Accommodation and cycle hire in or near Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne

[Shut Up Legs]

For a cycling tour in 2018 or 2019, I was considering basing myself in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, since there are so many good cycling climbs to be done starting from there. There doesn't seem to be much accommodation available in that area, though. Hotels I've considered are:
- Les Chemins de Traversaz - in Traversaz, which is 8km (and 560m climbing) up from Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, not ideally situated if you're returning from a major ride with lots of climbing. It does have very good online reviews, though.
- Savoy - in town near the train station, reasonably good reviews, apparently has good bicycle storage.
- Hotel du Galibier aka Hotel Les Gentianes - in town, on D1006 near the river, but reviews weren't very good.

For bicycle hire, I considered http://www.rentmybike.eu/, because they deliver the bike to your accommodation, and pick it up afterwards. Can any of you recommend any other bicycle hire company to use? I don't have my own transport (I don't drive), so will need the drop-off and pick-up option.

Regards & thanks,
--- Victor.

 

[slow scot]

Hi Victor,
I'm new to this forum stuff so hope this gets to you. I wouldn't stay at St. Michel de Maurienne. It's pretty but small and we did not find a hotel we liked. It's only near one climb, though that is of course the Galibier!!
Further down the valley at no great distance is St. Jean de Maurienne, totally geared up to cycling, more accommodation, more attractive in some ways, and closer to many more climbs. I've spent many holidays here. Hope this is of some help. I'm not totally clued up on bike rental but the town does have a well equipped bike shop in the shopping complex area.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Hi Victor,
I'm new to this forum stuff so hope this gets to you. I wouldn't stay at St. Michel de Maurienne. It's pretty but small and we did not find a hotel we liked. It's only near one climb, though that is of course the Galibier!!
Further down the valley at no great distance is St. Jean de Maurienne, totally geared up to cycling, more accommodation, more attractive in some ways, and closer to many more climbs. I've spent many holidays here. Hope this is of some help. I'm not totally clued up on bike rental but the town does have a well equipped bike shop in the shopping complex area.

Thanks for that. Yes, I agree Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a good location, and I've stayed there once (at the Hotel du Nord), and if I can't find anything in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, I'll consider the other town.

Welcome to the CC forum, by the way, and feel free to post more: we're a friendly lot in general.

 

[Brains]

Just got back from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (trekking trip)

If you would consider camping then the campsite Des Grand Cols
http://www.campingdesgrandscols.com/uk/il4-campsite_p5-cycle-and-hiking.aspx
is totally geared up for cyclists, it has a sign that is kilometre zero to all the cols.
It 300m from the centre of the town, and 10 mins walk from the station

Right outside the gate of the campsite is a high end cycle rental place, they also run an 9 seater bus with cycle trailer to take you to the cols if you wish (or MTB runs)
http://www.velodescols.com/en/contact-us.html

The town is the nicest one in the valley, better than Modane which is the local centre which is 20 mins drive or bus away
Things to do are the Opinel knife museum, and interesting cathedral, a nice centre, a few decent restaurants, and some sports outlets on the edge of town

FYI - Hotel du Galibier which I drove past several times is right on the main road and looked a bit run down

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Just got back from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (trekking trip)

If you would consider camping then the campsite Des Grand Cols
http://www.campingdesgrandscols.com/uk/il4-campsite_p5-cycle-and-hiking.aspx
is totally geared up for cyclists, it has a sign that is kilometre zero to all the cols.
It 300m from the centre of the town, and 10 mins walk from the station

Right outside the gate of the campsite is a high end cycle rental place, they also run an 9 seater bus with cycle trailer to take you to the cols if you wish (or MTB runs)
http://www.velodescols.com/en/contact-us.html

The town is the nicest one in the valley, better than Modane which is the local centre which is 20 mins drive or bus away
Things to do are the Opinel knife museum, and interesting cathedral, a nice centre, a few decent restaurants, and some sports outlets on the edge of town

FYI - Hotel du Galibier which I drove past several times is right on the main road and looked a bit run down

Thanks, very useful. That's a very odd web site for the bike rental place, though. It has next to no information on it, just various pages with little more than a title on them. No contact information, either. I might have to try to contact them some other way.

 

[Brains]

Thanks, very useful. That's a very odd web site for the bike rental place, though. It has next to no information on it, just various pages with little more than a title on them. No contact information, either. I might have to try to contact them some other way.

