My husband and I will be traveling to the Dordogne for 1 week arriving on September 4. This will be our first trip to the region. I've been searching for a nice place to base ourselves and I've read in numerous places to stay within 25km range of Sarlat. I found what looks like a lovely property but, I couldn't find any comments on Fodors. Has any one heard of Domaine de Rochebois in Vitrac? TripAdvisor has a few favorable reviews but, only 1 from last year and 1 from 2007. Any thoughts?

http://www.rochebois.com/

Also, we're not opposed to renting a villa but, since there's only two of us I'm just not sure that makes sense.

Thank you!

ILP

I've driven by it many times - it's kind of a golf resort, I believe. If you can roust StCirq's interest, I think she is familiar with it.

Stu Dudley

Thanks, Stu. Another option I was considering is Chateau les Merles in Mouleydier. You think it's too far off the beaten path? And no, we don't golf so we certainly don't have to stay at a golf resort.

http://www.lesmerles.com/

That's too far west.

Stu Dudley

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but I stayed here for 5 or 6 nights a few years ago and I really liked the place. I had a darling room. The owners were very nice. There are some table d'hote meals. It is very convenient. Take a look and see if it appeals to you:
http://www.les-granges-hautes.fr/en/index.htm

Joan

It's a golf resort, which wouldn't be my first choice of lodging in the Dordogne unless I were a golfer. It's a very attractive place from the exterior, but I've never been inside.

Les Granges Hautes is very nice.

And Google Le Moulin Neuf in Paunat, a really nice B&B, though I don't know what the set-up of their facilities is. Also check out Le Relais des Cinq Châteaux, which is a hotel, but nicely situated. And L'Esplanade in Domme.

A few years ago I spent a few nights at the Hostellerie de Meysset, just outside Sarlat. It is a lovely manor house with an outdoor dining area with lovely views of the surrounding Vezere valley..As I recall the food was very good...

http://www.hotel-meysset.com/en/acceuil.htm

And La Belle Etoile and La Plume d'Oie in La Roque-Gageac.

Again a vote against staying in a golf resort unless you are golfers. The restaurant is very expensive, and I don't know how good it is. As an area resident, I don't know anyone who's ever been, which probably inst a good sign.

We know the people from Les Granges Hautes, who are extremely nice, have travelled a lot, and speak some English. I would choose it over either of the locations in la Roque-Gageac.

Fodorites....

Thanks so much for all the feedback!! We're looking to stay at a nicer place. 4 star I guess but, without the attitude. It doesn't matter if it's a hotel, chateau, villa, inn or, b&b. So far, all the accommodations I really like like are located out of the general area where we need to stay.

I've read some mixed reviews on Le Vieux Logis. Chateau de la Treyne also looks kind of nice. Any feedback from the locals on these? How about Clos la Boetie right in Sarlat? Any feedback on that or any others you can think of?

We've decided to stay 5 nights in the Sarlat area (Sep 4-9)and the last two in La Rochelle/Ile de Re (Sep 9-11) before heading to Paris by train on September 11th.

Merci Beaucoup for your help!

ILP

Ch de la Treyne is VERY nice - but I would still recommend that you stay west of Souillac. Last time friends of ours stayed at Ch Treyne (honeymoon), they were also required to have dinner there.

Stu Dudley

The Viuex Logis is, IMO, stuffy. And there's nothing else happening in Trémolat. And I would sacrifice the Château de la Treyne for a more convenient location. Driving in and out of and around Souillac is a pain.

I don't know much about it except for driving past it a thousand times, but check out Les Glycines in Les Eyzies. It's at the far end of town, so the fact that Les Eyzies is a tourist mecca might not be all that bothersome. Or l'Abbaye in St-Cyprien.

Thanks Stu & StCirq. I'm having trouble finding this hotel online...l'Abbaye in St-Cyprien. You aren't talking about Le Moulin de l'Abbaye, are you? I would love it but, it's about 93km from Sarlat so I doubt that's the one you're referring to.

I can't find the official website for the hotel, but I just googled st-cyprien hotel l'abbaye and got dozens of hits. Don't have time to wade through them now, but you should be able to find it.

If you want a place which is still reasonably close to Sarlat, you might want to look into the Hotel du Manoir de Bellerive: http://www.bellerivehotel.com/

I have not stayed or eaten there, but have heard very good things about it..

good luck...

Thanks Langcraft. I saw that today and it peaked my interest but, then I started reading some mixed reviews. Some said the rooms are run down and another said there's had a moldy smell. Geez, I never thought that finding a nice, well located hotel would be so tough!

I SO appreciate the help from everyone!

No,no, I wouldn't go to the Manoir de Bellerive. Unless they did a big renovation in the last year, it's not going to suit you.

I LUV PARIS,
My husband and I stayed at the Clos La Boetie in Sept. 2008 for 7 nights. We stayed in a Prestige room which was very spacious, king size bed, two closets, TV, two chairs, 2 large windows that looked out to the street and 2 large windows that looked out to the street.It was very clean and the bathroom had two sinks, a walk-in shower and a separate toilet area.
If you look on their website, they first wanted to give us the pink room under the eaves which had a sloping ceiling and we did not like it. They then said we could have a room that was for handicapped (we are not) We took it and it is the one I described. It was on the second floor.
We loved the location of the hotel for daytrips all around the area. It was a 5-7 minute easy walk into the center of Sarlat. We liked that as we did not want to drive in the evening and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Sarlat. We also liked the location in Sarlet as we could just walk into town for a snack or just to wander around when we got back in the afternoon. We had breakfast at the hotel in a small room on the main floor. There was a choice of eggs, bakery items, cereal, fruit etc. It was served to you not a buffet. There is also a parking lot for the hotel down the street (I think it was 12Euros a day) We used it as we did not want to hassle finding a parking spot, but on the street where the hotel is there is street parking. On the lower level of the hotel, there is free internet service which is convenient. The receptionist made dinner reservations for us and suggested restaurants based upon our tastes. Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the hotel and found it to be a good base to explore the area. We would stay there again if we returned.
I hope this helps and if you have any other questions about the hotel please post here and I will check back. I hope I have not given you too much info but when I was looking for info on this board for this hotel no one had stayed there.
DAC

Hi DAC,

Thanks a million! I greatly appreciate your detailed review. In the meantime, I had booked a hotel (Vieux Logis) because I was finding that several hotels already have limited availability over our dates. Many did not have at least some of our days available when I checked so, I wanted to get something on the books. We can cancel without penalty so naturally I'm still looking around.

I found what looks like a lovely property (self catering) but, I'm questioning the location?? Mapquest says it's about an hour from Sarlat. We'd have the whole Gatehouse to ourselves and the owner tells me it's located near several beautiful villages (naturally she'd say that!) Hopefully some of the knowledgeable locals will weigh in on the location:


http://www.chateauarnac.co.uk/pages/...-gatehouse.php

I tell ya, just looking around at properties to stay... I can't wait to go!

I would want to stay closer to Sarlat.

I did not find the exact location of the chateau anywhere on their site - except that it is an "easy" drive to Collognes, Turrenne, etc (which are places you'll want to visit). What village did you use for determining the Mapquest location??

Stu Dudley