Your generous help yet again please. I am hopeless at using search engines and invariably end up with the same advert for treatment for piles whatever I'm searching for.
Is any backroomer familiar with a web site giving details of cheap room only type accommodation on French autoroutes/route national. After years of 'just a bit further and we'll find the camp site' we've decided to go for a night's stop and a bit less pressure.
Cheers and thanks in advance
Colin S
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Colin,
I haven't chased these links through, but this is probably a good starting point...
certes2.castlelink.co.uk/site_certes_newuk/job_see...m>French Stuff
Its really about working in France, but it points at road and accomodation information.
M.
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Take a look at
www.stopconnect.demon.co.uk/Ideas.htm
But you can't beat a mobile phone and a Michelin guide.
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www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html - can be as little as £12 for room for 3 for a night - ideal "crash pad" during a long journey. Online booking available. I've used them a couple of times, they are generally clean and "adequate", sparse but clean rooms & shared showers. No staff, use your credit card on arrival gives to a PIN to wnter hotel & room. Food/drink from vending machines, often close to a restaurant outside though.
Or www.etaphotel.com/etaphotel/index.html but I've never had much luck finding somewhere with space (so it says anyway)
Or www.envergure.fr/index.html, no experience
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Can recommend the Alistair Sawday's ' French Bed and Breakfast' book- photos and descriptions of several hundred places to stay in france. Have used it for some years, and haven't been disappointed yet.
P.
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Colin:
Bogush' link to Mappy com is v. good. Its a french version of AutoRoute Express but much better with accomodation and meal information relating to the journey you enter.
(U can go direct if u feel very strongly about T** B*****)
Bonne chance and have a good time. Don@t forget they drive on the other side.
:-) Phil .I
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Formula 1 have always been no probs with me, well recommended. A room for 3 for £18, can't be bad. Always clean and tidy!
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Colin.
www.copernic.com
Downlead their FREE search engine (excellent).
Type in search: Bread and Breakfast France. Take your pick of the Region you want.
For those that do not know of Copernic, try it. You will be impressed.
DVD
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In addition to the other suggestions, try www.eurapart.u-net/ which gives brief synopsis of each of the cheap French chains plus a website link to each one. It isn't always possible to book online and, as has been mentioned, Etap site seems to be permanently not bookable at the moment.
Try to book ahead each morning or arrive early if possible. Last week in the SE of France around the autoroutes at Toulouse, Carcassonne and Perpignan, I found it impossible to get in after 5pm to any of the chains. My personal recommendation is the B & B chain which have marginally bigger rooms (double bed only) and bathroom with decent size towels compared with F1. Breakfast is also a bit better with scrambled egg and something resembling bacon. If you need the extra beds, then it has to be F1 or ETAP among the cheapest.
If you don't have a booking and are outside a big city, look for signs saying Centre Commercial or something similar and you may turn up a one-off hotel along chain lines. We found one in Toulouse South Centre Commercial near the Carrefour which was great with a friendly manageress/owner who would even cook meals in the evening.
If you don't get in the chains, the village and small town hotels away from the autroutes are not so full yet but I find can be more expensive and not necessarily so wonderful on cleanliness or food. One chef/proprietor waxed so lyrical to me about his venison that I ordered it only to find the only accompaniment for it and every other meal he was cooking was macaroni!
And if you plan to stay anywhere near Compiegne on the route from the Channel to Paris, book several days ahead because there is a severe shortage of hotels close to the autoroute.
Incidentally, Carrefour has Facom spanners and common sockets at special offer prices, well below those in the recent Halfords clear out.
Have a good time.
David
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Would add my endoresment ot the B&B chain (www.hotel-bb.com). No online booking last time I tried but a booking letter is easily adapted from a tour guide or whatever.
The other bonus of this chain is they have four bed family rooms more expensive than the standards but cheaper than two rooms in a formule1.
The one in Boulogne also has an excellent Bistro just round the corner.
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Amazed nobodies mentioned Groupe Envergure of which Campanile and Climat are but two of its chains.
www.envergure.fr you do get to the links after the annoying flashy intro
by the way, Hotel Borel Dunkirk, lads check out the receptionist!!!! Hotels not bad either!
DVD: glad to see another Copernic user.
Particularly like the way it "saves" old searches to avoid that irritating, I saw a site the other day which..... now what *was* it called?????
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Flat in Fifth wrote:
>
> Amazed nobodies mentioned Groupe Envergure of which Campanile
> and Climat are but two of its chains.
>
Agreed that Campanile is good, if not the cheapest.
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Thank you one and all. If I can't find a decent berth out of all that sound advice, I probably deserve to sleep in the gutter.
Colin S
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