Mas Des Carassins in St. Remy is a wonderful B&B and St. Remy is very quaint, lots to do, and is central within Provence...Very reasonable as well. The rooms are well appointed in country french and the place is spotless. There are a few nice places in St. Remy, but this is my favorite. It is so quaint and country french...very mellow, with an understated elegance. It attracts a nice crowd as well. One story..we arrived in Avignon and couldn't find a car. The inn owner found us a car, picked us up at the train station, taught us how to drive a stick shift, returned the car for us and drove us 45 minutes to Arles for our train back. The service levels are VERY high, but not snooty.

We've stayed there twice and found it and the management delightful. Pool, gardens, walk to town, dining room, breakfast included, dinner if you wish.

It's 20 minutes from Avignon. Aix is 90 minutes away and I would stay in Aix a night to see the sights there. Don't stay at Chateau de la Pioline..I would eat there (wonderful meal and ambience) the rooms are grand and elegant, but they are also worn and tired. I was disappointed. You also need a car to get into town and parking is awful and unsafe. In fact, Aix is quite unsafe. I thought the market was well worth the stay there. It was wonderful. If you go there, arrive there first, go to the market, stay one night and then leave for Western Provence. The Luberon area of Provence is lovely. We only visited there from St. Remy and didn't stay there. There are lots of great B&B's in Provence and the towns and food are great. Doug and I wanted to retire there once we visited.

We like the Victoria Palace in Paris. Very lovely rooms and service levels. Call them directly for the best prices and negotiate.