Biker Friendly     

Stayed August 2005 

You'll find The Hotel du Nord on Rue Sommeiller in the centre of Annecy. For a town centre hotel it's in great nick, they're usually hammered to death due to the high volume of visitors, especially in a tourist spot like Annecy.  It was nice surprise then to find light, airy, clean and comfortable rooms complete with air conditioning. The only down side was the niff in our bathroom, which we think 
came from a bin in an alleyway that the room overlooked.  It seemed to abate a little after the window was closed and the air con turned up full!   The old town and the lake are about 5 mins walk from the hotel.  

Breakfast at the hotel wasn't included in the price and cost 7 Euros each, but it wasn't worth it because  there was very little choice, better to go find a local coffee shop or cafe.  Parking for the bikes was in a covered pay car park (bikes are free though) a short walk away.  It wasn't very secure and I never felt the bikes were too safe there. A good (but not great) hotel though, at a reasonable  price    

Biker Friendly

Stayed July 2006  

Arriving at La Roque Gageac from the east is an impressive experience, the River Dordogne on your left and the beautiful old buildings of the linear village on your right.  The Hotel Auberge Des Platanes is one of the first buildings you see on entering the village and it certainly looks the part, fitting in very well with its surrounding neighbours.  Who wouldn't be pleased at having a hotel in such a beautiful location, with a room overlooking the river? We were!  Having been shown to our room however the feeling of elation soon subsided - the decor was dreadful. Not just in the sense it wasn't to our taste - the wallpaper was so bad it gave us a headache and made our eyes go funny! It wasn't only on the walls but also on the ceiling and anywhere else they could get it. Wee jimmy and me collapsed on the bed in a laughing hysterical heap. Whoever chose this for a hotel room had such bad taste and should be sectioned to save us all from any further exposure to their interior design "talents"       

Decor apart, the room itself was ok, clean enough with a nice soft bed to sleep in, but the bathroom was awful, most things in there were broken:, the shower head had no hook to hang it on, the original had fallen off long ago by the looks of it. The sink was cracked and the hot tap was so loose that it just spun round when trying to turn it off, this involved holding it firmly in one hand while executing the grip of tyre fitter with the other, in order to stop the damned thing dripping. The wallpaper alone was bad enough but coupled with the Chinese water torture of a constantly dripping tap as well - all just too much to bear I'm afraid and it set us off in hysterics again! The toilet was loose on the floor and the seat was falling off. The worst thing though was the smell in there, it was so indescribably bad, something must have crawled in there a long time ago and died to create such a terrible niff.  There was no window or ventilation so any attempt to air it through were impossible, a family of House Martins had made their home just under the eaves outside which probably wasn't helping matters much.  

The staff here were non - existent, the girls in the cafe part ran the reception as well so finding one of them to help at any point was difficult. Even our check in took ages because nobody put in an appearance for about 15 minutes. This is a great shame because the hotel is in a prime location and could be superb with a bit of TLC, to let it get to this state is pure bad management. The view from the window is it's only real saving grace. 

As far as bikers are concerned they would be ok here but parking on the very dusty (in summer sun and muddy I would imagine in rain) car park isn't that secure. This gets 2 "yo" marks but only because of the view and it's location in what must be one of the most beautiful villages in France - if it was anywhere else it would get a barf!  

Biker Friendly  

Stayed here 
July 2005   

Fabulous hotel in a small quiet village, surrounded by lovely rolling countryside in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. This is great biking country, with some excellent roads. The rooms were spotless as was the rest of the hotel but some maintenance was needed, I don't think they're too big on electrical safety in this part of France, there were bare wires hanging from the ceiling in one of our rooms !  

Well kept gardens with a superb clean swimming pool and poolside area.  The staff were a little unfriendly so we never ate here but the cuisine is quite famous locally, apparently.  The hotel has a well stocked bar but it's a bit on the pricey side. Bike parking was at the rear, and quite secure.  The village is so quiet that I don't think they actually know what vandalism and theft is anyway!  would have got top marks if the staff had been a little more amicable

 Biker Friendly  

Stayed here
June 2004  

 It must be pointed out that although our stay tat this hotel was ok, there are some pretty unflattering reviews of the place on various hotel booking websites. To be fair we didn't see it at it's best.  When we arrived - in the dark and pouring down rain - we  were so late  that the guy was just locking up,  he'd thought we weren't going to arrive. He let us use a large garage to park the bikes in out of the weather and quickly had us booked in and shown to the rooms. 

