Some hotels in France: Helpful tips and tricks

Very helpful. We are planning a trip to Paris in early April and I am still researching the hotel.

I have never not had soap in a hotel room -- sometimes it is that crappy one product for everything body wash, but always something.

Hotels just don't do washcloths, nor do most apartments. My husband likes shower mitts which are not common in the US so I buy some on each trip and we take them home for him. Just got two nice thick fluffy ones for 7 Euro at Monoprix but there are much cheaper ones if you want to use and not take home.

I just did a load of wash in the apartment we are renting and this one doesn't have a dryer. It costs 2 Euros for 20 minutes in a giant dryer up the street and they are all fluffy and dry. We have two laundromats within 3 blocks of the apartment; they are super easy to use. Washing takes a long time but drying is very fast.

Tips re: laundromat dryers. Some work better than others in terms of the heating element. I typically hang dry my clothes, but I didn't have that option because of the weather and hotel room humidity, so I set dryers on the low setting. I typically checked my stuff every 10 minutes or so to see how well it was drying so I could remove what was dry so it didn't shrink, and to determine if I needed to put more money in for the items that were still damp. Dryer cost is based on increments of between 5-10 minutes.

One thing we learned was that French hotels don't normally include a breakfast, unlike other countries. RS tours negotiate it as part of their agreements, so as to facilitate mornings for the group, but an independent stay wouldn't necessarily have access to it without additional charge. Someone can confirm if this is still true.

It is rare to find wash cloths in other countries so don’t expect to have them.

Even though all of my rooms had radiators and/or wall units, only a few of them worked.

Just fyi, with relations to radiators at least, the buildings probably hadn't turned on their systems. I know the building I live in isn't going to turn ours on until October 17. So a person coming to these hotels two or three weeks after you would most likely find working radiators.

Kim, that is good to know! I wish the hotels where it was cold had turned their radiators on for the year because I was freezing, even with extra blankets.

Someone on the forum last year recommended disposable Olay dry facial cleaner wipes in place of wash cloths. I tried them this trip since last time a wash puff and soap dish took too much room. I cut 1/2 sheets for my face, used full sheets for body. Results: good for the face, OK for the body but had to add soap to get my body clean. They did solve the wash cloth issue and I didn't have to pack up a wet wash cloth. On travelling days, I wrapped the damp soap in a Olay wipe and put in a ziplock.

I was in Europe 8/31 to 9/28 in London, Paris, RS SoF tour, Venice. Both the RS tour hotels and the hotels I booked for my independent days were 2-star hotels. Not a lot of amenities, but clean, central locations and affordable prices. I had no complaints with them except the door locks on the tour Arles hotel were impossible to figure out (wouldn't lock) and my tour room in Nice had an unlit flight of circular stairs to the bed and I almost fell down them. Both issues I addressed with the hotel desks and in the RS tour review since neither were safe.

I didn't mind French only TV. The queen's funeral was then so it was easy to get the gist of the news. It challenged my 20 words of French to try to understand what was said. The Venice B&B did not have a TV but after walking all day, I didn't miss it and my phone kept me up to date.

I didn't want a laundry service handling me clothes. I knew they won't cold water wash and hang to dry. So I hand washed everything, usually on the first night of a two night stay. Everything dried in time to pack up and move. I take folding hangers and a couple hotels had retractable clothes lines in the shower. As for the shallow sinks, I did either smaller loads or used a 2-gallon ziplock bag.

(Now that I'm over my "Europe" cold, it's time to write my own trip report.)

some people use those net puffs to avoid the soggy washcloth issue -- WE always throw worn out washcloths in the suitcase and if necessary abandon them along the way if we are doing a trip where we move around a lot..

It is indeed pretty usual for heating to be turned on only between 15 Oct and 15 Apr, at least when it's a central heating system that requires yearly maintenance. So, travelling right before or right after, you can be cold in the rooms.
As for washcloths, I guess it's not a French thing, because even though I understand the word I am not sure what it is 😅.
Lack of kettles, now that's annoying, I agree!

As Kim said, the heat doesn't go on until after the 15th. Today is cool and cloudy and it would have been nice, be we have to wait a few days. RSE should have prepared you.

