For a Sure Thing,
Choose Chain Hotels
As for the non-traditional chain hotels, of which there are quite a few, each chain will have the same type of room in all of it's hotels.
For example, if you stay in a Hotel Campanile in Rouen, your room at a Hotel Campanile in Brest will be identical to the point of scariness. You might wake up and not remember exactly where you are geographically. But you'll know you're in a Hotel Campanile somewhere. Some people find that very comforting, others not so much.
To each his own regarding personal preferences.
Anyway, when choosing from the different chains, the star system really comes into play.
One star: bathroom down the hall, sometimes no TV! Two stars, minimal facilities, often a strange minute bathroom situation where the shower has no curtain and the entire room gets soaked, meaning, leave your stuff outside it on the bed or it too will be soaked. Been there, done that, regretted wearing a wet sweater all day long.
Three stars, smaller version of an American hotel room.
Four stars, close to an American room still just one bed, although larger in size than a standard double bed, cable TV, nice bathroom and usually a pretty nice breakfast buffet.
There are no chain 5 stars. (Why would there be? 5 stars are dealt with under luxury hotels.)
The chain hotels have grown like weeds around all of the airports, shopping malls and industrial zones in France.
The airport ones are practical for your early morning flight out, but otherwise these hotels are most often frequented by business men or traveling salespeople who have to stay overnight for their work. They're functional and completely devoid of any sort of charm.
Stay away if you can.
You've come to France for a reason, I doubt that it included enjoying a cardboard artwork decorated room located next to a mall, or surrounding yourself at breakfast with grouchy, newspaper-reading suits.
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