Ibis Styles Chalon sur Saone

The rooms we booked were clean and ready for us, and we slept reasonably well at the midpoint of our journey. But this visit felt like a big drop from the hotel I’d previously liked, and I haven’t booked it for the return trip. At the high seasonal price, I can’t recommend it. The main problem was breakfast. It wasn’t worth paying for: there was very little choice, no hot or cooked food, just bread and toast with jam and butter. There was no fresh pastry either. The tea and coffee came from a self-service machine, so you can imagine the queue at 8 on a Sunday morning. The food was easy to contaminate with nuts and seeds, and our son, who has a nut allergy, reacted within seconds of eating plain toast. Parking was also full when we arrived late. Several guests had taken more than one space, including some towing guests who took eight spaces each. There should be protection against that.

We’d seen plenty of negative reviews, but as a family of four we were satisfied with our stay. The beds were fine, and the place was quite okay overall. Parking was available and the location worked for us. Breakfast wasn’t bad, and there are some good, inexpensive restaurants within a 10-minute trip. Booking on the hotel’s own website saved us 25%.

The rooms were lovely, and our family room had a separate bedroom for the children. The gym was small but fine for one night. There were no tea or coffee supplies in the room, which was a shame. We couldn’t use the pool because it only opens from 10:00 to 20:00. An earlier opening time would have helped. Breakfast was the biggest letdown. There wasn’t much choice, and my children mostly wanted eggs. Some were labelled as cooked hard-boiled eggs, but they were raw. You could cook your own, though the water bath was too cool to do it even after 10 minutes. I only noticed the eggs were out of date after trying to cook them. Their DCR, or recommended consumption date, was 28/08, and we stayed on 31/08. I raised it with staff, but they told me I was wrong and that the date was when they were produced. That would mean some eggs were produced in the future, as a couple had a DCR of 03/09. They didn’t take the safety concern seriously. I just hope my son doesn’t get sick after eating an out-of-date, very softly boiled egg.

The hotel is close to the main road but stayed quiet. Parking and breakfast were definite pluses.