hmm, every French road warrior has had to stay in Ibis hotels: a step up from roadside motels, a (big) step down from the *** Mercure chain (itself a poor value).

Do yourself a favor and research non-chain hotels. Every Ibis I have been to has been depressing: a prefab concrete building with cheap furniture and thin carpeting, the qualitative equivalent of a new, low rent French apartment.

I think of it as the French equivalent of a Japanese business hotel, if you are familiar with them.