Motel 6 equivalent in France?

http://www.chateau-brelidy.com/asp/en/tarifs.asp advertises a "junior suite" whatever that is. I've never stayed there and only know it is in Brittany, but not where in Brittany.

You have a few choices. It would probably be easiest to book a Gite for your family. That would give your children a place to play and you could probably eat breakfast and possibly one other meal at the house so the children could relax a little. You can book a Gite at http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm or something similar at http://www.holiday-rentals.com/World/r1.htm We have booked through both and they are fine. We have had better luck finding place that appeal to us at the Holiday-rentals.com site but that's a matter of personal taste.

You could check hotels here on france.com using their search engine and write to see if they have junior suites, suites or you could book adjoining rooms. You will have to e-mail or telephone to check for your particular arrangement.

You could check Logis de France http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/ and see if they have junior suites, family suites or you could book adjoining rooms. You will probably have to e-mail a few places to check these arrangements.

As I mentioned earlier, we usually rent a small house and I suspect you would find that easiest on both you and the children. Besides, it's fun to have your own house in France . . . even for a week or two.

Good luck and have fun surfing.

Regarding availability: It depends on when and where. If you are in season, book ahead, especially with children.

You'll be very hard pushed to find a family room in a hotel or Logis de France to take what amounts to at least 2 doubles and a single full size bed (the kids aren't exactly baby cot size, are they) as rooms with 5 full size beds are not common here. Are they in the USA? You may find a B&B through Gites de France that has one, but rooms that big are the exception, not the rule. Best look for two rooms for 5 people. Re availability, you aren't likely to stumble across a room this size without checking in advance. I recommend to anyone travelling June to August to book in advance - we are heavily booked up to mid-September already.

Very informative stuff going on here! I wonder if anyone could answer a couple questions I have. We're a family of 5 (2 adults 3 children ages 8, 10, 12) looking for accomodation in Brittany. We're having difficulty finding a budget logis that will accomodate us all in one room. Any ideas? Also, is it necessary to book ahead or can you find availability easily when travelling through small towns?

Just one point re B&B's - very few have a minimum length of stay. For many the majority of business comes from one- or two-nighters. It is extremely unusual to find a B&B which insists on three night stay - maybe special weekends if there is a massive event in the area and there is an unusual demand for beds, but this is very much he exception rather than the rule. Otherwise I agree totally with Sal!

The Logis prices vary wildly depending on quality of accomodation and mostly on location. If you are willing to stay in some really out-of-the-way places, you can get a nice little Logis for less than at the Campanile. I'm not sure you can beat the price of Formula 1 but at least in a Logis you will have your own bathroom and not have 4 rooms sharing!

Type chateau into the Logis search window and there are some very pricey logis in lovely chateaux. Look around a little though and you'll find some real bargains. We stayed in a lovely chateau out in the boonies in the Bordeaux region for next to nothing.

In Brittany we found quite a selection of inexpensive Logis, some on the shore.

You need to get into very tiny towns or even out in the country to keep your prices down. If you are planning to visit larger cities, Logis, like all the others, have higher prices. Where there is demand, there are high prices. Campanile is more in larger cities too. I don't know about Formula 1 but they don't exist in small villages and country towns. They are in cities and by freeways.

It really pays to do a thorough search of the web sites. I like to look for Logis in historic buildings. They are usually really nice and you feel like you've gone back in time. They are small hotels so you usually get to meet and talk to the owners. That's always fun.

The Gites de France mentioned above are also an excellent idea. You have a choice of B&B or self-catering. We like the self catering and usually rent a house for a month. Most of these require you to stay a full week, but check this carefully too because there are some marvelous exceptions. The B&Bs range from overnighters to various time requirements, the most common being three days. These are usually open to negotiation. When we stay a month in one place, we always have gotten a very good discount. It never hurts to ask!

http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/
http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm

Just to second what was said about Logis de France - before we moved to France permanently we used to mainly use Logis de France for our holidays. Pricier than the very cheapy Campaniles, Formule 1 and the like but GENERALLY nicer and always more character. And still generally cheaper than the USA. But the standard does vary considerably and you can get the occasional dud, albeit the exception rather than the rule.

Don't forget the other major option - B&B inns through Gites de France, Clévacances or the like. These major associations representing independent small inn owners all have a website in English. Many B&Bs do table d'hote for evening meals; check in advance and if they do not, make sure there is a restaurant nearby unless you don't mind driving.

I can't believe no one mentioned Logis de France! This is a great group of family-owned French motels. They range in price from dirt cheap to pretty expensive. Most have a nice restaurant attached and many are in historic buildings. Virtually all towns of any size have at least one Logis. This is what we use when we're traveling and we love them. They are small, friendly and have the aforementioned "soul" of France. I encourage you to check their web site at http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/

In all our years of using Logis, we've found exactly one that didn't meet our standards. Even in that case, the room was fine and the food good. The hallways just weren't as clean as we would have liked. One out of many many Logis is a pretty good average. I certainly couldn't say the same for Motel 6.

BTW, Campanile is fine but pretty industrial. They are usually near a major highway or an airport. The rooms are clean and the food is decent. We use them when we're really stuck, but we LOVE the Logis de France. You'll find something in any price range; check the web site.

Yes, Campanile, Formule 1, and Ibis, which is closer to the Motel 6, (and, in fact, owned by the same company) is what you are looking for.

Hi Metal Head

60 dollars for single occupancy - I wish we could charge that! We run a 3-star (maximum is 4-star) bed and breakfast near Alençon in Lower Normandy and it's 46 euros for double occupancy (twin or double bed) including breakfast! If you can afford 60 dollars a head you'll be in heaven here, wherever you're going! There are some very cheap motel like chains such as Campanile, Formule1 but they are soulless.

Phil