German road trip- gasthofs or cheap motels?

[Fordian]

We're driving DS to Stuttgart to uni in Sept, and making a bit of a road trip along the German/ Austrian border for a week. There'll be 4 of us (adults).

Where should be stay? In local gasthofs or in cheap chain motels? Not looking for anything other than a clean bed!

What are the cheap motel chains in Germany?

Ta.

IBIS motels are fine and generally reasonably priced. I often use the one near Stuttgart Airport (Leinfelden-Echterdingen), just off the A8 autobahn.

But for a bit more character Gasthofs are a great option. They are always very clean and good value, and are frequently family-owned.

A couple of comments:

Environmental sticker - Your car needs one of these if you are going into Stuttgart or most other German cities. You can use the autobahns that go through city areas without requiring a sticker (e.g. the A8 at Stuttgart - the IBIS is outside the environmental zone, so doesn't require a sticker) but as soon as you enter a E-Zone you risk a fine if you don't have the sticker. Available online from a number of providers, which are all in Germany, so delivery takes 10 days or more. Look on the RAC or AA websites for links.

Fuel prices - Prices at the autobahn service stations are very high. You can save as much as 50 cents a litre on fuel (about 25%) by leaving the autobahn and using a "Autohof" (usually signposted off the autobahn) or just the local service stations (e.g. the one opposite the IBIS in Stuttgart) in towns just off the autobahn.

We stayed in a brilliant family run Gasthof just outside Heidelberg a few weeks ago. If it's typical, I'd recommend a Gasthof.

Thanks, both