Correct for the washclothes and conditioner. You can buy small bottles of conditioner in France.

The weather can't be accurately predicted from day to day or year to year due to the proximity of the sea. We watch the report the night before and cross our fingers. Year by year--June 1976 had a horrible heat wave, but in June 1981, was 🥶 freezing.

Showering without flooding the bathroom with those awful half enclosures takes practice. You'll be able to do it one day. Sorry you got stuck with those. I haven't had to deal with that in a hotel in decades. It's an inexpensive option.

Remember that RSE seeks out independent hotels, some "unusual." So depending on the star-rating, some could lack amenities commonly found in others. What you described sounds pretty rudimentary. What horsewoofie described sounds not only ridiculous but dangerous. Good to warn others going on this tour. I chose two hotels from the Germany book years ago and decided never again. Like janettravels wrote below, one became a family joke. Sleeping in Europe doesn't have to be quirky and dangerous.

Spot on regarding lack of washcloths. Thanks for the tips.
As for dryers, even the places we stayed in which advertised a one unit washer/dryer did not work for drying. Each place provided drying racks which, in late September, worked well.

We definitely had some chilly days here in Paris at the end of September where the heat really would have been welcomed. I bought a thermometer to see what the temperature was in our bedroom and living /dining room. I can tolerate the chill pretty well, but my husband (who is half Sicilian, half Puglian) definitely can not!! He wanted the heat on those days too, Jill, I assure you !

Most of the negatives/differences pointed above are what I have also come across in 2 or 3 star French hotels.

I've have always had soap and shampoo packets in 2 star hotels in France, not just in Paris. Breakfast included is another story. That you have to pay extra, not included in the price for the room. maybe likewise with AC . English programming, ie, CNN or the BBC, if you want that, is not available all the time. You may have to turn in the key when stepping out, my hotel in Paris requires that,

On the contrary there are also several positive factors you most likely will find in a French 2 or 3 star hotel.

These are good tips to remind people they aren’t in the US anymore, that things are different in other countries and what to expect.

In 61 yrs of staying in French hotels i have never had anyone react negatively in any way when i ask for an extra towel, it’s always been met with a smile and a “pas de problème madame.”

Thank you Jill, I think this is very useful information for new travellers to Europe. I recall being quite surprised on our first trip at the lack of kettle and refrigerator in the rooms as these are standard in even cheap accommodation at home. Good to know in advance.
Our one extra we always carry now is a small travel kettle and cups - can’t go without those early morning or late evening hot drinks.

Re: the refrigerator. We were advised that even eating in the hotel room was discouraged in France. They wanted people to go out to the common areas to eat anything. Vermin control. We only encountered a small sample of hotels, so I'd be happy to be corrected if that's not a universal expectation.

@Stan I didn't see or hear anything about not eating in hotel rooms along this particular tour.

@Susan at the Campanile hotel in Chartres, the people at the front desk seemed annoyed when I asked for things like a blow dryer and blanket, which should already have been in the room, and when I asked for extra towels.

@Fred Points taken, but I didn't choose these hotels, Rick Steves did! 😁

@Jill, Campanile hotels are not known for good service, this is a very average chain, not the best representation of French hospitality 😅. Not too surprised.

Horsewoofie, Yes, Please! on the trip report.

And Jill M, we did this tour this spring; I'd love to see your trip report and compare notes. Here's mine: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/better-late-than-never-loire-to-the-south-of-france-tour-report

Jill M, was this your first time in France?

That is a one-off, not the norm at all at a nice hotel. You can find unpleasant people anywhere and it sounds like that person was one of them. We encountered a very unpleasant person at the front desk at an expensive hotel in England two weeks ago, it happens. Happens here too.

And based on what balso said, it makes sense that a mediocre chain would not score high marks for hospitality. But i have never experienced that in France in 61 yrs of staying in nice hotels.

But unlike Fred, i don’t stay in 1 or 2 star hotels. (Star system in France is very different from the star system in the US). So maybe that’s a factor. There are lots of mediocre chains in the US that don’t score high in hospitality either.

Stan, not surprised.

Hotels in France asking you not to have food in your room is very common. They don’t want it to attract mice and rats, as Stan said.

