We've driven down to the Alps with our bikes several times over the past couple of years and we usually break the journey by staying in a French stopover hotel near the motorway.
I'm always paranoid about leaving the bikes on the car roof so I 'smuggle' them into the room, although the receptionists never seem bothered.
This year I was struck by the number of high value bikes just left overnight in bike racks - loads of 'em, mostly on Dutch/French cars but some Brits too. I noticed a new Spesh full sus, lots of Cubes/Ghosts/Lapierres on the foreign cars plus some expensive looking road bikes.
Got 2 trips planned for next year and just wondered what others do?
Anyone ever been stopped from taking their bikes into a hotel room?
I always take mine into hotel rooms when away racing etc, never had any bother but always make sure its spotless clean
I would not leave a bike on a rack outside a hotel overnight. no way.
never had a problem with taking a bike up to a room - might be different it you were staying at the Savoy...
some of the French motels have locking gates to the car parks which provides some security - we had this last year so chose to leave the bikes in the van rather than unpack and repack which would have taken hours.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who carts them up to the room - got some very strange looks from a couple of Dutch families walking through the hotel lobby with a Giant Trance on my shoulder last week!
We smuggled mountain bikes into a mercure (in the uk) for two nights the other week, no-one looked bothered. A ground floor room helped. Taking the road bikes to France over the bank holiday so will be trying similar - fingers crossed!
The fella in the Ibis on the way south this year offered me a spare empty room for my two bikes FOC. Can't say fairer than that, room itself was only 49E.
Usually ask at reception for storage and then padlock them all together
Never gave it a moments thought this summer. If you can remove the £7K of road bikes from my roofrack, then you are well-prepared indeed! They are already pretty high up (it's a SUV).
Locked as follows: 3x Thule 591. Kryptonite heavy duty Cable lock, Kryptonite double ended cable lock, Squire U-lock, Generic heavy-duty padlock with Oxford Coil and a cheap coil combination lock for wheel to frame. Each bike is secured with a minimum of three locks. My wife said it was easy to spot the expensive bike (U lock through chainstays).
For MTBs travelling to Wales, I removed the seatposts.
I don't bother smuggling my bike in, they're usually OK about a bike in the room. I remember arriving at one hotel and when I mentioned that I had a bike with me the receptionist imediately changed the room fro one on the first floor to the ground floor so I didn't have to carry it up the stairs!!
Took them into our room in 1 hotel and the other one we put them in the owners garage with our lok on them 🙂
Just take your bike in.
C'est normale.
As long as it's not dripping with shit.
Get a van (Berlingo) so you can keep the bikes inside, works for me. 😉
Always take bikes into the rooms, last trip we had 5 bikes in a triple room. Premiere Classe are good because of the external access to all rooms, no reception to get through.
might be different it you were staying at the Savoy..
At the Savoy they carry it to the room for you!
French are very relaxed about that sort of thing. My Guzzi, at their suggestion, went in to the hotel kitchen for the night once.
At the F1 there is no reception, just a computer.
Staying with my brother in Liverpool I took my motorbike into his kitchen for the night.
The only cheap European stopover hotel I know of is F1.
What other hotels are there ?
We always find a B&B close to the motorway. Always found ones in little villages, with private parking. Usually nicer surroundings and better breakfast too.
We tend to stay at an etap just outside calais.... its about 40E and sleeps 3. Last year we also managed to get 3 bikes in the room sans wheels.
I cannot understand why anyone would leave their bikes on the roof overnight. Even if they are securely locked - some scally trying to steal them would potentially cause hundreds of pounds worth of damage to the bike and car.
I've got a photo somewhere of mother's Matchless, dad's BMW R12 and a friends Panhead Harley all parked up in the bar of the hotel we were staying. The French are into bikes!