Loire à Vélo - bed for the night

A few notes on the various types and styles of accommodation I encountered during my week cycling along the Loire River. Due to time constraints, and the fact that it was still a relatively busy time of year, I pre-booked every night. This has the big advantage that you are sure that you will have a bed for the night (and so I did not need to pack a tent or sleeping bag). But it also means you lose the flexibility to travel on a whim, diverting or delaying based on what you discover along the way.

Day 1: Bréhemont. Booked via Airbnb, 28 euros. A room in an old house that is part of a collection of farm buildings in a small village along the Loire. The hosts were a relaxed and easygoing couple who'd done their share of travelling. Parked in and around the farm were a campervan, a couple of motorbikes, several bicycles, and a kayak. The house had been restored by the host and was quirky with lots of random furniture and interesting home-built fittings and fixture such as the (frosted) glass wall in the shower leading in to the living room. Clearly not a successful feature, since a curtain had been placed over the window (otherwise you would probably have a nice "picture window" blurry view of whoever was taking a shower at the time. The bathroom was shared and the kitchen made freely available to guests. Not at all commercial, just a room in their house which they let out, which is what Airbnb should be all about. 

Breakfast laid out for me in the morning

Day 2: Les Rosiers-sur-Loire. Booked via Airbnb, 26 euros. Another room in someone's house, not at all commercial. The host was a widow living in the home she had shared with her husband for many many years until he unexpectedly died while on a trip to the UK. Now she's letting a room as a way to meet people and have some distraction. A really nice experience, feeling more like being invited into her house as a guest than as a customer. In the morning there was a surprisingly complete and carefully presented breakfast waiting for me; a very nice touch. The bathroom was upstairs with the bedroom and for the sole use of the guest.

Day 3: Montjean-Sur-Loire. Chambre d’Hôte, 50 euros. A commercial establishment, although on a reasonably small scale and run alone by a woman who has tried her hand at many things. She had two children in the house as well, which was their home.  The whole place had little touches of her everywhere and she was clearly passionate about what she was doing. Everything done by hand: from the decorations to the jams for breakfast. Early days for her, having just started. I stayed here because there were no Airbnb-style options in this area, and I did not want to stay in an anonymous hotel. A good choice.

One-star experience in Nantes

Day 4: Nantes. Hotel, 50 euros. A one star hotel in the main part of town. Tiny room and even tinier bathroom. Toilet was placed so you couldn't even sit straight on it, there's not enough room for your knees! You wonder how people can build stuff like that. Room looked into the courtyard space, a fairly standard arrangement in this style of city apartment. Advertised as "bike friendly" to attract the Loire à Vélo customers, the bike storage was in fact a store room reached by pushing the bike through the main front door, around some tight corridors and up and then down several stairs. Perfectly serviceable, but totally without any charm or other appeal. A bed for the night and not much more. Very well located right in the middle of Nantes, walking distance to some great restaurants and with a goor boulangerie right next door that also served coffee, and so was perfect fro breakfast. I stayed here because I wanted a central location, was too cheap to go to an expensive hotel, and the Airbnb options tended to be apartments with little or no (obvious) facilities for storing the bike.

Day 5: Chalonnes. Booked via Airbnb, 25 euros. A room in a large monopoly house in a lotissement (subdivision) on the hill above the old town. Artistic and musical couple, with three young kids. They made me feel welcome and were very relaxed and easygoing; I let myself out of the house in the morning. Clothes everywhere; spoiling out of the washing machine, hanging over the banisters to dry, in great piles on the couch waiting to be folded. Paintings (very good) on all the walls, done by the mother. Bathroom was shared with the children. Non-commercial and an interesting experience with a little glimpse of modern French family life.

Day 6: Saumur. Booked via Airbnb, 43 euros. A large 1970's house overlooking a golf course. The owners are recently retired dentists, and she is setting up for guests a few of the bedrooms once used by the children. Quality fittings and furnishings and an overall upmarket feel, matched by the price compared to other Airbnb offerings. Each room had its own little bathroom. No offer of breakfast, although I had a coffee and a chat with the host in the morning.

Day 7: Langeais. Chambre d’Hôtes. 65 euros. The most expensive night of the trip. A really lovely chambre d’hôtes run by a gay couple. The rooms are at the back of a fascinating shop selling all sorts of bric-a-brac and reproduction antiques; the type that makes you wonder how they can ever make any money. It's a shop full of all sorts of antiques and curiosities. The rooms are lovingly decorated and there a really comfortable feel to the place. Right next to the château and the best restaurant in town. In the morning there was an enormous breakfast feast of almost exclusively home-made produce. Very charming and welcoming host who clearly loved what he was doing. A nice place to stay for  my last night, and a good address for the future.

Breakfast feast in Langeais