Hotels FAQ

Question:

Most unusual.. I’ve driven for weeks at a time at least fifteen times (over a number of years) in France. and never found the problem you describe. The brochures from the respective Syndicat d’Initiativ’s always are very clear. If you buy a ‘red’ Michelin the maps are there for most cities. But I have never found a problem with the Si’s. The palest ink is better than the best memory.     –Chinese proverb There is no end to collecting books.    –Book of Ecclesiastes  To three possessions shalt thou look: Acquire a field, a friend, a book.    –Samuel haNagid, Vizier to the King of Granada

Response:

If you would like to go to my site at http://www.languedoc-herault.info/hotels that may help with most of the chaine hotels in France, and also whet your appetite to visit the Languedoc region of France Adrian

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Whilst touring the French Alps last month and relying totally on finding a > hotel on arrival at the town or village, we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night?  (Whilst we > can both read maps well our understanding of telephone directions in French > is abysmal.)  Are French hoteliers missing a trick or is there some guide we > needed? > In many cases we simply set off in a hopeful direction and got accommodation > at the 1st or 2nd hotel we found, but rarely at what seemed the most > attractive for us from perusing the listings. > M Stewart > Milton Keynes, UK

Response:

Further to this, I’ve recently mentioned the Logis de France website as a source for attractive, often family-run hotels.  The URL is www.logis-de-france.fr.  They rate the hotels by the number of ‘chimneys’ they give it. For B&B type accomodations, you can go to www.gites-de-france.fr

> Whilst touring the French Alps — we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the

night? —snipped— – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Sorry you found this. In nearly thirty years of almost annual visits to France > we’ve invariably found the TIOs extremely helpful, and most seem to have local > maps which are free and indicate precisely where the hotels are. > Having short-listed one or two hotels, did you ask the staff to point out the > locations on a map? > French tourist authorities are a long way ahead of UK ones, in our experience, > and even tiny towns have an Internet presence, sometimes their own URL, > sometimes as a link from a bigger locality website, and a surprising number > have an email address. We’ve often emailed a small town’s TIO asking about > renting self-catering accommodation, > and within the week we’ve usually had eight or ten letters describing what they > offer, dates available, and cost, etc, from individual proprietors who pop into > their local TIO for just this purpose every other day, apparently. At the same > time, we’re invariably sent brochures, leaflets, maps and lists by the TIO > itself. > The French have this curious idea that tourism brings in revenue, so it’s a > good idea to appear welcoming to tourists, whereas UK tourist people seem often > to regard any enquiry as a bloody inconvenience and want to get shot of you > a.s.a.p.! > The advice, therefore, would be to plan your next trip, selecting *possible* > stopping-places, and email them all for the info you need a month or so in > advance – this should provide all the information you need, and gives you time > to ask further about anywhere that particularly takes your fancy along your > proposed route. > Also, many hotels, even smaller ones, have their own website – you can often > download their location map, and sometimes even book a room online. > All this, of course, depends on your knowing roughly where you intend to be > during your trip. If you arrive somewhere you didn’t plan to be, I’d still say > simply ask the staff at the TIO where you got the list of accommodation. > If you don’t mind fairly spartan accommodation, by the way (e.g. if you’re > really stuck somewhere) you’ll find Ibis/Formule/Campanile hotels/motels > outside most medium-sized and bigger towns. Some of these have excellent and > quite cheap restaurants attached. > Good luck next time, > BS

Response:

Whilst touring the French Alps last month and relying totally on finding a hotel on arrival at the town or village, we noticed that hotel listings we obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night?  (Whilst we can both read maps well our understanding of telephone directions in French is abysmal.)  Are French hoteliers missing a trick or is there some guide we needed? In many cases we simply set off in a hopeful direction and got accommodation at the 1st or 2nd hotel we found, but rarely at what seemed the most attractive for us from perusing the listings. M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK

Response:

