Finding a lovely B&B or small hotel in Provence
 

We will be spending five days in Paris and five days in Provence at the beginning of April. Since this is a second honeymoon, we would like a place with lovely linens and a soothing bathroom.

I have read about Le Bastice Rose in Le
Thor and La Bastide De Capelongue in Bonnieux. Does anyone know of either of these places?

Thanks! Jane

No, But I have stayed at the wonderful Bastide de Marie.

In a lovely little village called Nan-les-Pins you will find the Domaine le Gavaudun, a beautiful homey small hotel that will make you wish you could stay forever. It's the essence of Provence. Good luck.

Thank you for the suggestions. We would like some English spoken. This is our first trip to France, and are a bit concerned about our ability to communicate. What do you think?

I only know of them, haven't been there. The Bastide Rose is run by Pierre Salinger's wife, maybe you knew that (I guess he's around some). I was considering staying in Capelonguee but preferred the place in Joucas ultimately (le Mas Herbes Blanches). AS it turned out, I decided to stay in a more modest place finally that was farther west, but I had dealings with le Mas Herbes Blanches and they were very nice and the rate wasn't too bad.

I think I read some negative reviews about Bastide Capelongue somewhere (at least for the price you'd have to spend). Perhaps on digital.france.com/hotels so you might check that out for customer reviews. I wasn't going to spend more than for the cheapest room and that review didn't make that sound like a good idea.

Since this is your honeymoon another place with beautiful linens and things is The Bastide de moustiers.
and The Crillon Le Brave, all three in lovely locations and great food for a romantic getaway.

Thanks for the heads up on Capelongue. I read the review and it is definitely off our list.

Does le Mas Herbes Blanches have an e-mail address or FAX?

How about The Bastide de moustiers or The Crillon Le Brave?

I appreciate your help!

Re Paris~ We are planning to stay at Leveque on Rue Cler. It is recommended in Rick Steve's. Any input is appreciated.

Bastide de marie
www.c-h-m.com [email protected]
fax 33(0)4 90 72 54 20
Moustier-Sainte-Marie
www.bastide-moustiers.i2m.fr
[email protected]
fax 04 92 70 47 48
Crillon
www.crillonbrave.com
[email protected]
fax 04 90 65 62 86

I understand the Leveque is quite popular, but it's right ON Rue Cler, which is a busy market street that starts up with the delivery trucks very early in the morning and is pretty bustling all day long and into the evening. You couldn't pay me to stay in a hotel ON Rue Cler, even in a back room.
There are so many other comparable or better hotels right in that neighborhood: the Champs de Mars, the Muguet, the Hôtel de France, the Hôtel Duquesne, just to name a few. You might want to rethink that.

What areas of Provence to you want to see? The Bastide de Moustiers in is a lovely location, but it is considerably out of the way for much sightseeing other than the lovely village of Moustiers-Ste-Marie. The Bastide Rose has gotten good reviews, but I think it is quite expensive. If price is no object, there are any number of other fine places. Do you particularly want to be in or near the Luberon? If so, Le Mas des Herbes Blanche is a good recommendation.

You may also want to check out Maison Bournissac within 5 minutes of St. Remy (a great location for exploring Provence).

I have not stayed there, but it has gotten great reviews, and is supposed to have a great restaurant. It is also very reasonably priced. I've posted the web site for you below.

www.lamaison-a-bournissac.com

You are all terrific! I cannot believe what a wonderful resource this is. I am going to check all of the web-sites and thank you for the info on the Rue Cler hotel. I need to go now, but will check back later tonight. I am SO excited about this trip! Jane

Forgot to mention - an alternative to your Paris choice -

http://www.closmedicis.com/

We stayed here for our first trip to Paris/France/Europe and absolutely loved it. It is also very, very reasonable.

It is a very sweet, charming place, with wonderful English-speaking staff. We also loved that it was on the left bank within minutes walk of St. Germain, Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens, etc. We walked everywhere! The one place we did walk which I would not do again from there was Sacre Coeur - too far and the area is not the greatest to walk in.

Good luck!!

Three friends and I stayed in two rooms at La Bastide Rose about three years ago. You will need a car since the Bastide is in the country. Poppy Salinger speaks perfect English and is a charming hostess. The place is not cheap, however. The rooms are filled with antiques. I don't remember the linens, and while the bathroom was nice, I don't know that it was "soothing." I would stay there again providing cost were not an issue. Le Prévôté in nearby Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a wonderful restaurant.

"Boots is that the one with the canal water running thru the dinning room?

We have stayed at the Bastide de Capelongue a couple of times and love the place. Lovely setting and decor, nice staff. Beautiful sunsets viewed from the dining room and the terrace, with the grounds and pool below, the town of Bonnieux in the distance. Good restaurant with friendly and efficient service, although the latter a bit unrefined. Rooms are smallish but this last time we got a huge one with a privaste terrace [I think the name was Simone]. Half board, which is fine with us, because when staying out in the countryside we generally prefer to have dinner at the hotel. One night this last visit we went to la Feniere for dinner [great restaurant], and our bill at the hotel was reduced accordingly.

We also like the location of Bonnieux. Roads lead out in four directions, so you can loop around when sightseing as opposed to just going back and forth on the same road.

I thought the Bastide de Caplongue looked lovely also from their web site, perhaps even better than the Mas des Herbes Blanches. I was just concerned about the negative review which seemed balanced but indicated there is a range of room quality and it sounded like it wasn't worth the money if you got the cheapest rooms.

Anyway, Mas des Herbes Blanches is a member of Relais & Chateaux so you can see about them on there www.relaischateaux.com and they are on quite a few other web sites, including www.avignon-et-provence.com and also digital.france.com/Hotels with a review.

I think I tried Relaix & Chateaux web site which I checked out and did not seem to increase the room rates from some others I knew -- however, they had an instant reservation check and said there were no rooms at all for my dates. I wasn't surprised as I wanted peak period, but I went around them as I usually do when that happens and emailed them directly. They gave me a good vacant room then, even though R&C said they were full. I think sometimes booking sites don't get access to all rooms or something. They quoted me about $200 for a double with balcony and valley view which wasn't bad compared to other places (this was peak season in 2001).

YOu can find their address, phone and FAX numbers on the various web sites, but this is their personal email address you won't see there:
[email protected]

At that time, Estelle was the reservation clerk I corresponded with and she was very helpful. Of course, they could have a diff. email address now, if so, I'd try through R&C web site probably if you want.

Yes, Cigalechanta, the canal runs under a glass floor in the restaurant. It is a Michelin one-star restaurant. We had a prix fixe lunch there that was wonderful and quite affordable.

Thanks, I was there long ago and couldn't remember the name.