Does anybody have any experience with 'Premiere Classe' hotels in France?

Are they half decent or as shite as the price suggests?

We're going another quick trip to the South of France the week after
next and the planning atm is to get the usual cheapish hotel on the way
down (Campanile for the restaurant that's open Sundays, thanks to TOG
for the tip), have a Logis de France down there and a cheapie on the
way up (near Reims, incidentally).

 

They're very basic rooms, with a double and a single (above it) very
similar to the Formule 1 ones, but with an en-suite shower and perhaps
slightly more space. No hotel facilities as such, but rooms are always
clean and comfortable enough, and allow credit card entry after hours.
Perfectly acceptable for the odd night en-route, IME.

--
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I used one in 94 on the Milan and back by Nordwest in a week trip [1].
About on par with an Etap IMO. IIRC they are often on the same campus as
a Campanile. The one near St Quentin was anyway.

When we did the quick trip to Reims in 95 on the Morini K2, I ended up
doing a transducer/pickup mix and match exercise in the car park of the
'Mr Bed', on the outskirts of the city. Somewhere between an Etap and
Hotel Villages standard as I remember, and with a restaurant in walking
distance at another hotel which I can't remember the name of.

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Sounds reasonable then. The ones I'm looking at even seem to have a
restaurant and internet access.

 

Same old, same old ... Basic, small, clean, mostly with en-suite
shower/bath etc. Good value for one or two nights but not much good
for a long stay IMHO.

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Paul - xxx

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi 'Big and Butch'
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I have used them quite a few times, excellent for an overnight stop.

 

Perfectly okay for an overnight stay.

Save a few quid on the way down too. As someone else says, PC are often
paired with Campanile, as they are both part of
http://www.louvrehotels.com/en/index.aspx

PC reception should give you a voucher to get a free drink & 10% off the
Campanile restaurant bill

 

Ah, good point. I'll check if they do that around Grenoble as well.

 

From this, and other replies, I realise that they're not all the same.
The only ones I've stopped at, and many others I've seen, are
purpose-built and entirely on one formula. Sounds like there may be
some in moer traditional buildings. Website seems to show about 70% of
them with one picture, so presume that they're the ones I've
experience of.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

They all look like they're a concrete block manufactured off the same
set of plans, at least the ones that hotels.com shows.

 

As others have said, a notch up from F1. Just. You don't have to share
the bog & shower with Bulgarian van drivers.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Adrian

That's several notches on this here measuring stick.

 

What he said. Campanile have moved a bit more upmarket lately (slightly
better furnishings; air-con in the hotels in the South, that sort of
thing). I think they charge about e75 a room, though, not e90.

They're all run on a franchise basis, usually husband & wife, though
they do have a few run by gay couples.

The menus are standardised throughout the chain, but each hotel has a
certain amount of autonomy in that they can list their own specials and
buy local wine. If you look at the blackboard and opt for 'special du
mois' or 'plat du jour' and the 'vin du mois', you won't go far wrong.

Plus points; genuinely good cheese selection, and buffet desserts. Plus
a very good buffet breakfast. Also, they serve dinner on Sunday nights,
whereas most small independent hotels are closed.

Downsides: well, it's a motel. They don't have bars in the hotels.
They're invariably sited on industrial estates on the edge of town, so
strolling down the road to a friendly bar isn't usually an option.

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

Hence why I prefer the Accor brands Ibis or Mercure. They have many of
their hotels in city centres e.g. the ones in Reims, Arras & Beaune.

Both hotel brands have bars, restaurants open on Sundays, although, being
in the centre of town doesn't matter so much.

 

And Kyriad (also Accor). Their town-centre Annecy hotel is one of my
favourite places to stay.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

according to the link I posted above, Kyriad is part of the Campanile group
of hotels

http://www.louvrehotels.com/en/index.aspx to save you scrolling up

 

The campanile restaurants I've tried weren't worth the effort, mostly,
but others may disagree.

There are usually better options nearby. For example, I stayed at the
PC outside Perpignan and found one of these just around the corner
from the Campanile: http://www.hippopotamus.fr/accueil/ I was in a
"meat" mood. Good grub and good value, IMO, too.

 

If you're just overnighting in Grenoble and want a clean hotel just off the
Autoroute then the Kyriad works for me.
Avenue de la Louisiane, 38120, Fontanil-Cornillon

Not pretty to look at but clean / air con / nice pool / good brekkie and
500yrds from Autoroute exit 13iirc.

Also - just down the road is a very shabby looking resturant - 'orrible grey
dismal looking building - but it serves some damn fine food as a group of us
found out to our surprise first time we stayed there.

 

Erm, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned I was booking into a Campanile for
Sunday night . As it's quite short notice at the moment I can't look
out for special deals but for the Quidco'ers amongst us, you can book
Campaniles and Premiere Classe via Hotels.co.uk. So far the cashback for
those has been very reliable.

 

The ones we've staid in before were OK.

Doesn't necessarily help on Sundays and that's the reason for booking
into the Campaniles.