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Tag: Ibis Styles

Nantes – ibis Styles Nantes Centre Place Graslin

There is no shortage of Accor hotel options in Nantes, which is fortunate as it means that the pricing is relatively favourable even during July. This particular hotel was centrally located and reasonably priced, although it appeared to attract rather more negative reviews than several nearby properties carrying the same corporate branding. This suggested either a hidden catastrophe or, more probably, rooms that were slightly smaller than some reviewers felt entitled to receive in the middle of a major French city.

I arrived an hour before the standard check-in time as I hadn’t had any sleep and needed a little nap before more city exploration. The helpful receptionist said that they couldn’t do an early check-in, but this was no obstacle to me, there were tables and free water and the receptionist said I was welcome to wait. I then discovered that there was no phone signal and I couldn’t access the wi-fi until I checked in, as I needed the room number.

Whilst debating whether I had the energy to get up and see if I could get that room number, the receptionist came over and asked for my name. Fortunately, I have stayed in enough Accor hotels to get free early check-in and she then said that she had checked with the cleaners and a room was available. To be fair, they probably didn’t want me cluttering up reception but, either way, my nap had moved considerably closer, making it a positive outcome for everyone involved.

The stairs to the room were entirely sub-optimal as they had all manner of stuff stored on the steps and it required some effort to get around it. I decided that I’d take the lift for the rest of my stay just to be on the safe side.

The room design was the oddest I’ve seen for some time and although it’s not evident from this photo, the shower is positioned just to the right of the photo facing straight towards the bed. That means that if the shower is turned on then there’s the risk of covering the bed, and the electrics, in a flood of water.

The security catch on the window was broken, which meant that I could open it fully and introduce some desperately needed air into the room. Given the temperature outside, this was welcome, although it did reinforce the impression that the hotel was not allowing excessive health and safety paperwork to inhibit its creative freedom. Between the obstructed staircase, unrestricted window and shower aimed towards the electrics, the building offered a pleasingly relaxed relationship with risk assessment.

The room itself was also small, which is something that seems to be behind many of the hotel’s poor reviews, and there was no desk of note, just a small circular table and chair. However, this was a keenly priced hotel in the middle of a city, so I can cope without having acres of space. I also liked the seating area near reception, so I could have moved there had I needed to.

I was surprised and delighted by the hotel’s beer offering for my welcome drink and the receptionist was enthused at showing me what they had. There was a range of mostly local beers and some national options, it was one of the best selections that I’ve had for some time in an Accor hotel and it was especially decent given that it was a relatively small hotel.

The breakfast was included in the room rate and there was plenty of space, although I did go down quite early on. When there’s a free breakfast, I don’t want to faff about.

This was some of the selection and that cheese was delicious and it took quite a hit. The ham was awful, although Accor hotels, especially at the cheaper end, rarely get that right.

I had a lot of bread and cheese, croissants and pastries, alongside fresh orange juice and coffees. This is the sort of breakfast of champions that is a positive start to the day, although I had to have a little post-breakfast rest so I might have overdone it. This is what happens when there is no responsible adult present to impose sensible limits on my access to bread and cheese. Continental breakfast freedom carries responsibilities, and I had plainly failed to exercise them.

There was quite a lot technically wrong with the hotel in terms of presentation, room design and its somewhat free-spirited approach to safety, but none of it particularly bothered me. The room was clean, the staff were friendly and there were no significant noise problems, either inside or outside. I had been allocated a room at the end of a corridor, which helped, as some rooms appeared to be positioned close enough to the noisy lift for guests to participate emotionally in every journey it made.

Overall, I rather liked the hotel. It was inexpensive, central and comfortable enough, the breakfast was excellent and the beer selection was far better than it had any need to be. I’d happily stay here again, but I can see that the lack of space in some rooms might not be ideal for some guests.

July 21, 2026
Burton upon Trent – Ibis Styles

Back to mid-January, when Richard and I decided that we needed a little adventure and we opted for Burton upon Trent and the Ibis Styles there.

The corridor arrangement is clever, as if someone stains it then it’s not really evident. I’m fairly confident that this was the actual reason for this design as I can’t see anyone picking this by choice.

