Somewhere to rest my head (Hotel Campanile Orleans Ouest (France))

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Hotel Campanile Orleans Ouest (France)
Date:	19/10/07 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and clean

Disadvantages: The buffet could be better

For our summer holiday in the Dordogne I had decided to break up the eight and a half hour drive from Calais to Sarlat with an over night stop on both legs of the journey so it seemed sensible to opt for a location roughly four hours from Calais and also one that meant we would have negotiated Paris on the first day as that looked like being the most difficult part of the drive.

Orleans seemed to be just right and as in previous trips we had used the Campanile chain and found them to be satisfactory off I went to check out their website. Booking was very easy via the site, once you input some basic search criteria such as arrival and departure dates, occupancy levels and preferred location the search engine provides a list of those available, for Orleans I had a choice of four hotels in all and opted for the one in La Chapelle St Mesmin as it was to the south of Orleans and was on the road I needed to take the next day to complete my journey. Once my choice was made a simple two stage payment process followed using my credit card and I received an e-mail confirming both nights stay at the hotel with the advice that my credit card would not be debited prior to my stay and that I would not be charged provided I cancelled at least 24 hours before my arrival date. Nice and easy to arrange and absolutely hassle free.

The great thing about Campaniles are that they are located close to the major roads and for those not familiar with them think of a cross between a Travelodge and the American Motel style of hotels with a small restaurant included. One of the important factors is the security of your car particularly as with a camping style holiday that we were on we had a car and roof box full of stuff and I certainly did not want to have to unload the car for the night. As well as being able to park your car close to your room the parking area is surrounded by a high fence and the gates are locked overnight as well as their being someone on reception with a view of the front parking area. This is quite important as the hotel itself is located in a commercial area rather than residential and there is very little vehicle or foot traffic to be seen once you leave the main road.

The hotel is easy to locate and as you exit through the toll booth you can see the campanile sign and it is only three roundabouts away. The hotel is in an L shape with the main accommodation block a three tier rectangle with a single level restaurant and reception area at right angles to it. Certainly the emphasis throughout is on function rather than design and it will not win any architecture awards but then this is not somewhere you would spend more than a couple of nights rather it is for the overnight traveller who wants comfort and low prices rather than lavish luxury.

We arrived at just before three o’clock however our room was not ready and despite being assured that our room would be the next one to be cleaned and prepared it clearly was not as after going shopping for an hour to get supplies it still was not ready on our return. A quick word with reception and fifteen minutes later it was ready for us.

The rooms are pretty basic however they were not cramp, ours had two single beds and a small pull out bed to make it triple occupancy, there was plenty of storage space both in the form of a wardrobe and drawer space and the room had a TV and coffee making facilities although the cups were cheap disposable plastic ones and the coffee instantly forgettable. The most impressive facility was the bathroom which was large and the hot water was plentiful whether you were having a bath or shower. It was also very clean as well throughout the room and the toiletries were well stocked.

The room was quiet at night, set far enough back from the room to mean you did not hear anything and there are no loud bars near by at all, plus given most of the other residents are like you planning an early departure we had a nice quiet nights sleep. This is further helped by the fact that each room has a double entry door system which provides a bit more sound proofing for the room.

The one area I was slightly disappointed with during our say was the restaurant. The food was ok it was just that it was not as good as when we had stayed at the Campanile in Senlis the previous year. The choice of main courses was pretty good and both meals I had were filling if not spectacular however one o the things Campanile tend to offer is a buffet both of cold starters including prawns, meats and various salads and desserts and I felt that at this one the range of choices was rather limited and nothing looked that appetising, usually this represents good value for money but we avoided it on this occasion. I also felt that the breakfast buffet was similarly rather limited, there was not the choice of meats and cheeses that you usually get however they did have a plentiful supply of croissants they tasted rather like they had been prepared the night before and were not very good. The room rate does not include
breakfast and at 7,20 euro it is not bad value but the quality could be a bit better. For the main meals there are a number of combination deals and a dish of the day, a two course combination was about 14,90 euro and there was a children menu as well. The food was overall quite well cooked and tasty it was just the two buffet options which let them down. Service was quick and friendly particularly if you make the effort to talk in French however there were a couple of staff able to speak English for the more complicated requests.

Certainly I would have no problem recommending this hotel I you need a cheap overnight stop over, it has a good location, the rooms are clean with spacious bathrooms and it represents good value for money. Our room rate was 63 euro per night for triple occupancy and including evening meals and breakfast for three the total bill came to just under 140 euro.

For more details check out http://webbooking.louvre-hotels.fr/book/

Thanks for reading and rating my review.

Summary: Good travel hotel ideally located.