Message: I'm trying to decide on a hotel in Albi's old town. I need a room for one, but won't be happy with the smallest, noisiest room in town--and I'll have a car.

Has anyone stayed at the St-Clair, Le Vieil Alby or Laperouse? I'm also considering Hotel Chiffre, but it's a little more than I'd like to pay. I'd appreciate your thoughts or recommendations.

I stayed at the Laperouse and found it satisfactory. It is on the edge of the old town and not too long a walk to the center. It might be nice to stay at one of the other hotels in the pedestrian zone, however, as long as there is convenient, cheap parking nearby.

Didn't stay at Le Viel Alby, but popped in to make a dinner reservation and had a quick look around. It seemed alright, although certainly nothing special as far as accomodations go.
Nice meal though!

Thanks to you both. Kvick, just curious:apparently Le Vieil Alby is a non-smoking hotel. Is the restaurant no smoking also?

We like to stay at the Hostellerie San Antoine. Right near the center of town, good restaurant, nice staff, easy car park.

JEFF,
Sorry to be so long in replying.

Le Vieil Alby is located within an easy walk of Toulouse-Latrec's birthplace, the museum devoted to his work, and the Cathedral of Ste. Cecile. Parking might be a consideration worth checking with the proprietor.

Unfortunately, I can't answer your question about the restaurant's smoking policy: we ate in the courtyard. I don't remember anyone smoking even out there, but to be honest, smoking is so much a part of the normal social life of France, I usually don't pay it much attention.

I'm also considering hotels in Albi, and am wanting to keep it modestly-priced (under 100 euros for room, breakfast & parking, if possible). Like Jeff, I'm wondering about Le Viel Alby and the Chiffre and am interested in the George IV hotel, too (a little out of the old town). Can anyone compare one to the other? This will be for one night only, with a car, and I don't need luxurious, but would like to have a/c since this will be July.

Anyone?

topping

We stayed at H. San Antoine and loved it. Family owned and run, Monsieur speaks very good English and is very accomodating. Many of the rooms overlook a garden in the back--very quiet. We liked the location and everything about it. Can't help with the other choices. a lucky restaurant "find" for us was Viell Alby--maybe it was a hotel-restaurant? We didn't notice a hotel, but the restaurant was GREAT!

Jeff and Progol:

Here is another option: the Hostellerie du Vigan*** but very reasonably priced - 40E-70E double. (If the Chiffre is beyond your budget, the Saint-Antoine certainly is.) It is located right on the main square of Albi, the Place du Vigan. It's no more than a 5 minute walk to the Cathedral and Toulouse-Lautrec museum. If you need quiet, ask for a room on the back. They say they have a private parking garage, but we parked in the city garage under the Place du Vigan - very convenient. If you want AC specify that when you ask for the room, as not all rooms have it. There is a reasonably priced café-restaurant on the ground floor.

I had reservations there last summer for 8 people. When we arrived we discovered that 2 of our rooms had AC and 2 did not. (This was at the height of the heat wave last summer.) The young man at the front desk was very apologetic and even called the Mercure down the road for us so that the four of us without AC could move there. He cheerfully refunded our deposit on the two rooms we did not use. The Mercure, BTW, was quite nice, too, in a historic building right on the river Tarn. It was only slightly more expensive than the Vigan.


Website:http://www.hotel-vigan.com/presentation.htm
e-mail: [email protected]

Téléphone: 05.63.43.31.31
Fax: 05.63.47.05.42

Enjoy Albi! (I consider it my "other hometown" as I lived there for a year many, many moons ago.)

Thank you, Betty, that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for! I appreciate your suggestions for parking, too.

I did think that the H. San Antoine was too much, although they say they have standard rooms at 69 euros, so if you avoid the 12 E. per person breakfast, even that may be manageable.

Thanks again.

I just made a reservation at the Hostellerie du Vigan through the logis-de-france website for 67 euros INCLUDING breakfast. It is certainly more the price range that I want, and for one night, I don't need to fuss with ambiance! And the location looks perfect. Again, thanks Betty!

So glad I could help, progol. Were you able to specify that you wanted a room with AC through that site? If not you might want to e-mail the hotel directly about that. Have a great trip!

The 69 euro room at Hotel Saint Antoine are on the street. Is it extremely noisy? Enough not to want to stay there? The hotel looks quite nice.

Also Betty, I looked at the Mercure, and it looked interesting. Would you recommend the Vigan over the Mercure?

Hi, wren. If I remember correctly the Saint-Antoine is just the other side of the Place du Vigan from the Hotel du Vigan, so I think that yes, it could be noisy. I would also suspect that their 69 euro rooms are teeny, tiny!

I enjoyed the Mercure. There was easy parking and we had a good dinner there as well. Only drawback is that it is the other side of the river from the main part of town. You could walk to centre-ville but it would be a bit of a hike. If you have a car I would suggest driving into the center and parking in the underground lot at Place du Vigan. If you'd prefer to be in the middle of things and not have to drive in, I'd recommend the Vigan but ask for a room on the back and if it's for summer, definitely ask for a room with AC. Hope that helps.

Good information, Betty. Thanks...that definitely helps. The Michelin Green Guide recommends the Mercure--the only recommendation for the town. But I couldn't tell that the location wasn't in the center of things. That is why Fodor's info is so great!!

Betty,
I put in a request for a/c when I made the reservation with logis-de-france, but I will email the hotel directly as it gets closer to the time I will go.

Wren,
from the looks of the website photos, I think the Mercure is a classier place than the Vigan; the Vigan photos look very bland, and the Mercure looks like it attempts a little bit of style. I checked their website, too, and the cost is a little more than the Vigan; the standard room was 80 euros, not including breakfast or parking.
Paule

I decided on Le Vieil Alby and have emailed them twice-a week apart-and have never heard from them. Should I assume they're full and give up, try faxing them or go through Logis de France?

I'm also considering the St-Clair and Chiffre. Does anyone know about with these two?

I'd assume they're closed for the winter. A lot of small hotels in the SW of France close down until about Easter time. I called three hotels in the Dordogne last week and got a message at each one that they are closed until April 1.
If you fax, and the owners are around, there is a decent chance you'll hear back from them.