Non-Biker Friendly Hotels (lovely settings, quiet, great restaurant and serving something beyond steak and pizza)

Arsey

Arsey

I identify as a Donkey. My pronouns are He/Haw
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Someone needs to start a thread listing quiet hotels in a lovely setting that feature a great restaurant that doesn’t only serve steak and pizza .
Could call the thread ‘ Non-Biker Friendly Hotels’ 🤔
 
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Hotel Covadonga in Panes

hotelcovadonga.net

Hotel Covadonga / Restaurante / Casas Rurales de Para - Web Oficial - Hotel Covadonga Restaurante

Hotel Covadonga / Restaurante / Casas de Para . El Hotel Covadonga en Panes es la mejor entrada al entorno único de los Picos de Europa y la Ruta del cares
hotelcovadonga.net

Quiet, being in the town’s square

Great views and a few bars to visit in the square, if you want a bit of Spanish bar culture, before dinner

Good access to the coast/Canga and the whole Picos area or the Campoo areas

I preferred it to Potes & Fuenté De areas
 
So, now we have a thread , I’ll start .

Probably my favourite hotel on the world , in the Picos just up from Potes .

The sublime Hotel Del Oso

Amazing location , nice rooms , amazing food and lovely staff

IMG_4068.jpeg


It’s also cheap too. This year a room for solo occupancy was €77.
 
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Last one for now.

The amazing Le Marronnier in Rencurel in the Vercors.
Stunning location and very chilled.
It’s actually rather biker-friendly but mainly Dutch and Germans .
The owners are Belgian so proper beer on tap and you should go half-board as there’s fuck all else for miles.
It’s a set menu every night and whilst not a culinary delight, it’s certainly always pretty good.

IMG_4513.jpegIMG_4547.jpegIMG_4529.jpegIMG_9101.jpeg
 
There are of course hundreds of very nice hotels across the face of Europe and beyond.

One of my favourites is:

Wapping

Thread 'Wanne, near Trois-Ponts, Spa, Belgium - Logis Hôtel la Métairie'

Last November, I chanced across this hotel in a very small village near Trois-Ponts in the Belgian Ardennes. Thinking that it looked quite nice, I simply took a picture of it and made a note to give it a try at some later date. That later date was last weekend.

https://www.lametairie.be/

https://www.logishotels.com/en/hotel/logis-hotel-la-metairie-245018

I / we were not disappointed.

What made it good:

A. It’s run by a very nice, very friendly, lady, ably assisted by several younger staff.

B. The rooms are all well kept, clean, with decent enough wi-fi for emails and a...

That said, I haven’t been back to the hotel since the ownership changed, though their posts on Facebook look as if it’s still up to snuff.
 
There are two nice hotels in Quarre les Tombes at the top of the Morvan, one of which also owns a second hotel about five or so miles down the road.

This one, for some reason or another, is my favourite:

Wapping

Thread 'hotel du Nord, Quarré les Tombes, Morvan, France'

The Morvan is a popular enough destination, either in itself or for somewhere to pass through. The village of Quarré les Tombes, is situated conveniently right at the northern top end. It has a two hotels * (the other is good, too), a pub / bar, a mini-supermarket, an unmanned 24 hours petrol pump, a cash point machine, a post office, a chemist, a church, a large square to park your motorcycle on and a baker’s. In fact everything a confident, self-reliant bikermate might need.

The hotel will NOT appeal to:

A. Bods who won’t stay anywhere where all the staff do not speak fluent English...
 
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Arsey said:
Last one for now.

The amazing Le Marronnier in Rencurel in the Vercors.
Stunning location and very chilled.
It’s actually rather biker-friendly but mainly Dutch and Germans .
The owners are Belgian so proper beer on tap and you should go half-board as there’s fuck all else for miles.
It’s a set menu every night and whilst not a culinary delight, it’s certainly always pretty good.

View attachment 543703View attachment 543704View attachment 543705View attachment 543706
Click to expand...

That menu is exactly why I always pick up a ham and cheese baguette, some crisps and a soft drink whenever staying anywhere remote, whether here, at home or on Continental Europe.
No such nonsense served in The U.S.A. so I can arrive anywhere there and be sure of getting a decent cooked meal.

Edit: I will, however, happily add this place to the list if you're looking for a great hotel in stunning scenery with terrific food. :-

Leenane Hotel, OFFICIAL WEBSITE – Hotel overlooking Killary Harbour, County Galway

leenanehotel.com leenanehotel.com
 
Whilst I can appreciate the OP’s delight in winding up the ‘fritz ‘n ketchup’ team (it’s a regular theme) it has to be recognised that:

A. Not everyone is comfortable being presented with a menu they can’t read, sometimes with items they just can’t even consider as food.

B. Being talked to (or at) in something other than English, unsettles them.

C. Not being in a hotel with a lift or one without ‘safe’ parking, creating worries through the night.

D. Are perfectly happy with pizza, steak (look at the number of pictures of slabs of cow dished up on the forum, often the larger the better) and do not drink wine.

E. Don’t have the disposable income, that others enjoy.

F. Some, with larger parties (all wanting their own room) need a larger hotel and / or the hotel to be in a sizeable location, just to give members of their party a choice of where to go for a drink or to eat.