Richard was very excited that the room he had booked came with a kitchenette. I was pleased that mine did too, but solely as I didn’t want him having a better room than me (I’m not petty). As an aside, I personally don’t like these kitchens in rooms, they’re a nightmare to clean properly for the staff and require substantial maintenance for something that many guests aren’t going to want. Keeping a microwave and every piece of cutlery and crockery clean isn’t an easy thing to do, I can’t really see why they want to burden themselves with this.

Someone rather unkindly used AI to put a bottle of wine in the fridge and pretended that it was a welcome gift. Actually, on that point, there was no welcome gift, but I won’t labour that matter. Anyway, Richard was stomping about the place as he didn’t get a gift of wine but luckily I was able to reassure him before the manager was called. It would be helpful for Richard’s stress levels if people didn’t do this, but at least I calmed the matter down before there was a diplomatic incident. It was a good job that I was there to be honest.

There was a modern looking bar area, all rather comfortable.

It’s quite a clever mix of retro and modern, although it hadn’t exactly inspired hundreds of people to come in.

I would have preferred a wider range of beers, but in fairness, they have Pedigree which is an important beer locally so at least they’ve made an effort to have a local option.

As for the hotel in general, it was all clean, welcoming and well maintained. Richard didn’t end up having an argument with the manager and there were no noise issues either internally or externally. It’s a relatively new hotel and it faces competition from an IHG hotel literally next door, but it all seemed well managed.

February 27, 2026
Ankara – Ibis Styles

Although I’ve completed my write-up of my trip to Turkey, Georgia and Armenia, there was quite a lot that I missed out and have meant to come back to. This is one of those posts, but the summary of the trip is at https://www.julianwhite.uk/turkey-georgia-and-armenia-final-thoughts/, with a link to all the blog posts that I wrote up telling the story of that little adventure.

We only had one night in Ankara, so whilst Jonathan opted for a basement room in a nearby hotel, I went for the Ibis Styles.

The rather nice lobby.

The beer selection from which I could choose my welcome drink.

The room, which was clean, cosy and warm. So I promptly opened the window to make it cold.

They made me a coffee during the check-in and there’s the welcome snack and bottled waters.

I went for the welcome beer of the Efes Malt, which was light, malty and really rather good.

The breakfast room in the morning, when I first realised that there was now quite a lot of snow outside.

The breakfast buffet.

Delicious and healthy.

The colourful corridor.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a warning of a fine for not returning the keycard.

Anyway, this was a really rather lovely hotel with friendly staff, fast wifi (this was important), a comfortable environment and clean rooms. The breakfast choice was extensive, the stay was reasonably priced and I’d stay here again.

February 10, 2026
Bucharest – Ibis Styles Bucharest Airport

I accept that this isn’t a perfect photo, but I had taken two flights and a rather packed bus from Bucharest Băneasa airport to get here. This is the Accor operated Ibis Styles hotel, which is where I was spending my final night of my near two week trip around various bits of Europe.

There was a very friendly welcome from the team member at reception and he mentioned about the free breakfast. When I said that I’d be leaving too early, he said that the hotel can arrange something in these circumstances, which was much appreciated. He also mentioned that they had upgraded my room and I very much liked this as well.

Very comfortable. The design felt both a bit 1980s and also modern, it had a homely feel that I liked. Ibis Styles are known for their slight quirkiness and they brand their hotels around a theme, with this one being air travel which feels appropriate.

My welcome drink of beer and also my welcome gift of fruit. I’ll be honest and say that I prefer chocolates, crisps, beer or random souvenirs, but a gift is a gift and was much appreciated. I also love seeing a Nespresso machine in a room, so I indulged in coffees.

Some of the room decoration.

I like traffic noise, so I opened the window happily, although the double glazing is very effective at keeping the noise out, including from the next door airport.

With my breakfast collected, it was time for the early morning walk to the airport. And more on both of those in the next post….

But, overall, this was an excellent hotel, with friendly service, clean rooms and no noise issues. I felt very welcome and after two flights in one day, with another one early the following morning, I felt entirely rested by the time I woke up. This is a hotel that I’d certainly be happy to book again when I’m next in the Bucharest area.

December 14, 2025
Ljubljana – Day Three (Ibis Styles)

We were all staying in Accor’s Ibis Styles for the three nights that we were in Ljubljana, a conveniently located hotel just a short walk away from the bus stop and railway station.

