We have friends that are going to Provence in June and are looking for a nice place to stay and I am scouting out a place for them somewhere in the Montpellier, Arles, Avignon, or maybe even the Aix-en-Provence area to stay. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

We have friends who have stayed at both of the following. Our friends and Carol and I have reservations to stay for three days at each after the Voyager cruise from Dover to Monte Carlo in 9/2007.

Hotel Vieux du Fox in Fox Amphoux
Hotel Le Saint Paul in St. Paul de Vence

They both have internet sites. I tried to paste the address but for some reason could not make it work. Do a google search and I think you can find them. Both are fairly small but the pictures look great.

We will be in Provence for last 2 weeks in September, but there are 9 of us in a Villa near Orange,just north of Avignon. What would be helpful is where to stay in Normandy area,Ray wants to stay a week there but I think may be tooo long. Also where is a good place to stay in Paris. Has to be central. How long does anyone recommend? I want a week here ,but Ray thinks 3 days sufficient---I think we have a wee problem LOLIf anyone can make suggestions we would really appreciate it.

Hi Don,

Following are the recommendations for Hotels/ B&B\'s and for vacation rentals in Provence. I got these from the Slow Trav website.
They provide reviews and in most cases a link to the website of the property .

Wish I was going!

Pat, this is too funny. The friends that I am talking about were in Normandy two years ago and I helped them there and they loved it. I will ask where they stayed, because I can't remember. I will let you know what I find out. Also as far as Paris, we have stayed at the Holiday Inn Bastille before and have it booked for a pre-cruise for CROSS in November. It is right across from the Gare de Lyon train station and the rates are good at 119 euro per night on a non refundable booking and I think that included breakfast.

For Normandy, we stayed at the Hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux. Bayeux is a nice base for touring the D-Day sites. This hotel was a good value - not luxurious but reasonably priced, clean, comfortable, and nicely located. It's rated #2 in Bayeux on TripAdvisor - the building and grounds are lovely. I don't think they have a website but all the info is on TripAdvisor.

In Paris, we've stayed at the Marriott on the Champs Elysees using points and it's a great location, and the rooms are very nice and extremely comfortable. Not sure it would be worth paying big $$ to stay there, though.

We've also stayed at the Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche. This property is a good value - again, not luxurious, but well located and reasonably priced. The rooms are small as is typical in Paris, but the hotel is nicely located in the Latin Quarter, very close to the Seine and to Notre Dame. Our room had a great view across the street to the Saint Severin church. The staff was helpful in making restaurant reservations for us. It's currently #10 in Paris on TripAdvisor, and if I remember correctly, we paid 150-160 euro per night. If you're looking for luxury and indulgence, this is probably not it, but a good value for Paris. (Be careful as there are at least 2 different Hotel Henri IV in Paris - and one is not very nice. Make sure it's "Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche.")

Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche

Dena

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.

Thanks for the info Andi. I will let them know. Sounds lovely and like a good location to get to everything.

For Paris I love the Napoleon Hotel which is just a hop skip to Champs E'llysees and almost next to Arc d' Triomphe..also love the Hotel regina which is across street from the Louvre..both have websites. ( and check their packages)..

For Avignon , Don I loved, loved, loved..
the Hotel d' Europe.

Thanks Claudia, and Happy Birthday! Hope you have a fun filled day today!

L'hotel des Images in St. Remy. is wonderful! It's right in St. Remy which is a terrific town, great market, lots of interesting shops (chocolate, cookies, cheese...) It has a pool, too.

Paris: l'hotel de Fleurie; left bank, near Odeon metro. Near Gerar Mulot, a great patissierie.

Marcia

Avignon: I too loved the Hotel d'Europe; ot's ancient, well tended, and VERY special. not too be missed.

Marcia