Ardennes - Where to stay

[Doc]

Excellent. Going back in May for another look around.
Ardennes region so we are open to suggestions for somewhere to stay please. Or we will do what we did last time and just find a place.

 

[Jockser]

Or we will do what we did last time and just find a place.

Always the best way I find, leaves you flexible to explore side roads & little towns that you come across
But, if you want guidance there's an 'accommodation' link hidden away down the bottom of the page which gives you every conceivable option

 

[Wapping]

The Ardennes (in essence, Wallonia) is a huge area. It’s a long way from say Bouillon in the bottom left to, say, Spa in the top right, to say Chimay right on the left hand middle’ish edge, right across to the German border at say, St Vith. 11,200 sq km to be exact, which is about 4,300 square miles. By happy coincidence, that is just about the same area as Yorkshire.

Do you want just one hotel that you plan on using a single base or two, or three or more? If you plan on just one, find one on or near a T-junction or crossroads, if possible. Why? Because that gives you flexibility of manoeuvre thereafter. It explains why Bastogne was so strategically important in the Battle of the Bulge.

The simplest advice is, as always, to look at a map, to work out where you’ll maybe be. Then just Google: ‘Hotel in….. insert name of place’. Then just surf about to find one that suits you. I did just that this morning, booking a hotel in the very rural west of France for one night in the middle of June. The method I use, is one that has proved reliable:

A. I ask Booking.com to throw up some ideas, filtering those that have free cancellation.

B. I find one that looks OK and reserve it, knowing I can cancel for free. If nothing else, I now have a bed.

C. I then surf around a bit more, maybe using other other websites to see if I can find anything better.

D. If I can’t, I stick with the hotel I have booked.

E. If I can find something that suits me better, I cancel my original booking and make a new booking at the better hotel.

PS Remember that just because a hotel is listed as having no rooms available on, say, Booking.com it doesn’t always mean the hotel is full. It simply might mean that the hotel only made a few rooms available on Booking.com. Similarly, if I have reserved the last room available and then cancel my reservation, that room might then pop-up as free.

PPS For those that say ‘wing it, mate’, a lot of the hotels in the rural rural part of France I was looking are shut on a Monday; the very day I need one. Or their restaurant is shut.

 

[Arsey]

I would recommend the Hotel de la Poste in Bouillon complete with #bikermatesecurebutterinthefridge parking but I’m not sure it would be fair on them when the stunted Hells Angels turn up

 

[ChasMill]

PS Remember that just because a hotel is listed as having no rooms available on, say, Booking.com it doesn’t always mean the hotel is full.

It is also worth contacting the hotel direct, as the commission they pay to Booking.com (other web sites available) is eye-watering, hence they only earmark a few rooms to them. You may get a better rate going direct.

Example: I run a track day at Goodwood every year and stay in the Goodwood Hotel. The room rate on Booking.com was extortionate and showing no available rooms for the date I want. Go direct to the hotel, plenty of availability at 50% of the rate Booking.com advertised.

 

[Wapping]

Indeed so.

 

[squibb34]

Our preferred locations tend to be the south side: -

Bouillon - we prefer the Hotel Panorama; not cheap, but their 4 course dinner is excellent (pre-book).
The Hotel de la Poste is well placed, but was infested with mice when we last stayed; they have a huge, slightly rustic garage down on the quay.

Givet/Dinant - mainly Accor budget options. Plenty to do/see.

La Roche - we like the Hotel La Claire Fontaine, just outside town.
We once turned up cold, wet & bedraggled to an exceptional welcome, a room upgrade & help drying our gear, followed by a memorable meal/wine.

There are countless great rides around the Ardennes, just make sure your wet gear is up to snuff.

 

[Doc]

I would recommend the Hotel de la Poste in Bouillon complete with #bikermatesecurebutterinthefridge parking but I’m not sure it would be fair on them when the stunted Hells Angels turn up

Stayed over the road last time. Always send Jayne in first as she is respectable.
http://www.aubergedalsace.be/fr

And thanks lads.
Map and T-junction or crossroads sounds good to me.

 

[Arsey]

I think the garage may have changed a tad since the 80s at the Hotel de la Poste.
It’s a huge garage with a modern eleccy door.

 

[squibb34]

I think the garage may have changed a tad since the 80s at the Hotel de la Poste.
It’s a huge garage with a modern eleccy door.

Ha ha, fair play - it was about 8 years ago, the town was busy with a cycle race event on the quay, so the garage was difficult to access due to officious marshals & pretty full. Yes, an electric door & the front section looks OK, but once inside, looking for a safe corner for the bikes at the back when all the prime spots were taken, it was all a tad rustic to put it politely. Maybe it has been upgraded.

 

[wessie]

I have booked a few of us into a hotel in Dinant in early May. Prices are substantially higher in Belgium compared to other nights where we are staying in France and especially Germany.

I have only booked the Ibis FFS! It is in a nice location on the riverbank and specifying a river view adds quite a premium. £120 a night inc breakfast. In the Logis Hotel Windsor in Dieppe we are paying the same rate but the price includes dinner.

Anyway, if your group are cheapskates, maybe look at a hotel just over the border in France, Lux or Germany!

 

[Arsey]

I have booked a few of us into a hotel in Dinant in early May. Prices are substantially higher in Belgium compared to other nights where we are staying in France and especially Germany.

I have only booked the Ibis FFS! It is in a nice location on the riverbank and specifying a river view adds quite a premium. £120 a night inc breakfast. In the Logis Hotel Windsor in Dieppe we are paying the same rate but the price includes dinner.

Anyway, if your group are cheapskates, maybe look at a hotel just over the border in France, Lux or Germany!

I stayed there the week after it opened in around 2005.
Great location and garage . One of the few Ibis’s I’d use again

 

[Mucky Helmet]

I can recommend Apartment Jules & Jim in Dinant, stayed there a few times. Good size apartments, good location and they have a garage which I've always been able to put my bike in.

As mentioned, Dinant can make a convenient base and you can visit the Leffe museum.

Gratuitous photo of my bike in Dinant

 

[Arsey]

Ditto

 

[wessie]

As mentioned, Dinant can make a convenient base and you can visit the Leffe museum.

The Leffe Museum is seasonal. Their 2022 season starts on Sat 8 May.

We are there on the 5th & 6th...fuckers

 

[adm1]

Ditto

Yep. Been there a few times and it is rather nice. The restaurant/cafe to the left of the church is pretty decent. You can park bikes below it on the riverside, have a beer and watch the river flow.

 

[DC]

We stayed in the medieval village of Rockroi, it was a bit out of the way, just two bars . Lovely french style hotel. Enjoyed it. Good base to travel out of to explore the area.if you don’t stay here it’s worth a visit

 

[wessie]

We stayed in the medieval village of Rockroi, it was a bit out of the way, just two bars . Lovely french style hotel. Enjoyed it. Good base to travel out of to explore the area.if you don’t stay here it’s worth a visit

No k - Rocroi - looks a nice village, just in France

 

[Doc]

We stayed in the medieval village of Rockroi, it was a bit out of the way, just two bars . Lovely french style hotel. Enjoyed it. Good base to travel out of to explore the area.if you don’t stay here it’s worth a visit

Will have a look at that today thanks.
We found Bouillon as a base was a bit lacking on places to eat out.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

I’d just use Booking.com and look for anywhere on the River Meuse. If the pictures look ok and the reviews aren’t bad then go for it.

If secure parking is essential then maybe motorbike holidays aren’t for you? Just put a disc lock on or chain it to a lamppost and away you go