@ Susan....My hotels in France were always 2 star, be they in Metz, Strasbourg, Roissy, Clichy, Paris, etc., never was in a one star.

We were never discouraged from eating in our hotel room. In fact, we stayed at several hotels that had kitchens and tables in the unit.

Definitely made some messes with half glass panel showers.

One problem we had was the unavailability of mustard while we were in France! We looked at all the grocery stores, and they were out. There was some kind of supply chain disruption or some problem with the ingredients, but no mustard was available in late May/early June. Hope it has gone back to normal.

My apologies Fred, duly noted… ; )

Mustard is still scarce to non-existent on grocery store shelves (source: my grocery store visit for my weekly shopping yesterday).

For my “regular “ hotels in Paris, the ones that pre-pandemic had signs up asking you not to eat in the rooms had removed those signs as of October 2021. They were still gone last April.

For Barbara upthread looking for a hotel, the Hotel Muguet in Paris has the loveliest sheets and fluffy towels I’ve cone across.

I do sink wash but have used a 2-gal ziplock bag (reinforced with mailing tape) for years. That way when I arrive at a hotel I can start a wash immediately, put the ziplock filled with water, shampoo/body wash (whatever the hotel provides) and clothes in the shower/tub to soak and finish it off after dinner.

Jill, I appreciate your taking the time to write up your comments and post. Hopefully it will help you be ready for your next European adventure!

(Written lying in the bed of my RS tour hotel looking out at the harbor in Monterosso al Mare. Still full from the pesto demo meal last night where Mama Felicita ground pesto I can smell the fresh croissants Papa Angelo is making for breakfast!)

With regard to the OP's laundry tips: please, for those who are sensitive to fragrance, skip the dryer sheets on a tour. Merci!

We have used RS books for decades and his original back door book was very helpful when we just started traveling abroad BUT hotel suggestions we followed were universally grim. We travel close to the ground and don't need fancy, but beds that sag are bad on the back and bathrooms that leak water into the bedroom area not a treat. After the Grand Hotel Leveque in Rue Cler (decades ago and I am sure it must have been renovated by now) we stopped using the books for hotels and in fact avoided the recs in the book. That one was a low point and the one in the Cinque Terre another low point. I don't find charm in surly staff and miserable beds and dirty bathrooms.

We actually visited the CT before Rick hyped it and alas sort of turned it into Disneyland. When we hiked it 40 years ago there were literally no other US tourists there and very few others -- a handful of German hikers. It was heaven on earth and the hotel we found on our own in Montorosso was fine. Our second trip we used the RS rec in Vernazza and it became the joke of the trip. they required half board so in a town with a really nice restaurant we were eating drek -- only place in Italy we have had terrible tomatoes served in a meal. Still regret just not abandoning the forced dinner and eating well in the town instead.

The star system in France has nothing to do with quality but with the amenities offered.

I also don't understand this whole concept of not speaking up when there's a problem at a hotel that you're paying for because you don't want to be seen as an ugly American or as a grump. You're the customer and if there's a problem you need to speak up so they can fix it.

I like to stay in comfortable hotels because after a long day of sightseeing I want to be able to relax. I've learned through my own experience to avoid most hotels recommended by RS. The ones I have used are the ones with the most problems.
( Mold in the shower, mattresses so thin that you couldn't tell the difference lying on the bed or lying on the floor, used towels with substances that looked like it came out of the human body, B & B owners who turn the heat off at night when it's 40ﾟF outside and then oversleep and forget to turn it on back on.)

I also remember the days when there was no glass panel on the showers nor was there a shower curtain. The floor would get wet and the housekeepers would come in and mop the floor into a floor drain. But for some reason--I think complaints by Americans--they put up that half glass door. It still makes a mess. But since they don't offer housekeeping every day anymore it becomes a problem.

As for washcloths, most US showers have one direction nozzles so a washcloth may be needed. Most European showers are handheld and you can direct the spray anywhere you want.

You're the customer and if there's a problem you need to speak up so they can fix it.

Based on reading/research I did ahead of my tour, the French don't typically have a customer first or "the customer is always right" mentality. That is a very American way of thinking. However, whenever I needed something along the tour, I did visit the front desk, started with "bonjour" and a smile, asked for what I needed, and ended with "merci."

I’ll chime in my agreement with Frank and Janet. After two dismal experiences at hotels recommended by RS, I never consulted him again. In fact, you don’t need guide books at all for lodgings. I go to Booking.com and check reviews, especially criticisms. Only people who have actually stayed have access to the site. Some issues are irrelevant to me, like the absence of a kettle in the room, or no washcloths.
On the shower door question, I’ll share an experience. On our first trip to Italy (1984), all of the hotels had uncontained shower heads in the middle of the bathroom, with a drain in the floor under them. I guess news of the invention of the shower curtain hadn’t yet reached Italy. Our two daughters, then teens (think l-o-n-g showers) were with us. In Florence one morning, the manager, apoplectic, came storming up to inform us that water was leaking from the girls’ room to that below it because of their excess usage.

@ Susan.....Thanks. Pas grave.

Your point is well taken. Basically one should not expect hotels else where to be the same as in the US. I myself don't have any problems with two star hotels in France, Germany, Poland, London, etc.

@Rosalyn to your point, if I'm traveling outside of a Rick Steves tour, I will go Airbnb or similar all the way. That way, I can select all the amenities I want, including a full kitchen! :)

Totally agree with janet, Frank II, and Rosalyn… after a few grim RS recommended hotels i stopped using his recs. Like Rosalyn, Booking.com is the best way to find a hotel imo.

Not only is it far from being representative of hotels in general, but they are also undoubtedly hotels recommended by RS in which he might not want to sleep.

Hey guys, in case it wasn't in my original post, these were hotels the Rick Steves office booked the tour group at for the Loire Valley to south of France Tour, and they weren't low grade hotels... some were just more basic than others. My post was to help people who may have expectations along the lines of American hotels. I didn't expect many of these amenities, but I think some people do.

Here's where I stayed:
Campanile Chartres Centre
6 et 8 avenue Jehan-de-Beauce
Chartres
Phone: 011 33 2 37 21 78 00 / Fax: 011 33 2 37 36 23 01
chartres.centre@campanile.fr
http://www.campanile.com/en/hotels/campanile-chartres-centre-gare-cathedrale

Hotel Diderot
4 rue Buffon
Chinon
Phone: 011 33 2 47 93 18 87 / Fax: 011 33 2 47 93 37 10
hoteldiderot@hoteldiderot.com
http://www.hoteldiderot.com

Hotel Montaigne
Place Pasteur
Sarlat
Phone: 011 33 5 53 31 93 88 / Fax: 011 33 5 53 31 99 71
contact@hotelmontaigne.fr
http://www.hotelmontaigne.fr

Hotel Montmorency
2, Rue Camille Saint - Saens
Carcassonne
Phone: 011 33 4 68 11 96 70 / Fax: 011 33 4 68 11 96 79
hotelscarcassonne@gmail.com
http://www.hotelmontmorency.com/fr/hotel-3-etoiles-carcassonne

Hotel Calendal
5 rue Porte de Laure
Arles
Phone: 011 33 4 90 96 11 89 / Fax: 011 33 4 90 96 05 84
contact@lecalendal.com
http://www.lecalendal.com

Mercure Hotel Nice Marche aux Fleurs
91 quai des Etats Unis
Nice
Phone: 011 33 4 93 85 74 19 / Fax: 011 33 4 93 13 90 94
H0962@accor.com
http://www.accorhotels.com

Hey folks, I cleared out a side topic and adjusted the title of this thread. While it is indeed important not to over generalize, there is much we can learn from an experience in a country. Let's also assume best intentions and not steer the thread into what the OP said wrong. It tends to lead to arguments which is what started to happen here. Let's keep this a positive place to discuss travel!

Merci Monsieur Fred… ; )

Thanks, @Webmaster! 😊

We have stayed at hotels recommended in RS guides in 5 cities and my picky husband(prefers Hiltons) was fine with all of them-one in Florence, one in Chartres(the one that used to be a monastery and is across the street from the cathedral), one in Vienna, the Ottoman Imperial in Istanbul, the Hotel Museo(across the street from the Vatican-several stays), and a convent near the Coliseum. My daughter and I also stayed in hotels recommended by RS in Fussen and Rothenburg and they were fine.

