hotel recommendation - france/germany or switzerland

[jonnyboy]

Guys

As I am now much older, our 1000 mile trip to Italy needs breaking up in the middle. We have 3 kids (17 13 and 9 so need a big room/two interconnects and our requirement is safe car park, safe hotel, clean, somewhere to eat and a decent breakfast, not a million miles off the motorways.

Our route is Norfolk Line Dunkirk down through Luxembourg to Metz, cross the border at Strasbourg. Sometimes we go through Germany to Weil am Rhein, other times we stay in France to Colmar crossing into Switzerland near Basel. Down through the Gotthard tunnel and crossing into Italy at Coldrerio/Como Chiasso.

Where we have been staying the last 2/3 years is the Postillon at Beckenreid, right off the motorway, nice outlook but getting dated and getting very expensive.

In an ideal world an alternative would be the half-way point so about 450/500 miles from Dunkirk and therefore vice versa, Postillon is a touch too close to our Italian destination. ore than happy to modify route slightly and tailor the ferry crossings to suit the halfway point, or even use two different hotels this year on the outward and return.

 

[st13phil]

Just had a few days at the Hotel Au Reisling in Zellenberg. It's a family-run hotel and the food was pretty good. Safe car park and a garage too (we were on motorcycles so used that). Not sure if they have interconnecting rooms but they do have triple and four bed rooms and a phone call will sort that out.

Colmar itself is a nice place to stay. I've used Le Rapp a couple of times as it's so well situated. You'd need to book a place in their garage if you don't want to park on the street or in the public carpark (warning: access to the garage is quite tight) and according to their website they have a suite that sleeps 5. The hotel itself is fine but the best bit is that it's within 10mins walk of Petite Venice and loads of restaurants.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Hotel La Palette in Wettolsheim very close to Colmar is one I always use when visiting Alsace (about 8 times in 20 years). Reasonable, good parking, quiet, decent restaurant and just off the Colmar bypass.

 

[st13phil]

Thanks Charles, that's another one added to my bookmarks

 

[gaz_l]

We've just come back from a tour of Europe and stayed a couple of nights in the area - one out, one back. We stopped at the Novotel in Freiburg on the way down - standard chain hotel, €100 for a double room, secure underground parking at around €14 IIRC. On the way back we stopped at Mulhouse in a hotel called the Kyriad, another chain (think Mercure rather than Novotel), slightly cheaper at around €70, it did the job. Underground parking again but in a public car park, (€9 ish overnight). Can't speak for the breakfasts in either of them as we are not breakfast people, did make me laugh in Freiburg though as we had an evening meal in a restaurant called the Legere (or something similar) close to the university, a bit of a studenty type place (and therefore cheap beer - we're not mugs!). They had a special "Legere" breakfast for €1.23, which consisted of a cup of coffee and a fag..

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[jonnyboy]

All good so far chaps keep it up ! Thanks

 

[312 Sprinter]

If you go in that general direction and ever fancy doing it differently it is great fun to take the car train from Kandersteg to Goppenstein and then take the Simplon pass and descend past lake Maggiore.

At least I think it is fun because I really like the old Alpine passes

 

[jonnyboy]

car train? that sounds interesting......never heard of that before. Any more details?

 

[312 Sprinter]

car train? that sounds interesting......never heard of that before. Any more details?

BLS Lötschberg Car Transport - Kandersteg-Goppenstein: stress-free through the Alps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sea-zPoDaz8

There was a fairly crap film with Charles Bronson, (Love and Bulllets???) in which he drives a Peugeot 504 off that train....

 

[WDB124066]

I spent a few nights at http://www.victors.de/deutsch/hotels/hotel/index.php?standort=Saarbruecken-DFG

very nice hotel indeed. The park next door is a treasure, with two cafes, a lake and a cable car, the kids will love it, you'll never get out of there! First class rose gardens at the other end of the cable car too - the wife will be impressed I think.......

Food is very good indeed, they also have a buffet, so looking after the kids will be easier. This was the first place I’ve had the pleasure of having had a German clicking his heals at me. Very much a surprise for a Kiwi!!

I think there is secure parking under the Hotel too - but check first it may have been a staff carpark??

 

[WDB124066]

Double post.

 

[marty359]

car train? that sounds interesting......never heard of that before. Any more details?

If you like that sort of thing you could bypass all of France and Switzerland and get the car train from Hertogenbosch in Holland all the way to Livorno in Italy. I put the car on there a couple of years ago, it runs through the night so you wake up in the morning in Italy.

 

[jonnyboy]

If you like that sort of thing you could bypass all of France and Switzerland and get the car train from Hertogenbosch in Holland all the way to Livorno in Italy. I put the car on there a couple of years ago, it runs through the night so you wake up in the morning in Italy.

ooooo got a link please?

 

[marty359]

Welcome to Railsavers - Leading Motorail Specialists

 

[c955]

Waldhaus-am-see

I haven't looked to see whether this is en route for you, but I stayed at this hotel and thought it was fabulous. The view, the facilities and the staff were all brilliant. Typically Swiss in style and atmosphere, I visited out of season (October) and really wish I could have stayed longer.

The waiting staff weren't your typical teenagers looking for casual part time work either; the people I encountered appeared to be very experienced, knowledgeable and helpful.

Oh, did I mention the view from the lounge and restaurant that directly overlooks the lake? ;-)

 

[jonnyboy]

Guys thats all good and I have passed on to Signora Jonnyboy who is checking them out.

anything else?

 

[jonnyboy]

Thanks to all-Holiday Inn at Mulhouse was excellent value - 168 euros for a suite for 5, only paid for two adult breakfasts and 10 euros for underground parking, lot of construction around but it will be spot-on in a year or so
Have to say though that no matter how good the hotel was, our appartment (read home from home) is better

 

[DITTRICH]

I have done 1,200 miles in 24 hours by myself. With 2 drivers it ought to be a doddle expecially if partly done overnight. I can leave London at around 4pm and get to Poland by 9am next day and continue to Kaunas in Lithuania by 4pm - and this is with snooze breaks as I drive solo. I also drove from Prato, Italy back to London in under 24 hours via the Mont Blanc tunnel (I actually started in Sicily the day before). Just a thought.
Les

 

[jonnyboy]

Dittrich.
I've been doing this trip on average twice a year for the last twenty years, in all sorts of conditions, with varying amounts of drivers, normally with me doing the vast majority of driving. This time though as I have been stressed out I didn't want to feel exhausted when I arrived for a change therefore we opted to stay in a hotel.

The result was even after lousy traffic on both legs of the journey we arrived feeling reasonably fresh.

Just a thought......

 

[DITTRICH]

fair enough!