Ibis Styles Valenciennes Petite Forêt

If you read my other reviews, you can see that I'm not exactly the person who books the cheapest simplest hotel around. However, when visiting a factory in the North of France for work there wasn't much choice in luxury hotels. Therefore "Ibis Style" seemed to be the best option. And it exceeded expectations! This starts with the location. If you arrive by car, don't worry about parking. Ibis is located on a lot with big shops and restaurants, all with their own spacious parking. Even if there's no parking at Ibis, there's lots of parking around. Ibis itself has several parking spots with an electric charger, which I used to charge my electric car. Warning: remove your cable after charging, as French chargers tend to charge by the hour rather than by kilowatt. Although I greeted the desk clerk in French, he quickly decided that my accent was off and offered to continue in English. This is unusual, because still in France only French is spoken. My room #400 was surprisingly spacious. It was also very clean, without any traces of wear and tear. Ibis either takes very good care of the rooms, or this hotel is brand new. There are plenty of outlets, including USB-A and USB-C chargers. During my stay it was quiet, I heard no noise from other rooms or from the outside. Of course, it may have been a quiet day with empty rooms around me. Still, this is a simple hotel. Don't expect a safe, mini frig, robe or slippers in the room. What I did expect were vegan options and none are available. At breakfast there's no soy or oat milk. For dinner or lunch there are no vegan options on the menu at all (hint: next door train shaped "Crocodile" restaurant has exactly one vegan option, which was very tasty). Keeping these minor flaws in mind, the Ibis Styles hotel far exceeded my expectations, especially considering the low price.