> Whilst touring the French Alps — we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night? —snipped—

Sorry you found this. In nearly thirty years of almost annual visits to France we’ve invariably found the TIOs extremely helpful, and most seem to have local maps which are free and indicate precisely where the hotels are. Having short-listed one or two hotels, did you ask the staff to point out the locations on a map? French tourist authorities are a long way ahead of UK ones, in our experience, and even tiny towns have an Internet presence, sometimes their own URL, sometimes as a link from a bigger locality website, and a surprising number have an email address. We’ve often emailed a small town’s TIO asking about renting self-catering accommodation, and within the week we’ve usually had eight or ten letters describing what they offer, dates available, and cost, etc, from individual proprietors who pop into their local TIO for just this purpose every other day, apparently. At the same time, we’re invariably sent brochures, leaflets, maps and lists by the TIO itself. The French have this curious idea that tourism brings in revenue, so it’s a good idea to appear welcoming to tourists, whereas UK tourist people seem often to regard any enquiry as a bloody inconvenience and want to get shot of you a.s.a.p.! The advice, therefore, would be to plan your next trip, selecting *possible* stopping-places, and email them all for the info you need a month or so in advance – this should provide all the information you need, and gives you time to ask further about anywhere that particularly takes your fancy along your proposed route. Also, many hotels, even smaller ones, have their own website – you can often download their location map, and sometimes even book a room online. All this, of course, depends on your knowing roughly where you intend to be during your trip. If you arrive somewhere you didn’t plan to be, I’d still say simply ask the staff at the TIO where you got the list of accommodation. If you don’t mind fairly spartan accommodation, by the way (e.g. if you’re really stuck somewhere) you’ll find Ibis/Formule/Campanile hotels/motels outside most medium-sized and bigger towns. Some of these have excellent and quite cheap restaurants attached. Good luck next time, BS

Response:

Whilst touring the French Alps last month and relying totally on finding a hotel on arrival at the town or village, we noticed that hotel listings we obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night?  (Whilst we can both read maps well our understanding of telephone directions in French is abysmal.)  Are French hoteliers missing a trick or is there some guide we needed? In many cases we simply set off in a hopeful direction and got accommodation at the 1st or 2nd hotel we found, but rarely at what seemed the most attractive for us from perusing the listings. M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK

Response:

> Whilst touring the French Alps — we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night? —snipped—

Sorry you found this. In nearly thirty years of almost annual visits to France we’ve invariably found the TIOs extremely helpful, and most seem to have local maps which are free and indicate precisely where the hotels are. Having short-listed one or two hotels, did you ask the staff to point out the locations on a map? French tourist authorities are a long way ahead of UK ones, in our experience, and even tiny towns have an Internet presence, sometimes their own URL, sometimes as a link from a bigger locality website, and a surprising number have an email address. We’ve often emailed a small town’s TIO asking about renting self-catering accommodation, and within the week we’ve usually had eight or ten letters describing what they offer, dates available, and cost, etc, from individual proprietors who pop into their local TIO for just this purpose every other day, apparently. At the same time, we’re invariably sent brochures, leaflets, maps and lists by the TIO itself. The French have this curious idea that tourism brings in revenue, so it’s a good idea to appear welcoming to tourists, whereas UK tourist people seem often to regard any enquiry as a bloody inconvenience and want to get shot of you a.s.a.p.! The advice, therefore, would be to plan your next trip, selecting *possible* stopping-places, and email them all for the info you need a month or so in advance – this should provide all the information you need, and gives you time to ask further about anywhere that particularly takes your fancy along your proposed route. Also, many hotels, even smaller ones, have their own website – you can often download their location map, and sometimes even book a room online. All this, of course, depends on your knowing roughly where you intend to be during your trip. If you arrive somewhere you didn’t plan to be, I’d still say simply ask the staff at the TIO where you got the list of accommodation. If you don’t mind fairly spartan accommodation, by the way (e.g. if you’re really stuck somewhere) you’ll find Ibis/Formule/Campanile hotels/motels outside most medium-sized and bigger towns. Some of these have excellent and quite cheap restaurants attached. Good luck next time, BS

