Residhome Apart Hotel Berges De La Loire Nantes

I selected this hotel because the price was great and it had air conditioning. I didn't realize when I booked that it actually was a residence style hotel, with a kitchen, dishes, refrigerator, etc. Condition was new or nearly new and my room overlooked the river. I often rent apartments for my Euro-visits, so this was perfect and not nearly the hassle. Plus, they have a laundry room. Now, if you don't like to walk, probably not the best location. It's about 5-10 min. walk to the train station, and then of course, Centre de Ville (5-10 min. walk further) is a downtown oriented toward pedestrians and walking. (But OTOH, the airport tram stops in front of the train station and is only Euro 7.50 to Nantes Atlantique airport. The same taxi ride is about Euro 42.00) The air conditioning turned out to be comedy -- whenever I turned it on, the temperature went up until I gave up and turned it off. Plus, when you open the window, the system goes off, so you can't run the fan to bring in the river breeze. But nevertheless, I like the price & amenities so much that I will definitely stay there again on my next trip. (I was there first week of September, so hot & humid, 85 deg. F and 80% humidity.) There is a very chic and popular restaurant in the building -- something of a surprise, because it's not the sort of place you would find by walking past. The parking lot fills up with locals at lunch and dinner. The hotel is actually part of a football (soccer) complex, but I never figured out what team plays there. Hotel has wifi, but seemingly would only allow one user for the room at a time. All of Centre de Ville and the main transportation trams are well within convenient walking distance. Greek fast food even closer, "Paul's" sandwich stand in the train station. The closest market I tracked down was the Lidl, and that is a 1/2 hr. trek along the river each direction, but they have the best dark chocolate bars and fantastic wine for Euro 1.80 per bottle. Nantes is a very lively city with lots of parks, open space and cultural events.

Traveler Barry wrote on September 15, 2012