 Being Spring the hotel was "in between" seasons.  Too early for the summer and 
 just after the winter ski fraternity had all left.   It was clean (ish) and pretty comfortable but was showing signs of wear and tear and needed sprucing up a bit.  Good friendly staff though and a half decent breakfast. It's also a little way from the hustle and bustle of the town centre, which I would imagine gets a bit rowdy during peak seasons, so if you're looking for somewhere a bit quieter then this could be the place. 

Biker Friendly   

Stayed here
July 2006   

Again July
2007

Again Aug
2009

The Hotel De ''Arve is a delight to stay in, and is how every hotel should be run. It's cleanliness is superb, the staff are efficient and very helpful,  it has a good bar and restaurant, and is close to the town centre - in short everything you could wish for in a hotel.  The views from the rooms are incredible, we had a room on the "cheap" 
side of the hotel side facing away from Mont Blanc but even that view was excellent.  There's also a pool room and a sauna here.  

We never ate at the De l'Arve, there is just too much choice in Chamonix itself, but the restaurant was full on both nights we were there and it looked a lovely place 
to dine.  The car park is good and bikers are welcome.  A 2 star Logis hotel which deserves to be a 4 star.  Top marks here and highly recommended for a lovely stay in Chamonix.

Another stay for us in this superb little hotel, nothing's changed since last year but we did have a smaller room than last time which over looked the foaming River Arve.  There are building works going on nearby which can be quite noisy and as it's a large project is going to take some time - I think it was written somewhere until 2009  - but this doesn't detract from the hotel in any way.      

Yet another stay in 2009 as part of a bike tour of Europe. Still as good. The building work of 2007 is complete and everything is back to normal 

Biker Friendly 

Stayed  here 
June 2004  

No website. A tatty hotel, well past it's "sell by date" and not terribly clean.  Securish bike parking in a covered area to the rear of the  hotel, but not locked overnight.  Brekky was adequate and the staff were ok, but there must be far better hotels in Charleville than this one!

Biker Friendly     

Stayed here 
June 2004
& Aug 2005   

We've stayed at the Hotel St Martin twice now.  Its   situation in the centre of the old town of Colmar is excellent, being only a stones throw from the "Little Venice" area and the Cathedral.  In fact the hotel is reputed to be the oldest building in the town, but this comes at a premium in what it costs to stay here.  It's a lovely hotel but for the money there are probably better places to stay in Colmar, they just won't be in the historic "Old Town".   

The hotel has no bar, and breakfast (which isn't included in the room rate) is a bit sparse but there are plenty of places to eat within walking distance of the front door.  Bike parking is secure if you take a key (from the hotel reception) to one 
 of the garages in the nearby secure underground car-park.  At about 7 Euros a night it's money well spent for peace of mind, and you can get 5 bikes in each garage at a push

Biker friendly    

Stayed here 
July 2006   

The Hotel Les Grand Tours is just within, and opposite the walls of the lovely old town of Dinan. The hotel is clean and comfortable but quite basic. There are no frills in the rooms, so it's more suited to an overnight stay than a weeks holiday. The staff were efficient but not over friendly or welcoming.  There is a secure covered and locked car / bike park at the rear for which they charge about 5 euros per night, and it's well worth it because there is really nowhere else to park around here. There is no bar / restaurant at this hotel so if you want a drink or food you'll have to walk into the town which is only about 5 mins away. Breakfast was adequate but nothing special.  Worth staying at if vehicle security is an issue  

Biker friendly       

Stayed here 
July 2006  

The Chateau de a Villaine is in the most idylic location you could wish for, with some superb biking roads in the area. We spent 3 nights here so what at can we say about B&B at the Chateau de la Villaine? Let's start with the Dutch owners, Joke (pronounced Yoken) and Adrian, who will welcome you with open arms into their beautiful home. They are two of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever wish to meet.  During our 3 night stay here we also had the pleasure of meeting their lovely daughter and Joke's twin sister - Oh, and let's not forget Unger their big daft friendly dog!