Response:

Further to this, I’ve recently mentioned the Logis de France website as a source for attractive, often family-run hotels.  The URL is www.logis-de-france.fr.  They rate the hotels by the number of ‘chimneys’ they give it. For B&B type accomodations, you can go to www.gites-de-france.fr

> Whilst touring the French Alps — we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the

night? —snipped— – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Sorry you found this. In nearly thirty years of almost annual visits to France > we’ve invariably found the TIOs extremely helpful, and most seem to have local > maps which are free and indicate precisely where the hotels are. > Having short-listed one or two hotels, did you ask the staff to point out the > locations on a map? > French tourist authorities are a long way ahead of UK ones, in our experience, > and even tiny towns have an Internet presence, sometimes their own URL, > sometimes as a link from a bigger locality website, and a surprising number > have an email address. We’ve often emailed a small town’s TIO asking about > renting self-catering accommodation, > and within the week we’ve usually had eight or ten letters describing what they > offer, dates available, and cost, etc, from individual proprietors who pop into > their local TIO for just this purpose every other day, apparently. At the same > time, we’re invariably sent brochures, leaflets, maps and lists by the TIO > itself. > The French have this curious idea that tourism brings in revenue, so it’s a > good idea to appear welcoming to tourists, whereas UK tourist people seem often > to regard any enquiry as a bloody inconvenience and want to get shot of you > a.s.a.p.! > The advice, therefore, would be to plan your next trip, selecting *possible* > stopping-places, and email them all for the info you need a month or so in > advance – this should provide all the information you need, and gives you time > to ask further about anywhere that particularly takes your fancy along your > proposed route. > Also, many hotels, even smaller ones, have their own website – you can often > download their location map, and sometimes even book a room online. > All this, of course, depends on your knowing roughly where you intend to be > during your trip. If you arrive somewhere you didn’t plan to be, I’d still say > simply ask the staff at the TIO where you got the list of accommodation. > If you don’t mind fairly spartan accommodation, by the way (e.g. if you’re > really stuck somewhere) you’ll find Ibis/Formule/Campanile hotels/motels > outside most medium-sized and bigger towns. Some of these have excellent and > quite cheap restaurants attached. > Good luck next time, > BS

Response:

Most unusual.. I’ve driven for weeks at a time at least fifteen times (over a number of years) in France. and never found the problem you describe. The brochures from the respective Syndicat d’Initiativ’s always are very clear. If you buy a ‘red’ Michelin the maps are there for most cities. But I have never found a problem with the Si’s. The palest ink is better than the best memory.     –Chinese proverb There is no end to collecting books.    –Book of Ecclesiastes  To three possessions shalt thou look: Acquire a field, a friend, a book.    –Samuel haNagid, Vizier to the King of Granada

Response:

If you would like to go to my site at http://www.languedoc-herault.info/hotels that may help with most of the chaine hotels in France, and also whet your appetite to visit the Languedoc region of France Adrian

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Whilst touring the French Alps last month and relying totally on finding a > hotel on arrival at the town or village, we noticed that hotel listings we > obtained from the tourist offices frequently carried only the hotel’s name > and French postcode, and perhaps a telephone number.  Sometimes we got a > streetmap as well.  Having selected a suitable hotel, how, without a street > address, does one get from the postcode to a bed for the night?  (Whilst we > can both read maps well our understanding of telephone directions in French > is abysmal.)  Are French hoteliers missing a trick or is there some guide we > needed? > In many cases we simply set off in a hopeful direction and got accommodation > at the 1st or 2nd hotel we found, but rarely at what seemed the most > attractive for us from perusing the listings. > M Stewart > Milton Keynes, UK

Response: