Accommodation recommendations (Folkestone, Reims. Dijon)

Ron Gibson

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Grateful for any personal accommodation recommendations in the following three areas please.
Folkstone (up to 30 mins from chunnel)
Reims (or in the vicinity)
Dijon (again in the vicinity)
Not required till September next year but looking at booking early.
Doesn't have to be big or fancy, up to £100 a night, with breakfast if possible and an evening eatery within walking distance. Secure parking a must have preferably under cover. I've trawled the usual booking.com etc but if you have been there and can recommend it I'll have a look,
Thanks,
Ron.
 
Have used the Premier Inn at Folkestone and another nearby but can't remember which one. Both perfectly acceptable and just a few minutes from the tunnel.
In Dijon we used the Hotel Wilson, very nice with secure parking and a bar and pizza place just round the corner. Hôtel Wilson
+33 3 80 66 82 50
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RV8XUFmLUdbcqPTt7
And just outside Dijon used Logis l'Hôtel d'Arc, this had private 'semi-secure' parking. Not much about but there was a supermarket about 15 mins walk away.
+33 3 73 27 05 76
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VEaADmozadyxChrt7
Both highly recommended
 
Folkestone - get a late train and stay at the Ibis Budget in St Omer.

Reims: a few chain hotels along the canal on Boulevard Paul Doumer have underground car parks. They change name periodically. Currently they are Mercure and Campanile, very adjacent https://goo.gl/maps/cGs34Wh7cHqZzNXq8 or the Ibis Styles just along the road https://goo.gl/maps/u7H46PgyjBsF2RCMA - all are a 10 min walk to the Cathedral & City centre.

Even closer to the main street for restaurants (Place Drouet d'Erlon) is the Kyriad with outdoor but gated parking https://goo.gl/maps/KTMSnbG6KRdMoFNj7 (car park) and https://goo.gl/maps/Cr4XmZq8WUuKUBqz5 (front of hotel).

Few of the boutique hotels in the centre have their own parking, expecting you to park on the street or in the massive underground public car parks. Last time I stayed in Reims I used the Hotel de la Cathedrale and parked on the pavement outside. I had a sacrificial Harley and KTM with me but neither were nicked.

Dijon: Hotel des Ducs was good https://goo.gl/maps/Sz9sohP6MzmQoJSQ8 - secure parking at rear through the wooden doors next to the pharmacie https://goo.gl/maps/gBBQPe7R4iTBzdaj7 - the Trinidad bar here was good fun during happy hour. https://goo.gl/maps/1qB4VxyDy5X4MEF28 We drank a lot of 5 euro margaritas before dinner in the nearby Place de la Liberation.
 
Very good tip about the Ibis Budget in St Omer. I am no huge fan of chain hotels but this one I’ll willingly make an exception for.

Better value than the Ibis proper in the town, which has a very small car park and is more expensive. An easy 15 minute walk into town (loads of restaurants and bars) and two petrol stations (both 24 hour) within spitting distance. Fill or top-up on arrival and you are ready to go in the morning.

The hour time difference, along with the embarkation / crossing / disembarkation times saved, get you off to a good start for the first day of your jaunt. Arrival and departure in the morning is also easy, as it’s just a short run to the motorway or to the D roads, so you can get straight off.

Skip breakfast and, assuming you are heading south towards, Reims / Dijon, stop for a coffee and croissant in say, St Pol, which is about an hour and a bit away down the country roads.


PS There is a good bakery in St Omer, on the main square, just along from the Queen Victoria pub. They do very good baguettes, with ham, cheese, tuna or whatever. Nip in there, buy one for lunch and be flexible as to where you stop as you hoon along the D roads.
 
Very good tip about the Ibis Budget in St Omer. I am no huge fan of chain hotels but this one I’ll willingly make an exception for.
Better value than the Ibis proper in the town, which has a very small car park and is more expensive. An easy 15 minute walk into town (loads of restaurants and bars) and two petrol stations (both 24 hour) within spitting distance. Fill or top-up on arrival and you are ready to go in the morning.

The hour time difference, along with the embarkation / crossing / disembarkation times saved, get you off to a good start for the first day of your jaunt. Arrival and departure in the morning is also easy, as it’s just a short run to the motorway or to the D roads, so you can get straight off.

Skip breakfast and, assuming you are heading south towards, Reims / Dijon, stop for a coffee and croissant in say, St Pol, which is about an hour and a bit away down the country roads.
PS There is a good bakery in St Omer, on the main square, just along from the Queen Victoria pub. They do very good baguettes, with ham, cheese, tuna or whatever. Nip in there, buy one for lunch and be flexible as to where you stop as you hoon along the D roads.
Thanks all for the suggestions so far, very much appreciated. Seen as the TLM trip to Mandello this year has been cancelled we have decided to sack it off for this year and plan for next year. Looking at the great suggestions by Wapping and others on one of my previous posts I'm going to give it a go and plan a route to Mandello myself. Day 1, Coquelles to Reims. Day 2 Reims to Dijon, Day 3 Dijon to Rivoli, Day 4 Rivoli to Abbadia Lariana. Will look at the suggestions for ibis at St Omer, thanks. Richard, if you are planning a group jaunt round France early next year as you suggested on a reply on my previous post please drop me a message, definitely interested.
Thanks again to all,
Ron
 
For hotels in Dijon and Reims, I have only stayed in the cities themselves when on Wanders, when I used one of the chains, simply as I needed about nine rooms.

On my own or with smaller parties, I have booked into Logis hotels, somewhere within say, a 30 mile radius of each city. None of them have ever had ‘secure’ (in the sense of a garage or even a gated car park) but I figure that I’d be pretty unlucky to lose a bike in rural France that has been chained to something. I have never gone too far wrong with the bookings made or with avoiding losing my bike. I can’t say it won’t or can’t happen but the risk factor (at least to me) is acceptably low, touch wood.
 
Holiday Inn Express is good in Dijon, free breakfast, good parking and restaurants next door.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
We have stayed in Reims many a time.

Best Western Premier, Hotel del la Paix, 9 Rue Buirette is a favourite.

They have an underground car park and 2 mins walk to the pedestrianised Place Drouet d'Erlon which is lined with restaurants.

Aside from the hotel, I would definitely recommend Brasserie Excelsior Reims (formerly Flo's) and Le Grand Cafe for a great meal.

Cheers

Doh! just seen the price limit, ah well, if you fancy an upgrade, I would still recommend :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the replies, the planning is in progress. Tried to book the ibis budget at St omer but no availability for end of August beginning September next year, hey ho, tried calling but couldn't get through (currently in balearics) so booked ibis in town centre provisionally.
 
Thanks for all the replies, the planning is in progress. Tried to book the ibis budget at St omer but no availability for end of August beginning September next year, hey ho, tried calling but couldn't get through (currently in balearics) so booked ibis in town centre provisionally.

many hotels will not have rooms bookable for next summer yet - many wait until Easter before setting summer prices and releasing rooms to booking sites. I often do like you have done, book a hotel and then change my mind because I need to add rooms for others or simply find somewhere more attractive in position or price. Just be kind to the hotels and don't cancel rooms at the last minute unless unavoidable. When planning group travel I try to avoid changes less than a month before the trip except in exceptional circumstances.
 
Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix in the centre of Reims is excellent. Good underground parking, lovely rooms, very nice bar and a swimming pool if you like that sort of thing. Not too expensive, not too cheap. Very close to everything.

On the cheaper side, the Campanile Reims Cenre Cathedral is also very good.


EDITED to say....just noticed that Dazlove also recommended the BW Premier. It was about £70 a night when I stayed there last year - but Covid may have had something to do with that. I can also second Le Grand Cafe - we had a very good meal there.
 
If we are doing Reims eateries, as an alternative to Place d'Erlon then Place du Forum is an alternative. Edgar Bistrot was very good https://goo.gl/maps/imLCMKjaqaK7WreTA
I had a wonderful bottle of Pomerol to wash down the entrecôte.

The Place has a stage so you might get some free entertainment as you dine al fresco. Convenient moto/velo parking if making a lunch stop.
 


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