I think they may be connected to the camp site in some way, as their vehicles are parked there and the pictures on the web site are taken inside the campsite.
The shop is open as they also run a conventional bike repair service and seemed quite busy.
Having seen the owner of the camp site (full lycra and riding 5k's worth of carbon) it possible he owns both ventures as they are next to each other.
So give the camp site a call, they speak English.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

@Brains , did you rent a camping spot, or one of the 'mobile homes' they offer? If so, how did you find it?

I was considering the mobile home option, because I don't want to bring camping equipment across the world (I live in Australia). I checked their rates, and it's 290 Euros in the off-season for a week, which I'd be prepared to pay for a short-term stay.

On the other hand, if I stayed at a hotel, meals would be easier to arrange, e.g. the Hotel du Nord (which I stayed at for 1 night in late June) offers single room + breakfast for 60 Euros a night, so 420 for the week, so I'd just have to arrange lunches during my cycling trips, and the nightly dinners.

 

[Brains]

@Brains , did you rent a camping spot, or one of the 'mobile homes' they offer? If so, how did you find it?

I was considering the mobile home option, because I don't want to bring camping equipment across the world (I live in Australia). I checked their rates, and it's 290 Euros in the off-season for a week, which I'd be prepared to pay for a short-term stay.

On the other hand, if I stayed at a hotel, meals would be easier to arrange, e.g. the Hotel du Nord (which I stayed at for 1 night in late June) offers single room + breakfast for 60 Euros a night, so 420 for the week, so I'd just have to arrange lunches during my cycling trips, and the nightly dinners.

We camped.
So I'm afraid no comment on the mobile homes.

 

[Winnershsaint]

Try Bourg d'Oisans instead. The Alpe, Ornon, Glandon, Croix de Fer, Les Deux Alpes, Lauteret/Galibier and Sarenne, plus numerous lesser known rides like Oulles, Villard Reymond, La Bararde, Oz en Oisans, Vaujauny,/Col duSabot, Col du Morte,utterly fantastic. Having to go back to do some of these! Seriously though we looked at the Maurienne valley as an alternative but reasoned we could drive there if anyone wanted to do the Madeleine, Lacets and Telegraphe/Galibier etc.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Try Bourg d'Oisans instead. The Alpe, Ornon, Glandon, Croix de Fer, Les Deux Alpes, Lauteret/Galibier and Sarenne, plus numerous lesser known rides like Oulles, Villard Reymond, La Bararde, Oz en Oisans, Vaujauny,/Col duSabot, Col du Morte,utterly fantastic. Having to go back to do some of these! Seriously though we looked at the Maurienne valley as an alternative but reasoned we could drive there if anyone wanted to do the Madeleine, Lacets and Telegraphe/Galibier etc.

Yes, for my next trip, I was considering a B&B based approach, spending roughly a week in the Pyrenees at the B&B I visited this year, a week in Le Bourg d'Oisans and a week in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. I know the rides are good from the latter 2 places, I've been doing some research on that, and creating rides in RideWithGPS to check the distances and climbing. Planning these trips is actually fun!

 

[LaTuviereBikeInn]

Yes, for my next trip, I was considering a B&B based approach, spending roughly a week in the Pyrenees at the B&B I visited this year, a week in Le Bourg d'Oisans and a week in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. I know the rides are good from the latter 2 places, I've been doing some research on that, and creating rides in RideWithGPS to check the distances and climbing. Planning these trips is actually fun!

Hello everyone on this forum. I'm the new owner of a chalet above Saint Jean de Maurienne in Jarrier. We are the perfect set up and location for cyclists. Please see my website chaletlatuviere.com. We have 16 places (maximum 20 if there are couples) and can offer self catering or BnB. The view from the terrace when you have your post ride beer is ten times better than anywhere in the valley. The website has an English version and check out our plans for summer 2019. Hope to see a few of you before the end of the cycling season!!
Jane
Chalet La Tuvière
JARRIER

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Have any of you stayed at the Hôtel Saint-Georges in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and if so, how did you find it? I want to visit the French Alps next year for another cycling trip, staying at both Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and was considering this hotel.

 

[slow scot]

Have any of you stayed at the Hôtel Saint-Georges in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and if so, how did you find it? I want to visit the French Alps next year for another cycling trip, staying at both Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and was considering this hotel.

I have. It's right in the middle of town and is very cyclist friendly. Also great for numerous cols, and handy for cafes and restaurants. I actually "spoke" to you about St. Jean de Maurienne about a year ago on Cycle Chat, you may remember. It's a lovely place. Prices at the hotel were reasonable and breakfasts better than average for French hotels. It didn't do evening meals as far as I remember.