tried previously (don't know if we were just unlucky with the ones we tried around Calais/Boulogne)
Quote: Originally posted by Clarissa1 on 15/4/2023
That's really helpful thanks. I think we are going to try B&B hotels this time. Not had the best experience with the F1 or Premiere Classe hotels we've tried previously (don't know if we were just unlucky with the ones we tried around Calais/Boulogne)
We've used B&B and Premiere Classe quite a lot for overnights. After a particularly unpleasant stay at Premiere Classe Vichy and Customer Services who couldn't care less, I too would always now choose B&B.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: stopover not in a tourer
via mobile 12/4/2023 at 2:49pm