EDITED: All these stays were pre-Covid.

I’ve stayed in 10 RS Hotels. Six were bad. Two were meh. Two were good. Several were in his expensive category. Two out of 10 is not a good record. Now i use Booking.com which has never failed.

Those posted hotels, all 3-star, look clean and efficient from the photos: formica tablets for nightstands, some uncarpeted floors, easy to clean. If one were the only choice, I'd stay in them, except the Campanile. Many reviews of the Campanile complain about cleanliness, the same hotel you had rude staff.

These 3-stars are equivalent to a Choice, Country Inn and Suites, or some Best Western. At least you don't get that synthetic odor that's sprayed in equivalent hotels in the US. And thankfully, some of your hotels showed laminate or wood floors, cleaner than hotel wall-to-wall carpeting.

It's too bad that you ran into unseasonably cold weather. From now on, we need to advice people to prepare for the extremes, not the average.

The weather thing is my personal hobby horse. Averages are just that. They hide the extremes, and it's the extremes that can be uncomfortable. This is why I swear by a website like timeanddate.com, where you can find the actual, historical, day-by-day weather stats over the last ten years or so for most places tourists go. I check multiple years (usually five) and make note of how many days are hot enough or cold enough to be bothersome to me. I use that information to decide whether I'm willing to visit hot places in mid-summer and cooler places during shoulder season. It also governs whether I pack a pair of long johns, and in some cases a second, layerable pair of long john bottoms. (Yes, I'm cold-natured, and I spend a lot of time walking outdoors.)

I see that Paris had four days in a row of highs at 55F or 57F near the end of September 2022. I'd take that as a warning as to where things were headed in October, but I haven't looked at the latter.

Indeed, it was quite chilly at the end of September, but has been pretty mild in October up until yesterday/today. As I said, my building hasn't turned on its heat -- and that was much more noticeable during those cooler late September days than it has been the last 10 days or so (also backed up by the temperature readings on my indoor thermometer).

A couple of points:

1. If you need a USB port to charge your phone, pretty much every flat screen TV has one on the back or side. If there's a flat screen TV in your room, you're pretty much assured of having a USB port.

2. Among moderate cost French hotel chains, Logis is consistently the better one in my experience. Accor hotels (Ibis, Mercure, etc.) are OK but sterile. Logis places tend to have more character. I'd avoid Campanile. Kyriad is OK -- kind of like Ibis.

I agree about Logis. https://www.logishotels.com/en/
For anyone interested, many often have nice restaurants, too. These are independent hotel/restaurants often owned by couples/families. With only a few exceptions, all are outside Paris.

Breaks my heart that the Chartres Timhotel turned into a crappy Campanile hotel. They got rid of that gorgeous lobby and turned it into a bland mess.

I totally agree about Logis hotels. And Best Western really has some gems in France. Take when you know about them in the USA, and forget it. Paris has some excellent ones for example. The Kapital Opera or the Le Swann (a Marcel Proust themed one) - both are great.

The eating thing in hotel rooms is very dated. I remember one hotel 15 years ago that said that but haven't seen one since. Most hotels offer some sort of room service for breakfast, so I don't think they prefer you take it downstairs to eat.

Like Janet Travels we've been visiting France for over 40 years. I peruse RS books for cultural tips and travel logistics, but that's about it. We always stay in Accor hotels (Ibis, Ibis budget, Ibis Styles). They are ubiquitous throughout France, reasonably priced and have good beds. That's all I want. We could care less about cozy, old world charm and superfluous amenities - we just want a good nights sleep. Also, most Ibis hotels have a plentiful breakfast buffet where we can load up on fruit, cereal and eggs. Since we only eat two meals a day, this powers us along until dinner.

BTW, I understand why many folks would want to take a canned tour, but that's not for us. We like to do our own planning and due diligence in order to provide the opportunity for serendipity and left turns. To me, that's what travel is all about. Perhaps we learned this early on since most of our European trips were on our tandem bicycle. That opened many doors to interact with the locals.

Anyway, as Rick is so fond of saying, "keep on traveling". It's all good.

In my tour survey, I made it very clear how I felt about the Campanile hotel and even included a link to my Google review. 😁 If enough people aren't happy with it, maybe they will take it off the roster.