B&B HOTEL Orange

The one real plus is how close it is to the highway. We arrived at 12:30 a.m., exhausted and just needing a room. There’s no desk service, only kiosk check-in. After I’d changed and got into bed, we switched on the air conditioning and noticed an odor that kept me awake all night. There was mold on the toilet walls, too, and the bed was very hard.

We were traveling with our two dogs, so the hotel arranged a ground-floor room when we asked. Although we arrived late and had to check in electronically, the system worked perfectly. The room was spotless, and the staff were very friendly. Breakfast the next morning was simple but good, with plenty to choose from. I’m not keen on juice from a machine, though, and some charcuterie would have been nice. Friends had recommended this as an overnight stop on the way to Spain. We’d stay here again and recommend it.

A straightforward modern hotel just off the motorway, with plenty of parking. The room was spacious, very clean, and had a good bed. The air conditioning worked excellently on a very hot day. Restaurants and the antique theatre are about a 15-minute walk away.

For an overnight hotel with 60 rooms, the prices are amazingly reasonable, especially given the daily challenge of organizing all that laundry. We had two rooms, a double and a triple for our daughter and her two children, and both were immaculate and comfortable. Breakfast was as good as at any of the upmarket motorway chain hotels. The receptionist, who also seemed to manage the place and handle breakfast, was welcoming and pointed us toward the old town, just a 10-minute walk away. The cleaning staff kept out of sight but were clearly ready to get started as soon as guests left. If there had been a pool, we might have stayed three or four days to explore Orange and its summer festivals. Maybe next year!