annetti

We stayed 4 nights at a B&B recommended in Michelin's Green Guide near St. Remy. It cost us 67E a night. The room was clean and pleasant enought, but we never had a change of towels, our bed was never made and we only received 2 tiny bars of soap when we checked in. Also, there was a laminated sheet of instructions in English and French telling us what we could not do. For example, the pool was off limits between 1:00 and 4:30 if I remember correctly. I consider these prime swimming hours. This is our first B&B experience in France. We usually stay at small family run hotels where we pay about the same and receive daily service. We've stayed at B&Bs elsewhere and they were usually run like the small hotels. Comments please?

ira

Hi anne,

>...our bed was never made ...<

That is not acceptable (or do you mean that the linen wasn't changed?)

annetti

I would not expect the sheets to be changed during a short stay; the bed was never made. The sheets remained the way we left them when we woke in the morning.

ira

Definitely not acceptable.

I would identify the place here, send a review to www.tripadvisor.com and inform Michelin.

dln

yes, please tell the name of the B&B so none of us stay there.

annetti

Name of the place: Chambre d'hote La Chardonneraie. I will write Michelin. (I wonder if B&Bs realise how off-setting and unpleasant it is to receive a list of things they don't want you to do while staying at their business.)

JoyC

We have stayed in B&Bs in France (Burgundy region, Cote D'Azur)and most of Europe and I never realized that they were supposed to make up the beds!! Since it was not a big deal, we always make up the beds ourselves. No wonder we were rewarded a few times - like letting us use their washer and dryer instead of doing our laundry in town or deducting a few euros from our total bill or having a bottle of wine and local product (cheese) on our doorstep on the day we are leaving. I didn't expect them too to provide us with a new bar of soap everyday like in a hotel and in fact we brought our own shampoo (there was a children's shampoo left over from the previous occupant). All in all I am satisfied with B&Bs we stayed at so far and have no complaints.

annetti

Joy-- What a nice guest you are and I mean that sincerely. I always try to make as little work for hotel people as possible, but it never occurred to me to make our own beds!

PBProvence

B&B owners here in France often cannot afford the personnel to provide full time maid service.... the employment costs are too high, especially with the 35 hour work week we have here. And once they've worked for you for three months it's almost impossible to fire them. Seasonal workers are hard to come by.

As in most B&Bs around here ( I live close to St Remy), I offer my guests fresh towels every three days, change sheets every fourth day, offer normal size bars of olive oil soaps...but my guests all make their own beds. I discovered this when I would go to make up beds in the morning and they were all made already.

I do find the instructions about the use of the pool completely absurd...I would never put the pool off limits.
PB

julies

I guess I also would not have assumed that I would get hotel type maid service in a B & B. It only takes a minute to make a bed and I generally make mine up when staying in a b & b.

annetti

I guess I don't really mind the "no beds being made policy;" that's no big deal. It was the laminated sheet that listed all the things we were not to do in the room. It just created a bad feeling. Also, the shower leaked, so badly, it leaked into the bedroom. We had to tell the owner, who cleaned it immediately, but the next 3 showers we had to stand very close to the shower head to avoid flooding again. She said it was the first time it happened. I wonder.

Sue4

I stayed at a B&B near St. Remy - Presbytere St. Thomas in St. Etienne de Gres- for 5 nights in May. It was a totally delightful experience all around! A beautiful room, lovely, helpful hostess who went out of her way to make the stay memorable - including her wonderful breakfast served in the garden or in my room. She made the bed and left clean towels everyday. The soap was a big bar of lavender soap. On arrival, there was a bottle of wine, and water in the room.
Before arriving back to the room after dinner, she had turned down the bed and closed the draperies or shutters. And best of all was her beautiful big dog, Ballou, who greeted me like his best friend whenever I returned to the courtyard carpark! (He wouldn't have bothered me if I didn't want him to, however. He knew he was my best friend!)

uhoh_busted

Sue, that was the same place we stayed in 2003. It was gorgeous and the service exactly as you found it. (And I think it cost about 65E night, too. I sing its praises at every opportunity and I know others who've been there do too.) Annetti, I would certainly write to Michelin, too. Casual is one thing, but that was just plain tacky.

ira

Hi PB,

>...my guests all make their own beds. I discovered this when I would go to make up beds in the morning and they were all made already.<

I think that it is one thing to be pleasantly surprised that your paying guests make their own beds (this is what we do when staying with friends), but another to *expect* paying guests to make their own beds.

grenelle2004

I stayed at a chambre d'hôte in Gordes which was much cheaper than the overpriced hotels in the area. I was actually surprised how lovely it was and while you didn't get as many toiletries as you expect in a hotel we certainly had clean towels provided daily and the beds made up. As in the UK, B&Bs can vary widely, from feeling like you are staying in a spare room of someone's home to feeling like a small hotel. You need to choose carefully the type of establishment which suits you - not always easy from a distance admittedly.

JoeG

Sue4,
I am interested in knowing what your room rate was. We will be returning for a second trip in March of next year.

JoeG

annetti

Our 2 bars of soap were the size of a postage stamp each and they were never replaced after the first day. They barely lasted 4 days. There were no amenities like kleenex or shampoo. I was a bit taken aback since I have stayed at B&Bs in the UK, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand and we always had such nice extras for around the same price.And the beds were always made up. I've always depended on the Michelin Green Guide's accuracy, but I guess they can't be perfect all the time. We stayed at a small hotel near Beaune for 12 E less and received daily service.

Sue4

Joe G, I paid 65E a night at the Presbytere St. Thomas in May. She only has 3 rooms, and my room was on the first floor, which looks out onto the pretty little garden. Marie-Chantal is so kind, and the place is really special, with a history. It's also wonderfully convenient to St. Remy, Arles, and so many places in Provence. She doesn't speak much (or any?) English, but I don't think that would matter. I was thrilled to be able to practice my limited French. And the breakfast she served was absolutely lovely!

Budman

annetti, we always take our own "big bar" of soap and washcloths whenever we go to Europe. You just never know what you are going to get -- I consider anything extra is a plus.

35 hour work week? Now, that explains everything.