The set-up here is a little different to the usual Ibis Styles arrangement, as they also have a hostel on the seventh floor which means more social areas are provided for the entire hotel. There is a rooftop bar, which I confess that we forgot to visit.

We were all on different floors, but I think that the rooms looked the same. The bathroom set-up is very Ibis Styles… My room felt functional and bare, but it was clean and I had what I needed. Well, other than a welcome gift….

The view from the hotel over to Ljubljana Castle.

I had been fortunate to obtain a favourable rate that also included breakfast, although the others had booked room options without the breakfast. I didn’t intend to miss out though.

I didn’t bother with the hot options as the cold options were plentiful, but there were some eggs and sausages as well.

Bread, blue cheese, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, salami, croissant, bread and butter, all really rather lovely.

I always find it handy when they do this. I went down between 07:00 and 08:00 to fit in with the others and it was always quiet.

And my welcome drink, which I picked up on the final night. It’s not a beer that I’ve had before, but it was dark and interesting.

As an aside, I liked the lights outside the room which clearly indicated to the cleaning staff who wanted the room cleaned. I opted to just collect the 100 Accor points every night by not having the room cleaned, as every little helps…

I really rather liked this hotel, the staff were friendly, the room was clean, there were no internal or external noise, everything worked properly, there was a nice welcome drink and the breakfast was of a decent quality. I’d certainly stay here again if I come back to the city, which I likely will.

November 29, 2025
Friedrichshafen – Ibis Styles

The final night of our European trip a few weeks ago was to Friedrichshafen and so the first port of call was the Accor operated Ibis Styles. I had rather expected it to be a little more centrally located, but if I had looked at a map before booking it that might have been helpful. Fortunately, it was still walkable, even for Richard, so we were happy with the location.

We were greeted at reception with this mention that we could phone someone for attention. I am most certainly not calling anyone, as I’m quite millennial, I’d rather have a nice WhatsApp link to chat away using text. Anyway, Richard then came clattering into the hotel with his big executive bag and so the receptionist heard us so that avoided that problem.

It was all bright and spacious in the hotel reception, the whole arrangement felt modern. The welcome at reception was also friendly which is always a positive start to any visit.

The seating area by the reception desk.

The walk to the room was along long corridors which took a little longer than ideal to actually light up as the sensors seemed to be rather sluggish.

I reached my room first and noticed the lack of welcome gift, but I was reassured when a few minutes later Richard confirmed to me that he hadn’t got one either. I wasn’t surprised, Accor hotels in Germany aren’t as consistently excellent as the ones in Poland. But I don’t go on about that. I would have gone to reception to complain if Richard had a gift and I didn’t though, as I’m like that….

I couldn’t understand why Richard left this when he got his coffee in McDonald’s earlier on in the day, but waste not, want not. So I had it as my own little welcome gift to myself.

We had our welcome drink after returning back in the evening and the set-up here is that they have a joint reception and bar. The staff member was friendly, engaging and welcoming, with the service always being personable during our visit.

I was surprised and delighted at the choice of beers that I could have as the welcome drink, I opted for the Benediktiner Weissbier Dunkel which is a dark wheat beer. This was decent, it was robust with the wheat beer banana notes and I’m genuinely not sure I’ve had this exact beer style before. Richard opted for some wine and he enchanted the receptionist with his grape chat.

We then sat for hours trying to work out how to get the missing images from this blog sorted. That’s nearly resolved now. This blog is sometimes something of a headache, but I have to persist for my two loyal blog readers. And my own memory actually, I like to be reminded where I’ve been.

We opted to have breakfast at the hotel and there was a decent selection available. He’s Richard getting ready for his coffee and Coco Pops.

The bread selection.

I liked those little edible containers (well, I ate them) for the honey and jams.

And the butter machine.

The cold meats and salad items. Sometimes the ham served at breakfast isn’t entirely appetising, but the ham here was so delicious that I might have had about a kilo of it. I exaggerate, but only slightly….

One of my several plates as I’m quite greedy. The Germans do breakfast perhaps as well as anyone in the world, so I was entirely happy with this whole offering. The breakfast area is also spacious and stress-free, so that helped with the calm and laid-back start to the day.

