Cheap motels in Europe

Haych

OK then chaps and chapesses, the family Haych have decided we're doing a European road trip for our family holidays for 2019.

It's a bit of a daunting prospect for me since I've never driven in Europe before but I'm reliably told that the thought is much worse than actuality so I'm not going to overthink it too much.  I've driven in America so doubt it can be physically much different.

Our plan is to go from Blighty to France via the Euro Tunnel, assuming it's not closed after Brexit, and then drive through France and Switzerland en route to Tignale on Lake Garda where we have a nice hotel booked for a week.  Then we head back via Insbruck, Stuttgart and Cologne before taking the chunnel back to good old UK.

Our tentative stops along the way are possibly Metz/Saint Avold in France for a night, Berne Switzerland for a couple of nights and then Brescia Italy for a night.  On the way back we just hit Insbruck, Stuttgart and Cologne for a night each as we make our way back towards Calais.

I'm now having a butchers at motels along the way.  Cheep and cheerful is the order of the day - a clean family room with beds, hot water, a loo and not much else is required.

Has anyone done this or anything similar enough?  What can I expect?  Are there any hotel/motel chains that I should check out?  All advice and experience welcome.

Thanks in advance.

joneve

If you're not too precious, private rooms in a lot of hostels can work too. We stayed in some REALLY nice ones when we travelled round Europe a few years ago. sites like Hostelworld are worth a look for sure. Of course some of them cater for the 18-32 backpackers, but there are also some that cater well for families with younger children. 

Also, please do yourself a favour and don't stop in Bern...keep driving for a further hour (it should be in the direction you're heading) to Lauterbrunnen/Interlaken. 

There's some really lovely campsites nestled in the valleys  of the alpine mountains there in Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken is VERY pretty. Great for a few days for a family trip. Not sure how old your kids are but the Interlaken white white water rafting was a lot of fun! Loads of cool waterfalls to explore near by and you can do a day trip up the famous mountain railway to the top of Mont Jungfrau. 

FX_Munkee

In France, use Logis de France

https://www.logishotels.com/en/ 

Small family run hotels with a restaurant. Cheap and cheerful usually as well as often quite "characterful".

boogieman

I’ve used Ibis hotels in France and Germany in the past. They’re like a nicer version of Premier Inn 

martinw

We used booking.com and booked as we went. We stayed in a range of smaller hotels and b&bs, all were excellent and great prices.

EricTheWeary

Driving in France and much of western Europe generally better driving than in the UK . Just look up the required extras ( like hi viz jackets) on the AA/ RAC websites. Be prepared for the extra costs like French toll roads and the motorway pass scheme in Switzerland. If you have a diesel vehicle you may need crit air (spll?) stickers in advance for large French towns. 
Eurotunnel is easy, just allow good time for the M25. If you arrive early they generally offer you an earlier crossing. On the French side there is Cite Europe next door which has a huge supermarket, clothes shops restaurants - although shops are usually shut on Sunday.  
There can be a tendency to overestimate how much mileage you can comfortably cover across Europe and holidays become hours and hours of motorway. Fuel at motorway service stations is expensive, look for supermarkets in France which usually have 24 hr self service fuel pumps. 
Have fun. 

Haych

joneve said:

If you're not too precious, private rooms in a lot of hostels can work too. We stayed in some REALLY nice ones when we travelled round Europe a few years ago. sites like Hostelworld are worth a look for sure. Of course some of them cater for the 18-32 backpackers, but there are also some that cater well for families with younger children. 

Also, please do yourself a favour and don't stop in Bern...keep driving for a further hour (it should be in the direction you're heading) to Lauterbrunnen/Interlaken. 

There's some really lovely campsites nestled in the valleys  of the alpine mountains there in Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken is VERY pretty. Great for a few days for a family trip. Not sure how old your kids are but the Interlaken white white water rafting was a lot of fun! Loads of cool waterfalls to explore near by and you can do a day trip up the famous mountain railway to the top of Mont Jungfrau. 

Thanks for the suggestion @joneve never thought of looking at hostels.  Also noticed that Berne is VERY expensive so staying on to Interlaken might be a good idea in any case.

FX_Munkee said:

In France, use Logis de France

https://www.logishotels.com/en/ 

Small family run hotels with a restaurant. Cheap and cheerful usually as well as often quite "characterful".

Thanks @FX_Munkee I'll take a look and compare prices and locations etc, much appreciated.

boogieman said: I’ve used Ibis hotels in France and Germany in the past. They’re like a nicer version of Premier Inn  If Ibis are anything like the ones in this country then they should be good, I'll check it out, thank you

martinw said: We used booking.com and booked as we went. We stayed in a range of smaller hotels and b&bs, all were excellent and great prices. @martinw, like the idea but isn't there a risk of everything being fully booked and not being able to get a room at short notice? Maybe I've misunderstood?

EricTheWeary said: Driving in France and much of western Europe generally better driving than in the UK . Just look up the required extras ( like hi viz jackets) on the AA/ RAC websites. Be prepared for the extra costs like French toll roads and the motorway pass scheme in Switzerland. If you have a diesel vehicle you may need crit air (spll?) stickers in advance for large French towns. 
Eurotunnel is easy, just allow good time for the M25. If you arrive early they generally offer you an earlier crossing. On the French side there is Cite Europe next door which has a huge supermarket, clothes shops restaurants - although shops are usually shut on Sunday.  
There can be a tendency to overestimate how much mileage you can comfortably cover across Europe and holidays become hours and hours of motorway. Fuel at motorway service stations is expensive, look for supermarkets in France which usually have 24 hr self service fuel pumps. 
Have fun. 

I'm already looking at what's required for driving in Europe, it seems quite complicated at first but once you look into it a bit more it's not so bad.  For the moment I'm driving a petrol so hopefully all will be ok.

We're planning on booking a room at Folkestone the night before an early chunnel crossing.  We haven't decided how much mileage to bite off for the first day of the journey through France yet.  Calais to Interlaken might be a bit ambitious in one day.  Thanks for all the advice though @EricTheWeary ;

martinw

Haych said:

martinw said:

We used booking.com and booked as we went. We stayed in a range of smaller hotels and b&bs, all were excellent and great prices.

@martinw, like the idea but isn't there a risk of everything being fully booked and not being able to get a room at short notice? Maybe I've misunderstood?

We never had a problem. Nothing to stop you booking further in advance; we booked a 3 night stop at one place well in advance to give us a target for the middle part of our holiday, as well as the night before a ferry booking and that sort of thing.

There are plenty of places to choose from in my experience, and with booking.com (and other similar sites) you can choose by review, which means you're almost certain to get somewhere pleasant.

joneve

@Haych ;

i promise you wont regret it. 

We stayed here; https://www.campingjungfrau.swiss/en/ueber_uns/default.asp?Kategorie=Aktuell

they have some nice log cabins that are basic but comfy, it was reasonably priced, they have an on site restaurant that does (or did) great food and great facilities if you wanted to self cater too. 

You can book tickets for the Jungfrau railway too. And it’s a short walk through the valley to the Trümmelbach Falls, which are incredible. 

King85

EricTheWeary said:

Driving in France and much of western Europe generally better driving than in the UK . Just look up the required extras ( like hi viz jackets) on the AA/ RAC websites.

So true

ToneControl

IIRC 20 years ago I used this book

"Relais Routiers" 

The prices were way cheaper than normal rates, I am not sure if it still useful though