The Chateau  itself is a lovely old building, which is a credit to Adrian & Joke in that it's not been over restored, the genuine character of it has been retained superbly in the time they've lived here. This grand house is a gentle work in progress, so if you're expecting an ultra posh hotel forget it, you'll find no pretentiousness here. What you will find however is the wonderful experience of staying in a real  Chateau, where you'll soon forget the fact that it's run as a business, and look upon yourself as guests of friends. 

Highlight of any stay here has to be Joke's cooking, she is a marvel in the kitchen. Dinner is not  just a "sit at a table on your own" affair, it is designed to be more in the way  of a dinner party,  where all the guests sit around a huge oak table together and enjoy great food and fine wines. This once again reinforces the feeling of being more than just paying guests.  4 rooms are offered and we were fortunate enough to have the superb Comtesse room, which is on the first floor and has a lovely big balcony giving a nice view over the grounds of the Chateau.  

The room itself is spotless, with the biggest double bed I've ever seen and the bathroom is very tastefully finished. A magnificent house with wonderful people, make your reservation quickly before it becomes so popular and gets booked up months in advance! No hesitation whatsoever in giving this superb B&B ...or Chambre d'Hotes if you prefer, full marks.

There's also a Gite in the grounds of the Chateau. Although I never went in there, I did speak to the people who where staying and they told me it was very nice.
 
 Bikers are welcome at the Chateau, but at Adrians & Joke's request I must ask  genuine tourers only please - and no large groups.  Bikers visiting here should be aware of the gravel car park, so take one of those little plastic stand supports with you!    

Biker Friendly  

Stayed here July 2005

Another French Chateau - on the southern edge of the Dordogne, this hotel is just incredible. The rooms are very well presented, clean, tidy and comfortable and the  staff are polite and obliging.  On fine dry warm evenings the superb food is served al fresco on the lamplit patio area, people come from miles around to sample the cuisine here - and for good reason.  

During the daytime there's a beautiful pool to laze around by, or walks through the local countryside.  A nice little bar where there are tables and chairs scattered about outside  beneath the pine trees serves drinks throughout the day, .....A truly idyllic place.  Parking for the bikes was in the car park, in the shade of the trees, and is about as secure as you'll get anywhere. a bit on the pricey side but worth every penny - a very highly recommended overnight stop when touring this region of France.....Go on, spoil yourself !  Top marks and well deserved   

Biker Friendly  

Stayed here 
July 2005  

 This hotel is owned by the Minotel hotel group, and to be honest needs a bit of money chucking at it. At some point in it's past it has been a good hotel, the building itself is really quite nice but unfortunately it's been left to rot a bit. There's nothing specific,  just a general tattyness about the place, even the staff weren't very amiable, in fact they were bit "po faced".  

Our room looked clean on first impression but, it soon became apparent that only the places you could see had been attended to, everywhere else was full of dust and fluff!  The room that Wee Jimmy and me had was at the front of the hotel overlooking the square and it got a bit rowdy at night when the local chavs 
turned up, and insisted giving us the full repertoire - revving the tits off their Renault Clios, Puntos  and trail bikes 'til 1-30 in the morning! 

There is a swimming pool here but you wouldn't want to go in it, it needed a bloody good clean out at the time we were there, certainly nothing like the way pictures on the internet websites portray it. There's also a bar, which has a depressive air about it, we used the one on the opposite side of the square.  

Alongside the hotel the same people run a restaurant, but after waiting for ages to get served we went somewhere else. They'd got a bit pissed off that we'd just chosen a table and sat down without  waiting to be shown to it as is the French custom, so they ignored us!   On the upside there's a garage to park the bikes in -  for an extra charge of course - it was sometimes a bit difficult finding someone with a key to open it  up though.  

A cheap enough place to stop over for one night en route to somewhere else, but if you  fancy staying around the St Flour area for a few days as we did, then you'd be better off finding  another hotel, 4 nights here was just too much.  There are better looking hotels in the old town up  the hill.   

Biker Friendly

Stayed here 
June 2004

This place was a revelation - in how bad a hotel can be. It really was as grim as it's name suggests, you have to see the toilets to believe them!  It's location near the town's railway station is just out of the centre. The rooms,  which were dirty and a bit unsavoury are above the railway buffet / bar and the square in front of the hotel was a bit of a magnet for the local youth so it wasn't the quietest  place I've ever stayed in. 

Parking for the bikes was around the back of the hotel on a tatty bit of grass which also served as the main car park and wasn't very secure but the bikes were out of view of visitors to the hotel bar.  We never ate here and nothing on earth would have coerced us to do so, so we can't comment on the breakfast, but to be honest after seeing the state of the rooms (and the bogs) you really wouldn't want to consume anything that came from here!   St Omer is a nice little town, though a bit rough around the edges and run down in places, it's worth a visit but choose your hotel carefully.  

Biker Friendly 

Stayed here
Aug 2006   

St Omer is very handy for the ferry ports back to England, so for the second time we find ourselves staying at a hotel in the town, only this time it was the "Hotel St Louis" on Rue d'Arras. This is in a not  too  pleasant  end of  town and to get to the main square you have to walk through an area with a few "unsavoury" looking characters hanging about. 

The Hotel itself is quite nice, the rooms are clean and well prepared. Not the kind of place I'd want to stay for any length of time but ok for an overnight stop.   The staff seemed friendly enough at first, but we cancelled a meal here because of the rudeness of the chef and serving staff when we went down to the restaurant.  We went out and found a superb Thai place just down the road!  

The car park at the rear is a joke, there's space for about 8 cars but they manage to sardine about 14 or more in there. I'm not sure if you'd be better leaving your car outside at the mercy of the local scum, you may have less chance of it getting 
damaged - we watched a few of the old biddies struggling at attempting to park, here and it was more by luck than anything elsethat nothing got damaged . Not a recommended hotel for bikers because of the tight car park and you wouldn't want to leave a bike outside in the street in this part of St Omer.

Biker Friendly  

Stayed here
July 2006         

 Words cannot describe how bad this hotel is - but I'll try!  First impressions as you arrive from the public car park opposite aren't good.  We were promised secure parking when I booked, but they appear to have no parking at all, other than in the municipal car lot over the road! There was a communication problem here so whether there was a secure car park or not we'll never know - despite the hotel blurb telling us they speak Italian & English they didn't and unfortunately our French isn't up to complaint standard!

From the far distance the hotel doesn't look too bad but as we approached the entrance, rusting metal tables and chairs outside were a bad omen,  an omen that as we entered proved first impressions are usually right. Firstly the smell hit us and as we climbed the broken & cracked marble stairs to the dingy passageway that went to our room on the first floor, it got a whole lot worse. Entering the room was no delight either,  a dark and dismal place, but at least there was some escape from the appalling smell in the hallway outside and the bedding looked reasonably clean.  If not for the fact I'd just driven a long way across France to get here, then I'd have walked out there and then. 

Just as we thought it couldn't get any worse I went to have a shower.  The towels were disgusting!  They were so old that they'd become hard and crusty, but worst of all they smelled to high heaven, making them impossible to use without leaving the bathroom smelling worse than when you went in! 

It was a surprise when we went down in the evening to see quite a few people sitting outside dining,  but we couldn't help but think none of them were guests, you just wouldn't put  anything in you mouth that had come from here! Tarrif for this hotel included breakfast but we didn't partake, apart from the reasons already mentioned the breakfast dining room was piled high with smelly laundry and other miscellaneous junk. 

It's interesting to note that this is a 2 star Logis hotel, as was the next hotel we went to - in Chamonix, - the superb De l'Arve and the difference couldn't be more pronounced.  Logis need to re-evaluate their star rating system because the La Chaumiere needs a sanitary notice slamming on it and closing down, whilst the De l'Arve is a total delight to stay in - strange!  Bikers are allowed here but I daresay none would want to stay. 

Very biker Friendly

Stayed here 
Aug 2005 

Hotel les Bruyeres ("The Heathers") is a Touren Fahrer hotel and actively welcomes bikers. A large garage is provided free of charge to lock the bikes in overnight and you'll find loads of biker mags (all written in German!) in the lounge. 