I really quite liked this hotel, although it felt a little soulless for an Ibis Styles and I’m not sure why they picked that branding for this Accor hotel. But, the rooms were clean, the staff were friendly, the welcome drink selection was generous, the prices were reasonable and so I could forgive the lack of a welcome gift. And if Richard is reading this, he’s probably still wondering how he missed his wafer with his McDonald’s coffee and I couldn’t possibly comment.

September 29, 2025
Budapest – Ibis Styles Budapest Airport

I mentioned in my last post that it took just seven minutes for me to get from the aircraft to the reception desk of the Ibis Styles, a building they share with their sister Accor hotel chain Tribe.

The team member at the reception desk was friendly, engaging and welcoming so my first impressions were positive. They use the bar at Tribe for drinks until midnight, so I was able to get my welcome drink there, opting for the Soproni as that was the only beer that they had. As an aside, an on-trend brand such as Tribe should probably have a better range of beers, but I won’t get distracted down that path.

I note that the hotel gets some negative reviews from airport users who want to come in and use the bar facilities overnight whilst waiting for their early morning flights. I’m with Accor here, you can’t really have a hotel which has a heap of people sleeping in their foyer when they’ve got hundreds of rooms on the floors above. For those staying in the hotel, they do though have a 24 hour bar available.

It was a relaxed and comfortable vibe though, Accor have been pretty ahead of the curve on making these foyer areas feel welcoming.

The room, before I had found the light switches. The hotel didn’t have opening windows, but the air conditioning worked well and soon made the room freezing cold just as I like it. The ceilings in the room are raw concrete, with a couple of lines painted on, which has annoyed a few customers who assumed that their rooms hadn’t been finished. I’m all for the industrial look though, although I didn’t follow the instructions plastered on the wall about making a paper airplane. Quirky is positive though, there’s enough corporate blandness in the world already.

And the room after I had found the light switches.

And the rather lovely welcome gifts which were very much appreciated.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and the hot options were better than they often are, with the potato lumps (probably not their official term), the roasted vegetables and the tomato based sauce all having some taste and flavour to them. The sausage was a bit generic but it was all at the appropriate temperature.

The cold elements of the breakfast, always my favourite part. I tested a lot of the cooked meats selection and that met my expectations.

There we go…. After I had collected the various component parts of the breakfast up as there were separate bread, juice and pastry counters. The breakfast area was quite large and it was quiet when I was there, but the opening hours are long and they offer light breakfasts from 04:00 for those with early flights (or those who just get up early).

I liked this hotel, it was clean, comfortable and everything seemed to work properly. The major selling point is that it’s the airport hotel and is just a two minute walk from the airport terminal, which is rather optimal to say the least when arriving into the city late at night. I’d happily stay here again and the pricing seems reasonable for an airport hotel, it’s cheaper than the numerous options at Luton Airport.

June 2, 2025
Grudziądz – Ibis Styles

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

The Ibis Styles in Grudziądz, a modern looking building, which is part of the Accor chain. It’s about a ten-minute walk for the railway station and around a five-minute walk from the city centre.

Ibis Styles certainly go for some interesting themes in their hotels. My Ibis Styles in Bremen was themed around space, this hotel seemed to themed around medieval knights.

The theming continued in the room, although I couldn’t help but feel that they gave it an impression of being a children’s room.

Breakfast in the morning exceeded my expectations in terms of the choice and quality of the food and drink. I particularly liked the tubs of Greek salad and the rolls, which were unusually large. The hotel did though seem to have a problem with flies in the breakfast area….

However, the service in the hotel was always friendly, the prices low (a night including breakfast was around £28) and there were no noise issues, either internally or externally.

May 31, 2025
Bremen – Space Hotel

[I originally wrote this in April 2018 but I’m reposting it as I’ve fixed the broken image links. Firstly, I must have been muddled up getting a free glass of wine if there was beer available…. And I think this was before I became quite obsessed with Accor and their hotels. As an aside, Ibis Styles seems to have really moved away for these quirky designs, which is something of a shame.]

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Accor Hotels, consistently good service in clean hotels. And I like that my status gets me a free drink when I arrive at each of their hotels, there’s nothing like winning me over than a lovely glass of cool white wine.

This hotel has proved no different so far, really friendly welcome and a clean environment. And unlike some Ibis hotels I’ve been to, they haven’t been trying to force free apples onto me…..

