Hotel De France - Angers, France     

$121 per night with taxes. I remember not being too impressed with this hotel. We had stayed in some nicer places the prior nights so it was a little bit of a let down. It was our first real experience with how small french rooms could be. It was easy to find with our rental car and there was parking at the railroad station across the street since the hotel's lot was full. Everything we wanted to see in the city was within walking distance including the great Chateau which was the most amazing medieval of the places we saw on this trip. It is a MUST for anyone coming to this city for the first time.

I had to laugh when I came into Angers because I would have been lost had the hotel not been across from the train station/gare. So right away, I give points for being easy to find by either auto or train. We were greeted very warmly by the staff and as we had booked through expedia, they didn't need to imprint my credit card. Checking in was very smooth. The hotel lobby was small, but immediately outside on either side of the hotel is a restaurant and brasserie (and a very nice patissarie palace). When we got to our room, I had my second laugh. Our room was located in the interior and was very quiet; however, there was not a court yard to look at. Instead, just a bunch of ugly rooftops. The room itself felt a little like a dorm. It had high ceilings and large walls with only a small print stuck in the middle. The designer gets an "F" as it felt a little sparse. The bed was a little saggy, but decent overall. The room was very clean and the bathroom was large -- a real plus for Americans. Our friends had an exterior room and it was very well decorated. I was kind of surprised about the difference in rooms. As the gare/train station is far enough away, and the rooms are well insulated, ask for an exterior or gare-facing room. Really, the design was the only bad thing about the room (and maybe the slightly saggy bed). Otherwise, this is a great stopping space. Also, the hotel had reserved parking for those traveling by car for about 7 Euro a night. I really liked the staff. They made it a very pleasant stay. I give the place 3.5 stars out of five, but leaning towards four. If I was in the other room, I would have easily given a four.