A stylish mid-scale alternative – Mercure Hotels Overview

I have stayed at a few Mercure hotels, mainly in Europe, but they never made it to the top of my list of brands to seek out. My Power of Promotion run (read more here),  brought me to a brand new Mercure hotel, open less than a week, so find out more about them below:

So, who are they? Mercure is the mid-level brand of the Accor Group and has over 700 hotels in 53 countries, or about 20% of all Accor hotels! It’s positioned above the budget brand ibis (read more here) and the more upscale brands like Sofitel or Pullman. Mercure is strongest in Accor’s home country of France and the rest of Europe, but also has properties in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Unfortunately, they are not at all represented in North America!

In their own words, “Mercure is the only midscale hotel brand that combines the strength of an international network with a strong quality commitment, and the warm experience of hotels, all different, rooted in their local community and managed by enthusiastic hoteliers.

That’s probably the worst self-description I’ve come across so far, so to help compare them, I’d say they are comparable to a Holiday Inn, but much more stylish.

So, why should I care? If you are traveling a lot in Europe, you will most certainly come across Mercure (as well as the other Accor brands). If an ibis hotel is just a little bit too simple for your taste or a Holiday Inn is just too boring, a Mercure hotel might fit the bill. They offer a stylish room, typically adjusted for local taste. They usually have brighter, more fun colors than their American counterparts. They typically are full-service hotels, with restaurants and usually a pool and fitness room. In Europe, in adjusting to local taste, the gym might be missing or can be so small, it might as well be missing. The city hotels tend to be more basic with few amenities, compared to vacation, and especially beach destinations.

The Mercure hotels participate in the Accor frequent guest program, LeClub. You earn points at a rate of 5-8.5%, depending on your elite level and you get stay and night credit towards promotions (for example this one) and towards elite status. The LeClub program is revenue based, both in earning and redeeming points, making it not very attractive to fans of the points game. They do have lots of promotions, often jointly with airlines, making it worth consideration.

You can read reviews of some Mercure hotels here:

Mercure Ocean Resort Pattaya (coming soon)


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