UKC

First time travelling in France (Normandy and Brittany) so looking for recommendations of budget friendly accommodation near Eurotunnel, or enroute to Normandy for a single night.

Also recommendations of what website/company to use for booking accommodation for the rest of the time we're out there. Not got much in the way of fixed plans, so looking at last minute bookings combined with stealth van camping - is this a sensible plan, or do we need to be more organised in June?

In reply to Jenny C:

Airbnb is popular, and there are a couple of good/cheap motel chains that would probably suit.

I've used' Hotel Formule 1. Usually comes in around €25-30 per night for up to three people per room. One double bed and one single bunk hovering over the double. Basic, clean, and usually staff are friendly. I left my passport under the mattress in one and it just took a one panicky phone call for them to FedEx to me, free of charge 🙂

In reply to Jenny C:

As well as budget hotels such as Formula 1, Ibis budget & several others,  B&Bs can be a good option although the prices seem to have gone up in recent years. There are several websites, we tend to use https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr/chambres-dhotes orthe local tourist board websites.

June is outside the French school holidays so shoudn't be too busy

In reply to MisterPiggy:

Formule1 sounds perfect for an overnight near Calais, just two adults and all we want there is somewhere clean to sleep. And at that price much better than a Travelodge.

Can you remember the names of the other chains?

I've only done air b&b once, but it was a positive experience. Normally we camp, but I'm wanting a bit more comfort this time.

In reply to Doug:

Yes we are hoping to avoid the main holiday season, whilst still getting summer weather.

Given that we don't speak French I'm a bit scared of private b&bs. I understand that the French are second only to us Brits at not speaking a second language, so am a bit nervous about communication.

In reply to Jenny C:

Be aware that Formule 1 rooms may not be ensuite, and you may find them busy with noisy families on weekend nights.  Ibis / Ibis Budget are good, I recently stayed in the Ibis Budget in Rouen and it was excellent.

Just use Booking.com to find out what's available in the area you're looking at.

In reply to Toerag:

Ok thankyou for the warning, that explains why they are so cheap. 

In reply to Toerag:

Yup, not ensuite. So good to have slippers and a robe with you. The bathrooms are automatically steam cleaned when you exit and close the door. I like that.

But yes, they are basic. But they are cheap.

Other brands include:

https://www.premiereclasse.com/fr-fr/

https://www.campanile.com/fr

And most staff will speak English.

🙂

In reply to Jenny C:

If you go to Accor.com it gives options for all their hotel chains ranging from Formule 1 to the very swish ones.

Sign up to their loyalty scheme (free) and you get about 10% off advance bookings, generally the earlier you book the cheaper it will be.

In reply to Jenny C:

we've also  used

https://www.hotel-bb.com/fr

&

https://www.kyriad.com/fr-fr/

In reply to Jenny C: there is a French version of air b and b that I was recommended from ukc , but I can’t rember what it’s called . it might be the gites d France link above . Easily as good as air b and b if not a bit better  . Maybe somebody else can remember ? 

In reply to Jenny C:

We usually use Hotel Prémiere Classe. A bit more then Formula 1, but not much, and I think it's worth the extra. They vary a bit - the older ones aren't as good, but all are fine.

In reply to MisterPiggy:

We used one of these on the way home this summer after two weeks of camping. It was en suite, which was good - although the "bathroom" is tiny, like a budget cabin on a Baltic ferry! I think it might have been even cheaper than the Formula1 we stayed in on the way down.

To Jenny - they tend to be much of a muchness, the cheap hotels. Fine as an alternative to camping for a night, and they tend to be on the edge of towns and cities next to the motorways, but that does often mean on an industrial estate or behind a retail park!

In reply to Jenny C:

We used to book an off-motorway Ibis or local equivalent.  Clean but bare bones ensuite, and since we arrived at 10pm and left at 6am that's all that was needed.

The staff all spoke decent English, so really don't worry about that - especially as you'll pay in advance.

Don't bother booking breakfast - an expensive way to get a bad croissant and coffee, especially when every village has an amazing boulangerie/patisserie and most serve coffee

In reply to Jenny C:

You have a van?  Do you mean a camper van?

Don't worry about "stealth" camping.  Rules for parking up in a van are very lax.  Pretty much anywhere outside of a village/town center.  We parked up at many remote car parks beside lakes, rivers etc when travelling through France.  You won't be alone.
https://www.caramaps.com/blog/en/parking-a-mortohome-in-france/

Look for the camper van symbol with an arrow pointing down in many villages where  you can get water and dump your waste.  Touring in campers is common and popular.  Similar rules are in place in Spain and Italy FYI.

For cheap but really clean campsites checkout the http://camping-municipal.org/ website.  Plenty en-route to the chunnel and ferries for a one nighter.   Seldom need to book, but they often don't speaky de eeengleesh.

In reply to tallsteve:

No just a proper van with sleeping mats on the floor. 

We usually tent camp, but this time thought we'd not bother as we will be travelling round and doing tourist stuff so don't want to be tied to a fixed location. Thinking a few nights in the van alternated with hotels.

In reply to Jenny C:

Local tourist sites can be helpful e.g. https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr click "plan your trip" then "places to stay.  Trickier to use than say booking.com but often you'll find smaller family run B&Bs etc not on the big websites.  We are lucky in the UK how good the information is online.  I am often struck abroad how lots of businesses etc are just not internet savvy, so the tourist board often fills in this gap for the local farmer that rents a couple of rooms.

https://www.gites-de-france.com/en has already been mentioned - though they tend to be looking for weekends and week rentals.  Its common for families in France to move to half the house and rent the other half as a gite, particularly in farming areas.  The last Gite we rented as the top floor of a large very old farm house.  We met the host (an old guy) and glugged wine and the mother-in-law chatted away happily in French.

If there is a campsite where you're going check their website for "Chambres" which are often en-suite, though not always.  The idea is you use their other facilities but they provide the bed and room.  The French equivalent of a static caravan (A plastic lodge) is also very common.  Self catering with 2-3 bedrooms.  Our last trip in Corsica was spent entirely in either chambres or lodges at campsites - usually way cheaper than hotels and in a nicer location.