The great thing is that there is enough choice out there for everyone and plenty of advice (much of it pretty good) on these pages or on the wider web.
 
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Back on theme and within (reasonable) spitting distance of Calais:

Wapping

Post in thread 'Tell us you favourite hotels / camping spots, within 30 miles of Calais'

Ferme du Verte at Wierre-Effroy.

Why? A Logis hotel in the countryside, about 20 minutes walk to the nearest bar. Great food. Good parking. Not cheap, though.

https://www.fermeduvert.com/en/
  • Like

Again, I haven’t been back there since the ownership changed hands.

It’s in a former Napoleonic era farm, out in the countryside. The nearest bar (which used to be very basic) is a bit under a mile away but easily walkable.
 
Ex-Call Centre Chimp said:
That menu is exactly why I always pick up a ham and cheese baguette, some crisps and a soft drink whenever staying anywhere remote, whether here, at home or on Continental Europe.
No such nonsense served in The U.S.A. so I can arrive anywhere there and be sure of getting a decent cooked meal.

Edit: I will, however, happily add this place to the list if you're looking for a great hotel in stunning scenery with terrific food. :-

Leenane Hotel, OFFICIAL WEBSITE – Hotel overlooking Killary Harbour, County Galway

leenanehotel.com leenanehotel.com
Click to expand...
Yup. How dare they serve foreign muck !!!
Fuck knows how they survive without a burger or pizza every night 🤔
 
Arsey said:
Someone needs to start a thread listing quiet hotels in a lovely setting that feature a great restaurant that doesn’t only serve steak and pizza .
Could call the thread ‘ Non-Biker Friendly Hotels’ 🤔
Click to expand...
It is important to ensure that non of these hotels have secure bike parking. We once chose a hotel in the Picos at random. Not completely random, of course, as we were in the Picos at the time. We parked the GS out the front in the car parking area and fitted the disc lock. Every morning the bike was still there, exactly where I left it. No pound of butter in the fridge, no curtain pole easily to hand. We were reckless then. Nowadays I don't even park in my own garage unless there is butter in the fridge. There is also always coffee in the jar and Marmite in the cupboard too, but they might not be relevant. I am not prepared to risk it though.
 
Not in the absolute countryside, so it’ll lose a mark or two from those who can only sleep if close to their favourite ewe.

That aside, it’s a very good hotel:

www.logishotels.com

Logis Hôtel le Soleil d'Or

Located in the charming village of Montigny la Resle, the Logis Hôtel le Soleil d'Or is a haven of peace in a bucolic setting. Nestling in the heart of Burgundy, this establishment offers you a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, while still being within easy reach of...
www.logishotels.com www.logishotels.com

Again, not cheap on the menu front, but good quality overall, with nice staff.

What I have tended to do, is mix’n’match, one higher end hotel (such as this) followed by say, two cheaper ones. This averages out the overall cost considerably. Plus, one has to accept that France has become expensive.

Also, I fully recognise that, when in full time employment, I was lucky enough to stay in some very nice hotels - and eat in bloody good restaurants - at zero cost; indeed, in a sense, I was paid to stay and eat in them. But, even then, travelling on my own or with chums privately, it was far from gold plated each night. A part of the fun was finding somewhere new and, in a way, ‘risking it’. Once or twice I cocked-up but hey ho…. And yes, we’ve eaten pizza and burgers too, especially when you discover the restaurant is shut as it’s the evening of Saint Someone or Other. Really, what is the real ‘risking it’ amount to? Nothing much, in Western Europe and nobody dies.
 
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Wapping said:
Whilst I can appreciate the OP’s delight in winding up the ‘fritz ‘n ketchup’ team (it’s a regular theme) it has to be recognised that:

A. Not everyone is comfortable being presented with a menu they can’t read, sometimes with items they just can’t even consider as food.

B. Being talked to (or at) in something other than English, unsettles them.
Click to expand...
......and referencing above post then ´´Bod´´ might be as well to stay in good old Blighty...
Looking forward to hearing about hotels in UK that offer some good locations as well as reasonable prices. My issue is the price of some of the old places we used to stay at in UK are now north of GBP 150 per night.
I rarely pay more that that in Euros for lodging and food ...

But hey, each to his own......
 
Hotels that suit in the UK are (possibly) easier to find recommended on the French / German / Dutch or whatever forums and in their touring magazines. They look ‘outwards’, to embrace the UK and Ireland, as much as we look ‘outwards’ to embrace mainland Europe. Their route suggestions will most often recommend a hotel or two. Similarly, RiDE magazine (which has gone back to being very UK centric) might well recommend a hotel or two in the route details. That said, they - in common with many UK mag’s - often remain very secretive about this seemingly innocent detail *.

Or, just ask the question in one of UKGSer’s ‘Regional Information’ sub-sections or indeed in the Travel section itself. However, if one looks at the ‘Where can I stay in London?’ type posts on the forum, many seem to end up in a Travelodge, I guess because it’s easiest and one at least knows what one gets. Me? I’d probably try to stay in one of the pub hotels, from the likes of Fullers or Youngs.


* We see the same in some trip reports, here on the forum. “We stayed in a nice hotel”, leaving the reader wondering where and (very often) wondering if the establishment had a name.
 
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