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Hotels
in France.
Classification
of hotels in France
The
sector is heavily
regulated, and all hotels are registered and classified by the
government,
through regional prefectures. Classification goes from 0 stars to 4
stars. There is no such thing as a five-star classification
in
France, let alone six-star or seven-star, so a 4-star rating
in France may well correspond to 5 stars in Spain, or some other
country which may have
a more extensive scale.
The official French star rating system
is based on
amenities, not on the quality of the amenities. Other organisations may
provide unofficial quality-based rankings.
Rates, Prices
All
hotels must by law display room rates clearly in the room. The rate
dispayed is the "rack rate" (i.e. the basic undiscounted cost of the
room, including tax), which may be higher than the price you have paid,
specially if you have booked through a discounting intermediary. The
information provided should also indicate the local tourist tax, if
there is one. Generally speaking, hotel prices in France are quite
reasonable, by international standards. Prices are always quoted per
room, never per person, though some hotels may have variable prices on
a room, according to the number of people using it.
Eating:
Basic hotel prices do not usually include breakfast, though
all
hotels provide breakfast as an optional extra. This is normally a
"continental breakfast", a croissant, bread butter and jam, and coffee
or tea being the standard staple. In a two star hotel, breakfast
usually includes a glass of fruit juice as well, and from good two-star
hotels upwards, the breakfast menu generally includes a selection of
cereals, yoghurts, possibly even fresh fruit, ham and cheese.
Few
hotels, except those at the top end of the range, will provide a cooked
breakfast.
Independent
hotels
Independent
hotels are for travellers wishing to stay in city centres, or
in
small towns or the country. Eighty-three percent of French hotels are
independent establishments; however, by and large they are much smaller
than the chain hotels, and actually account for less than half of the
total annual number of bed-nights in France.
They vary from the very best to the very poor. The majority
of
them - though by no means all - are old hotels, establishments that
have been in operation for many years, which is why they are often to
be found in city centre locations, or else in small towns or even in
the country. Some offer delightful and very homely accommodation,
but while most independent hotels offer reasonable-to-good
value
for money, and most have invested in modern facilities, it is still
possible to come across low-graded hotels, notably in cities where
running costs are high, with small cramped or noisy rooms. It
is
always a good idea to check out a hotel's website, if it has one, or to
follow the recommendations of other travellers, particularly if you are
wanting to book a room for more than one or two nights.
The Independent-hotels.info
site for France
has a small selection of hotels, notably ones in calm locations. A fair
number of independent hotels belong to referral chains (associations of
independents) such as Logis
de France.
France also offers a growning
number of bed and breakfast establishments, in everything from castles
to converted country hotels. Click here for a choice of Bed and
Breakfasts in France.
Hotel chains
France
is European leader when it comes to hotel chains. There are two big
groups dominating the market, Accor and Louvre hotels, and both operate
a number of chains offering different levels of quality to cater for
different types of customer. Overall, the quality of hotels in France
is improving; between 1994 and 2008, the number of hotels ranked 0-star
or 1-star fell by 1400, while the number of three and
four-star
hotels rose by nearly 900.
By far
the biggest chain in
France
is ACCOR
,
with 1366 hotels in 2008; Accor is the world's third largest hotel
group, and its hotels in France include five of the country's six
largest chains: Novotel
(3 stars) , Mercure
(3 stars), Ibis
(2 stars) , Etape
(2 stars), and Formule
1(1 star). (The group also owns the popular Motel 6
chain in
the USA).
With 774 hotels in 2008, Louvre
hotels group, formerly Envergure, is the second-largest
corporate actor in the hotel sector in France. Three of its chains, Campanile (quality 2
star) , Kyriad
(2 stars) & Kyriad
Prestige (3 stars) and Première
Classe
(1 star) , are among the top ten brands in France. With 325 hotels, the
Campanile brand is actually the second biggest chain in France in terms
of outlets, though only fifth in terms of beds, since Campanile does
not operate any very large hotels.
Outside of these two major
groups, there are a number of other chains, including B&B Hotels, Balladins and Fasthotels, as well
as hotels affiliated to a number of international chains such
as Best Western or Comfort Inn.
While the big chains do have city centre
establishments, particularly at the top end of the range, most chain
hotels are to be found in the suburbs, on main roads or near motorways.
The one-star brands are frequently located right on main roads, and
sometimes even in business parks, so they are not to be chosen if you
are wanting to enjoy the colour of local life, or are looking for a
hotel in a calm location. But if it is an no-hassle overnight stop you
want, the chains are ideal.
Booking.
For independent hotels, you may have to contact the
hotel directly; alternatively, use an online hotel booking service
which includes a certain number of independent hotels.
For hotels belonging to the chains, visit the
chain's website directly, or else book through an online booking
portal. You may well get a better price by booking through an online
portal, though this is not necessarily the case.
Other useful sites:
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