Does anyone have experience with the Hotel Le Cloitre Saint Louis in Avignon? I have been e mailing and faxing for reservation information and not receiving a response.

I believe this hotel is associated with a major American chain -- Best Western I think. We didn't know that until we stayed there in November, 1998. The hotel has a great location, very walkable to all the sites in Avignon. It's based out of an old monastary (or something like that), and has more and less modern rooms. Our room was on the small side, like most in Europe, with a tile floor and was quite cold. While the rooms were blah, the hotel was pretty cool architecturally, with a nice courtyard, etc. Our only difficulty is that we were told when we booked the room that breakfast (an ok buffet) was included, but were charged an outrageous ammount for it at checkout. Depsite soem time complaining at the desk, they would not remove the charge. Overall, I thought the location made it a good choice. Warning -- when we were there, the parking was nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find because of one way streets and very small signs. Have fun!

Hotel Le Cloitre St. Louis is part of the Choice Hotel Chain. They have an 800 number in the U.S. Also, you can call them directly at 011 33 4 90 27 55 in France. It is very convenient to many things including the tourist office and the train station. It is reasonably priced so it books up fast. I have not stayed there, but hope to do so soon. <BR> <BR>Their 800 number in the U.S. is 800 4-Choice. I would probaly call that number first.

Stayed there two years ago in May. We booked through the toll-free Choice number that Lynlor mentions. We requested a non-smoking room and we lucky enough to get a large, two-level corner room. Great location, cool courtyard and architecture, nice little sun deck and pool on top. Didn't get breakfast and didn't have a car, so can't comment on that. It was also very near the main Avignon train station, which was extremely convenient as that's how we were traveling. Very easy to take day trips to Arles, etc. We were going to have dinner one night at one of the restaurants prominent in 2 or 3 guide books, and the concierge steered us away from that, as too touristy and overpriced. Instead she recommended a very romantic, local restaurant that we loved. Can't remember the name right off hand, but could find it.

I stayed there this past December. Hated it! Yes, the courtyard is beautiful and the location is wonderful, but the room was not nice i.e., not charming at all, there was no heat (this was in December and it was cold at night), no breakfast, and they refused to give me the AAA discount even though they had a large sign saying they honored it. I thought that the staff were probably the rudest I've encountered during my travels to France (have been there 7 times now with another trip coming up in 2 weeks). Also, it wasn't that inexpensive either. But, like I said, the courtyard was lovely and the location really was wonderful. A restaurant that I ate at in Avignon was La Fourchette. I would HIGHLY recommend it. Wonderful food, service, wine, and price! Have a great time on your trip.

We stayed there 3 years ago. Our travel agent booked us through Choice but when we got there, the desk said they had "no record" of our reservation. They managed to find us a room in the new part, which we didn't like at all. <BR> The next day we were able to move to the old part. Our room was large but blah. However, the public rooms are lovely as is the large tree filled inner courtyard. <BR> It has a great location. From the train station, it's a very short walk across the street, through the walls, & then down a side street. <BR> Aside from the mix up with the reservation, the people at the desk were most helpful thereafter.

Don't know about your hotel, but fro the postings, it doesn't sound terrific. try this- we loved it so much last year that we're going back for 3 more days during our month in Europe this year! We don't really like cities- we enjoy a rented/leased car and poking around little towns, wineries, ancient sites etc. This was in a wonderful location, absolutely fabulous food (believe me- we stayed 1 night in Avignon, due to a mix up on my part, and the food was awful, the hotel was barely OK, and the noise from the street made drinking lots of wine necessary to gt to sleep. Check this out: <BR>"we just loved the Avignon area: We stayed at La Magnaneriae- look for them on www.bestwestern.com It's 100x more beautiful than the picture indicates, and the food was the best we had in Europe. Good location to historical spots, wine tasting in the Chateau nuf de Pape (sp?) <BR>Address: 37 Rue Camp de Bataille, Villeneuve Lex Avignon. Price and Amenities: about $100 per <BR>night, Large double room w/ terrace and view. a bit hard to find. Great cheese board. At La Manangerie, you won't want <BR>to eat anyplace else! And I was going through cat-withdrawal, and they had a siamese cat that jumped up on our porch/patio, and walked in the room like she owned it. I got my "fix" of cat petting, and she certainly enjoyed it! But above all else- the food is out of this world. All nights except the last night, we ate out on the enclosed courtyard, but the mistral winds came in on our last night, we ate inside, in the lovely dining room. The prices are reasonable, the staff very nice, the rooms airy and reasonable in size, and you're so close to so many things to do! e-mail me if you have any questions- <BR> <BR>jane

We stayed at the La Magnaneraie several years ago and it was wonderful. The food the best--didn't need or want to go anywhere else for food. We might have stayed in the same room as the previous poster did. Having said all that, if you want to be in Avignon, staying centrally located in Avignon has its advantages.

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