Anyway, this is the city’s Ibis Styles. Which is, for reasons unknown, designed to have a space theme. It’s certainly an interesting design and I rather like these sort of themed hotels….

Perhaps one of the best signed toilets in a hotel room. The chair is more comfortable than it looks fortunately.

I’m one of those people who never turns on the TV in a hotel room, but it does look rather impressive with its blue glow.

November 26, 2024
Bucharest Trip – Day 3 : Ibis Styles Bucharest City Centre

My hotel for the first two nights of my stay in Bucharest was the Ibis Styles Bucharest City Centre. The others, quite sensibly, managed to stay in the same place for the entire week, but I was on a mission to complete the 6,000 points offer from Accor which involved staying at three hotels for two nights each. Which meant that I stayed here for two nights, then moved to another hotel in the city, then came back again. It’s sub-optimal in many ways, but I like getting Accor points. Incidentally, I’ve been inundated with requests for the return of my Accor blog (well, I had one person asking if I was still doing it) and I’m actively working on that.

The hotel has a modern design and some considerable thought has been put into it. My check-in process was handled by a staff member who was on the phone to a customer the entire time which wasn’t entirely ideal, but I appreciated the efficiency of the operation. The welcome went as expected and I was given a room on the fourth floor. There are low and high tables for those wanting to get a drink, get some work done or meet up with others, with a separate restaurant area at the rear.

For anyone interested (goodness knows who) this is the menu in the hotel’s restaurant.

I didn’t like this room at first sight. I didn’t mind the concrete ceiling and that element of minimalism, but I like having a desk. But, more on that in a moment.

Matters improved considerably when I discovered my welcome gift of cakes and a juice in the fridge. I was becoming rapidly more forgiving. I sent this photo to the group WhatsApp and Bev claimed she thought I had a coffin in the room. She was just jealous that she didn’t have a coffin shaped table in her room I think, she’s quite dark like that. But, of course, I didn’t say anything.

And then I discovered a fold-up desk, so I felt just a little guilty for jumping to conclusions. A few years ago, I was on a panel which discussed the new room design and I mentioned the importance of a desk, even if it just folded up. I’m not saying that they paid any attention to me, as ultimately most people don’t, but they have made a sensible decision here. The other table (on the right of the above photo) is also of an adjustable height, so can be used as a standing desk or a bedside table.

Steve was staying at the hotel, so we had breakfast together on the mornings that I was actually staying there. I don’t much go for hot options at breakfast, so I was suitably surprised and delighted by the cold meats selection. And olives, I like olives. And that red paste, I’m not sure exactly what was in it, added to the proceedings.

The selection from the following morning.

There’s plate one and I did try, despite my previous comment about the hot food, a few of the hot sausages. I wasn’t that engaged with them, so I didn’t repeat that exercise.

Here’s the hot food selection, which doesn’t really inform my two loyal readers as they can’t see what’s in them. There was a choice of, I think, eggs, fatty bacon and sausages. I make regular comments about how bacon should be cooked, including for those who read through my Norwich Market posts. I have agreed, and I am unanimous in this, that bacon should be served crispy and slightly burnt. The Americans know how to do this.

The cereals selection and there was also a juice station with five different juices, served alongside large glasses. This is most unusual, as usually hotels offer little tiny glasses for orange juice which requires me to take around four of them to the table.

Some of the breads and pastries, with a separate doughnut selection which I really quite enjoyed.

And biscuits.

And here’s another plate. I think everyone gets the idea of what I liked….

Anyway, I liked this hotel and my room had a pleasant view. There were no noise disturbances in the hotel either internally or externally and I enjoyed my Ursus Black welcome drink. Steve had a problem with his coffees not being topped up to which he was told that this wasn’t something that reception could do anything about and he had to speak to house-keeping before 18:00. This feels an entirely sub-optimal situation, there’s no reason why the hotel couldn’t have spare coffees behind reception, but there we go, I fortunately didn’t experience any issues.

I’d merrily stay here again and I liked how modern the hotel was, something which Ibis Styles often gets right. The service was friendly, the room was clean and I felt that I received good value for money. I paid £110 for these two nights, including breakfast, but the Accor offer means that the rate was effectively £70 for the two nights. The hotel is very well reviewed and seemed to be at near full occupancy during the time I stayed here, with it being around a twenty minute walk from the city centre.

November 19, 2023