Favorite B&B, guesthouse,or small inn; where,and why
 

There was a great post recently about favorite hotels. Since we usually prefer smaller places and countryside instead of just big cities, I would like to hear about favorite small inns or B&B's both in cities and in the countryside. Where have you gone that was memorable (for a good reason) and why.

It seems quite difficult to compare places in France to England to Germany etc.

But I have enjoyed several in Germany - - two in the Oberkirch area, another about 15 miles from Landshut (I feel pretty sure I have posted about these before, but I can dig up their names if you need them).

Also remember that I really liked the Fairlight Lodge in Windsor.

And an auberge in Froeningen (just outside Basel) - -in France, not in Switzerland.

Best wishes,

Rex

I'm rather partial to the Pensione Dientzenhofer in Prague. http://www.dientzenhofer.cz/

Does a former 17th cent convent qualify ?

If so, in France we loved Le Relais Cicero in La Fleche (Loire Valley). Beautiful, well appointed rooms. Gorgeous private garden surrounded by a high, ivy covered wall. You'd never know you're in the middle of the town, but you exit out the vaulted double arches and you're one block from the pedestrian street, old-fashioned carousel and wonderful restaurants. There's even a local patissier who comes very close to replicating Laduree's macaroons.

Lots of memorable places. One that comes to mind for the best breakfast ever is Fossil Guest House in Strathkiness near St. Andrews Scotland. Couldn't rate this place high enough.

Hotel de Biencourt in Azay-le-Rideau in the Loire. It's an easy walk to the chateau and several restaurants. The staff are wonderful, but I think the real reason is the building used to be a school and the sign is still on the interior courtyard. I'm a retired teacher so it makes me feel at home.

They really are very nice there!

Dr. and Mrs. Walter Fleps in Budapest had a great B&B. Unfortunately, they are not doing it any more. He was a lawyer until the communists said they didn't need lawyers so he became a chemistry professor. She had a most intersting story about being imprisoned because a coworker, being watched by the police, brought her paycheck. They spoke fondly of before the takeover of walking along the Danube on Sunday afternoons watching what people wore. He did a fine walking tours booklet that a visitor had published.

A place that comes to mind for countryside locations is Le Chalet in the Haute-Savoie area of France, near Bellevaux. Just a lovely, small place with a beautiful mountain backdrop. Dinner comes with the stay, but is served late, so you have plenty of time for a glass of wine (all included) or a game of boules. They keep horses and can arrange rides along with a picnic lunch in the mountains. I'd love to go back someday. A great place to relax.

Heaton's Guest House in Dingle Ireland.

The porridge with Drambuie was the cherry on the cake. Site magnificent; proprietors, Cameron and Nuala Heaton are splendid. Erin Go Bragh!

Anthony

We started off choosing these spots because they were centrally located to sites we wanted to see, but they're memorable to us because of the hospitality, accommodations and the fair price:

We explored from Portofino to Lucca while staying a week at...
http://www.lapiccolaoasi.com/

We explored some of the Loire Valley while staying five nites at...
http://www.lagrangebleue.com/

We explored much of the West Country while staying ten nites at...
http://www.winsors-farm.co.uk/

The West Loch Hotel, West Loch Tarbert, Argyllshire, Scotland.

Good food, good drink, nice company, terrific location, and a tray breakfast before the early ferry to Islay.

Anyone have any favorites in Brittany or Dordogne regions of France?

We ranged from Beynac to Beaulieu in the Dordogne Region and enjoyed our stay at St Sozy, having our breakfasts on the terrace overlooking the scenic valley below.

http://www.pechgrand.myweb.nl/

The old Mill Highland Lodge http://www.theoldmillhighlandlodge.co.uk/

in Talladale by Loch Maree, beautiful setting, good food and drink

The Dunain Park Hotel in Inverness Scotland. I daydream about it all the time. Gorgeous gardens, views, food, and the most delightful host.

Czech Republic: Buchlov Park, near Buchlovice in Moravia

Germany: Gasthof (Gasthaus?) Zum Lamm, near Lauda-Konigshofen

Soggiorno Battistero in Florence. Spent four nights there this past December and we loved it. Quad room overlooking the Baptistry with the Duomo so close you could almost touch it.

Great hosts, Luca and Kelly, the latter from San Jose,Ca.

I loved looking out the window early each morning drinking my coffee as tour groups walked across the piazza on their way to the Uffizi.
About 110 Euros for the Quad.
==Mike

The Hostellerie Les Griffons in Bourdeilles, France (Dordogne). This really nice couple had just "retired" from major jobs in Paris and had bought this ancient little inn and mill on the river. It was wonderful, but it seemed clear to me that while the husband was enjoying playing host, taking the orders and serving wine in the wonderful little restaurant, and generally socializing with guests -- the wife was not having nearly so good a time doing cleaning, making beds, clearing tables, and doing laundry.

Just found this again as I was thinking about how much I enjoy the small family-run guesthouses in European countryside
and how different that is from the Red Roof Inns, etc lined up by the exits near the shopping malls in the U.S.
Any more favorite places?

OK, have to add La Maison Sur Colline a b&b 2km from Carcassone. We stayed there a few weeks ago so I've posted before how much I loved there blue room.

Also, not a b&b, maybe a boutique hotel, and definitely not cheap: Hotel Tresanton, St. Mawes, Cornwall. When we stayed there in 2000, there were fresh tulip bouquets throughout and a full moon across the water. I'm STILL waiting to decorate our bathroom like the one in our room!