hotelF1 Avranches Baie du Mont Saint Michel

The bed was clean and really comfortable, breakfast had a decent self-serve selection, and the Wi-Fi worked well. For someone on a budget who just needs those basics, it could be a good fit. It wasn't for me, though, since at my age I need a few more comforts, especially easy bathroom access during the night. I chose it because it was very cheap and about an hour or so from the Caen ferry port. The location was handy, about a kilometre off the main road. I booked in a rush and didn't read the details properly, so the shared bathroom was my own mistake. The listing had all the information. The room itself was a good size and had a corner basin, but no bathroom. There was no reception open at midnight, just a kiosk for payment and check-in. It didn't work at first and had to reboot. Then it printed our room number and code in tiny writing. On the way upstairs we had to sidestep vomit on the stairs, which was a pretty bad first impression. There were no towels in the room, so I went to the ibis next door as the listing directed. Towels were sold in a vending machine, something else I'd missed in the details. We couldn't find it at first, then my husband spotted the little packets beside the snacks. I wasn't sure they'd dry me properly, so luckily I'd brought our own towels from the car. The shower and toilet weren't inviting. There were urine stains on the wall and the floor was wet with nowhere dry to stand. I wasn't confident about the cleanliness, so I showered with my socks on. Each nighttime toilet trip meant getting fully dressed and walking down the corridor, then remembering the six-digit code to get back in. I struggle to remember my own age, and my husband had to bring his glasses to read the code. We don't usually eat hotel breakfast, but thought it would make an early start easier. I didn't think it was good value for me because so much of it was sugary, which I can't eat. There was a decent help-yourself spread of hot drinks, bread, jam, cereal, and cake, though nobody was serving and we didn't see any staff around.

We were there for one night. There wasn't any soap for washing our hands, and the sanitizer dispensers were empty. Breakfast cost 5 euros for juice, bread, and cereal, which didn't feel worth the price. I also think there may be bed bugs.

We stayed two nights. The rooms were quiet, the bedding was clean, and there wasn't a smell. It's cheap and cheerful, and mostly nice and clean, though the shared toilets could really use a scrub.

Don't go there. It was dirty, and nobody was at reception. There were no towels, so I had to force a door to get one. The people around seemed weird. A bad place to take kids.