Are there inexpenive but nice motels in Europe?
 

I was thinking of flying to Frankfurt, Germany, renting a car and traveling through Germany and Austria. I do not want to drive into the busy City Centers, but stay at motels outside of the big city and take a train or bus into town.

Does Europe have motels, similar to an American Holiday Inn, Days Inn, Super 8, with parking- in suburban areas outside of the major cities. How much will they cost per night?

Thanks.

No--not really. But you will find local guest houses, more like a B&B, outside most towns--look for " zimmer frei" signs.

How about Formule 1 chain? I think this kind of resembles American motels. I thought this was an French (a part of Accor)chain but their web site gives hotels in other European countries such as Germany too. The rates are something like 29 euro per room. You can try the following site.

http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/

I disagree with the above poster. There a many "motel-like" moderate price hotels in Germany, less so in Austria. Germany has many Courtyard by Marriott hotels as well as Ramadas, probably about 25 in all, most of them in or near the major cities. Go to Marriott.com and run a search. There are other moderate-price chains like Ibis throughout Germany as well. Movenpick and Sofitel are two other good chains, as is Golden Tulip.

There are also lots of family-run pensions and farm stays outside cities. Not quite sure how you would run a search for these, maybe post a new question here.

Here is a great chain:
http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/index.html
It includes Ibis, Mercure, Red Roof, Motel 6, Novotel and few others.
I've never stayed in a Ibis Hotel, but did walk into one in Brussels, and it did remind me of a Holiday Inn, and from what I've read about Ibis, it seems to be a very reliable, consistent chain at very reasonable prices.
Have a great trip!

Cicerone, you disagree with Bob's post and not with mine though you said "the above poster"? Just to clarify your post :-)

We just returned from Frankfurt and spent two nights at the Holiday Inn Express for 55 Euros per night including breakfast (booked through their website). We travel through Europe a lot (4 to 5 times a year) and spend half our nights in cute and inexpensive guest houses and B&Bs and the other half in chain motels. In France the Logis de France hotels are wonderful; they are inexpensive, small, individually-owned but must maintain certain standards to qualify as a Logis de France property. A two chimney room (their rating system instead of stars) is around $50 per night for a double

The Ibis hotels (ACCOR) are usually a good bargain especially in France. Campanile hotels are also good and feature cookies and coffee makers as well as double doors for noise reduction.

Best Western hotels are also better than expected in Europe but a little more expensive.

Yes, there are, but many of them are independently owned rather than part of a chain. I agree with the post about Accor hotels--there are many in Germany, fewer in Austria. You will also find many motor inns that are part of the Best Western group. We stayed in one just off the autobahn near Baden Baden and it was very pleasant--especially since we checked in minutes before a huge thunderstorm broke and caused major flooding and brought traffic to a halt. Most motor inns will cost you 60 to 100 euros a night.
As for Formule 1, they are the very bottom of the Accor chain. They are cheap--about 30 euros a night--but the rooms are tiny and you don't get a private bathroom, just a small sink in the room. How pleasant they are depends on the location. We stayed in one for a few days near Heerlen, NL, when our apartment in Germany wasn't ready. It was fine and turned out to be in a nice residential area, but they are more likely to be in industrial areas and somewhat removed from restaurants, etc.

A recent issue of Budget Travel had an article on all these chains. According to the article, they are new and clean but very spartan and also typically located in suburbs, where they may be accessible only to those with cars.

Consider etaphotel.com - also an Accor brand. Like Ibis, and with a private bathroom, but possibly a bit more spare.

choicehotels.com (Comfort, Quality, etc. brands) often have good rates.

Here's a useful website with the low-down on European motel chains.
http://www.eurapart.com/budget.html