The hotel itself is really quite charming and looks like a Swiss chalet with its timbered gables and steeply pitched roof,  it's situated up a quiet side street so it's 
very peaceful there. The owners who run it are very ecologically aware, all of the lights apart from those in the rooms are on timers, and to keep the washing to a minimum towels aren't collected and washed every day unless you specifically ask for them to be. They explained that the reason for this is that the drainage of detergents into the local rivers and lakes is becoming a bit of a problem for the flora and fauna and, so they're doing their "bit" to help. 

There's no bar here but there are lots in the town of Villard a few paces from the front door.   A nice comfortable and clean hotel,  highly recommended.  The area around Villard de Lans is superb, with it's mountains & valleys.......... and some great roads, try the run to Grenoble and on through the Chartreuse region - gorgeous!

Biker Friendly
but poor acces  

Stayed here
August 2009

A truly lovely hotel, split into apartment type rooms, they would be classed as apartments but for the fact they serve breakfast here. The rooms are light and airy, and spotlessly clean  It's situation, nestled in amongst the old cobbled back streets of the old medieval town of Sarlat is lovely too. But this is a double edged sword because herein lies the problem it has. I'd contacted the hotel before booking to ascertain whether we could get the bikes down to unload our luggage. Having been to Sarlat before, I knew there was very little vehicular access in the old town and we didn't want to be parking the bikes up and carting all our gear down there in our armoured clothing - it' gets pretty hot here in summer.

I was assured that there was good access for bikes, and maybe for a little 50cc moped there is, but we found ourselves having to manouvre two fully laden, heavy touring motorbikes down a steep cobbled narrow alley with steps and then try to find our way out again after dropping the luggage off!   This obviously wouldn't be a problem for everybody, but the fact remains that access by whatever means to this hotel isn't good and no mention of it is made in on the website. Elderly people must come here, people with children and handicapped people in wheelchairs too. If you come by car then you first have to find somewhere to park - impossible in August. If you're lucky and find somewhere then you got one heck of a walk to the hotel carting all your luggage. Even if you park in the covered car park we parked at, where the hotel has reserved spaces it's well over a 1/4 mile -walk  uphill with the luggage.

Lovely hotel, great breakfast, but they really need to be more honest about the access 

Biker Friendly  

Stayed here
August 2009

A Hotel with a grand past, sadly now jaded. The approach to the Escala looks impressive, a white coloured building with it's large archway leading to the car park at the rear. The foyer is also quite imposing, plush carpet and tastful decor.

The rooms are different story though, they're clean enough but very basic and  bit worn and tatty. The shower in our room was a nightmare, more water went on the floor than went down the plughole, making the floor slippery and dangerous! The beds could certainly do with replacement as well. Prices are reasonable here though.

The staff are friendly and helpful and there is a bar area.  Parking is reasonably secure on the spacious car park at the rear of the hotel..

Very biker friendly

Stayed here
 June 2004   

         
Our first nights stopover on our 2004 Euro Tour was spent here at Andres B&B in the St. Michaels area on the outskirts of the city. Situated in a quiet residential street, the house is clean and comfortable.  Andre and his wife don't actually live on the premises, but they're here to welcome new arrivals and to serve breakfast. Being on the outskirts of Brugge it's well away from the nightlife of bars and restaurants etc, but a taxi into the centre is cheap enough so it's not an issue. Parking for the bikes is at the rear of the house, so it's quite secure. 

When we arrived at the house Andre and his wife welcomed us with nice cold Leffe beers, these aren't free but they only a cost a couple of Euro and it was nice touch.  An excellent B&B and ideal if you're touring by motorcycle. Would have scored better had it been nearer the centre of town.

Stayed here
 Aug 2005 

The situation of the Hotel Cordoeanier is excellent, right in the heart of the city near the old square. Unfortunately that is the only good thing I can find to say about it.  We've stayed in a few city centre hotels in the past and they're usually well worn and a bit tatty because of the volume of guests that pass through the doors, especially in a popular place such as Brugge, but this one abused the right to that excuse! 

Our room was dirty and the bedding hadn't been washed,  there were hairs tangled up in the stained pillowcases - and  they weren't ours! The floor needed showing the vacuum cleaner now and then, and the staff were quite "stand offish".  Worst of all - the missus and me got fleas from here! They did let us leave the bikes in a lock up garage opposite but that also turned out to be a disaster....see page 5 of the 2005 Euro Tour! 
There must be better offerings than this in a city the size of Brugge