Formule one hotels
 

I have heard various stuff about these hotels, some good, some not so good. Am thinking on using them as reasonably cheap, easy to find accomodation on my cold beating dash through europe to Morroco in February.
I'm not looking for character or lovely locations, just somewhere to lie down between buttock numbing motorway hauls in my bid to get south as quick as possible.
Are they OK? Secure parking for the bike? Any experience appreciated. Would I need to pre-book?
Matt

[This message has been edited by Matt Cartney (edited 21 January 2006).]

Hi,

the formula 1 hotels belongs to the international group Accor, they more than 700 hotels worldwide check the website:
www.accorhotels.com
you can search locations and fotos of the rooms of the several hotels from the group, among them Mercure, Ibis, etc.

i hope this can help you, im a former employee of Accor Services Portugal, and i can tell you that the formula 1 is value for money, with clean and confy rooms.

BR// Anton

Cheap, clean, very small rooms. In the off-season you probably won't need to book. Some (if not all) have automated receptions, where you just plug in your credit card and get a room. Some have secure parking, some don't.

There are another couple of similar chains, but I can't remember the names right now...

YHA is another option, particularly in the countryside.

Thanks guys, that's all I needed to know. I reckon they'll do me fine!
Matt

There are other cheap hotel chains in france as well. If you just want a bed for the night they are fine, and better value and more honest than most other french hotels which are of poor quality and overpriced. I do aeromedical work all over the world and french hotels are the worst for cost/quality ratio I stay in.

Andy

landy 101 smbie/camper
TLC H60
1968 morris minor traveller

Does anyone know the other(s) cheap hotel chains in Europe?

Oh come on Andy,the worse by far is our own Britain! You've got a real job to find anywhere here for less than £30 a night(without brekky).And the welcome we motorcyclists get is terrible normally.
Back to the thread title....I've used Formule1 a lot over the years and as long as you don't expect room service it's a good value,comfortable way to doss down for the night.In season you pretty much have to book at least a day beforehand(either by phone on internet,both very easy and a majority of managers speak a little english).They are normally located just outside towns on trading estates,etc... so easy enough to find food outlets within minutes,and whilst not all have locked gates i've never had anything tampered with(i think CCTV is used on all sites).They all have automated card units in the outside walls so you can get in anytime of night with your card.Once you have used them a couple of times you'll wish there were some here in UK! The only slight downside i've found is that the petit dejuner is a bit boring(coffee,chocolate,baguette,brioche) but fills a whole for a couple of €.

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

Oh yes and their website is www.hotelformule1.com

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

Villages Hotel is another, probably not as cheap we travel by car but for a family of four with breakfast about £40. With this chain you get en-suite and a tv in your room.
Website: www.villages-hotel.com
You can reserve online and (I think) cancel up to 6pm with no charge.
Check availability and price online, breakfast is 5 euro or less per person, similar locations to F1.

Etap hotels are also a big budget chain. I stayed in a few of them when cold/wet, and they were real clean & nice for the money. I'd compare em to Motel 6 over here. If you go to one, you can get a book that shows the locations of all of them, where they are, & prices too, I believe. Most had a good safe place to park the bike, where it was seen by the office.
Hope that helps,
Doug


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www.guzzidoug.com

yes fair one!! mind you, I don't stay in those! If I do have the missfortune to have to stay out in this country I usually go from a book like 'The Best Bed and Breakfast' guide

One last note: Formule1 don't have bathroom inside your room. Etape hotels have.

Br.
MS

MJLS,
That's what the second nalgene bottle's for! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif
Matt

Hmm, the Formule1 hotels I have stayed in DID have an en-suite...

"Toilets and showers are located JUST outside the room", well so they say!


http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule.../chambre.shtml