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If only there were motels !  We toured New Zealand staying in motels, and came home saying Why can't we have them too ?

But it sounds as though you are looking for an overnight hotel rather than a campsite. Am I right?  www.accor.com will give you the practical answer - a range of their hotel brands at a range of prices. And the Alistair Sawday websites will give you examples of one off, very special, individual hotels - at a price of course.

You can have a look at the Gites de France website, too, for Chambres d'Hote (often just that bit more interesting than a budget hotel, and occasionally not any more expensive). 

I've just had a look and there looks to be a nice place in Ferte St Aubin, just south of Orleans, which is a pretty little place, with a lovely chateau and parkland.  Two persons, 53 euros, but sleeps up to five peopls.

We've had lots of short breaks in France and have found some fabulous places from the Gites website, though actually doing the search and getting through to the  booking process isn't as quick as it could be - lots of links within links!

Friends stayed in a Logis de France in Sologne (where the campsite mentioned above is situated) and they enjoyed their stay there.  It wasn't too expensive either, but I'm sorry I don't have the name.

If you want easy, then just go for the budget hotels, we mostly use "Premier Classe", for our two overnight stops, on the way down to the Southern Ardeche, with it being a 900 mile drive, from just North of Manchester.

Fact is for an overnight, you get little chance to do any sight seeing, you just need a bed for the night, and a decent eatery close by, for your evening meal.

Then it's breakfast, and back on the road again!.

We try to use the  Logis de France chain of small hotels to break up a long journey.They usually have a little more character and almost always have a good restaurant onsite.

Two years ago on our way to Bel Ombrage we stayed at the Hotel La Promenade in Coings, 5 minutes off the A20, just before Chateauroux. It took us 6 and a half hours from Calais with 2 good breaks. We had a large family room for the 5 of us for 58 euros. We ate our evening meal outside by the pool and the children ran off ALOT of steam in the vast gardens and on the swings and climbing frames.A really lovely way to start the holiday, we would stay  there again.

It was only 3 hours onto the Dordogne the next day.

On our return  we stayed at the less traditional Kyriad in Evreux, still a very comfortable family room for 49 euros but nowhere to run!! Then only 3 hours onto Calais the next day.