Ready to book and trying to decide between Villa Florentine and Cour des Loges. The price difference is minimal . . . I've heard Villa Florentine is a bit of a hike - would that deter anyone from staying there again?

Any other differences to consider?

Lyon is about location. Choose by location.

to expand on the location: the closest to Place Bellecourt....although off the bat: Cour des Loges looked amazing!

I was under the impression that Old Lyon was the place to be?

Well, I walked by both places last fall if that helps. Bit beyond my budget.

Villa has superb view over city, nice terrasse, located on steep street leading from Fourviere down to Old Town. Cour des Loges is in the Old Town, on a street parallel to St Jean, the main street. Within couple of blocks of each other.

Access wise, walking to and from VF might be a bit more work, since it is halfway up the mountain. Metro access is at the Old Town level, off of St Jean, at the Cathedral end of the Old Town. I spent part of every day in Old Town, and there are many sights there to keep you busy, but to ge the most out of Lyon you will want to Metro to other locations.

Hope this helps,
Mike

I haven't stayed at either, but I'd choose Cour des Loges for proximity to sights and walkability, but Villa Florentine for the views. VF is on a hill overlooking the city - if you're on foot then as you say you would have a hike to get there, or else would be reliant on taxis, as the public transport options (bus/metro/funicular) are an uphill or downhill walk. I've also heard that the restaurant at Villa Florentine is rather poor value for money, but that's hearsay not personal experience.

Paucie,
In '04 we stayed near the Place Bellecour in the 2e on boutique lined Gasparin at the Globe & Cecile,
but... we chose to lunch at the Villa Florentine, because we had read such enthusiastic press about the hotel and its Les Terrasses with 1 Michelin star.
It turned out to be a both a wonderful and memorable experience and an extraordinarily good value at 45 euros for a three course gastronomic feast, including wine. Again, this is a special lunch offer only served Mon.-Sat.

We also visited the Cours des Loges and La Tour Rose in Vieux Lyon.

If both were within my travel budget, I would opt for the VF for something truly unforgettable, primarily the views. As I'm sure you know, it's a member of Relais & Chateaux, and the dining room is stunning, cuisine and service exemplary and views from the terrace delightful.
But if you were to stay there, you'd need to climb up and down a very steep hill (or be driven in taxi). Not too bad, but not convenient for heavy sightseeing, if this is a first time visit. The Cours des Loges is much more central on a flat cobblestone street in tourist packed Vieux Lyon with easy access across the bridge to Centre Ville.

The Cours des Loges has 62 rooms, while the VF is more intimate with only 20.

I was more impressed overall with the VF. It's a discreet and elegant hideaway in the city, but be prepared to get your exercise!

I have articles from La Belle France on both.
La BF waxes rhapsodic about the VF's luxury quotient. But they stress that one should opt for a class double like #11 or #12 rather than the small, viewless doubles. Five of the rooms have their own terraces.
Their review of the Cour des Loges stressed the word "dark" because most of the rooms overlook the nine interior courtyards instead of the street. And my European Traveler newsletter also prefers the VF, and they're quite picky.
And if a pool is a must, then you should book the VF with gazing rights of the entire city. The CdeL's pool is tiny with no views.

Hope this helps you a bit more to decide. If someone were to give me a gift certificate for either, I would choose the VF.

Hope this helps you to decide.

Wonderful, articulate, helpful responses! Thank you -- I think I'm leaning slightly one way now . . .

Paucie,
I'm glad it was helpful.
I forgot to mention that both are Karen Brown favorites. Of the VF, Karen says rooms 4, 7 and 8 have particularly breathtaking views.

Does anyone have any current info on the Hotel Globe et Cecil? I have a business trip to Lyon for the first week in October. I have read that the hotel may be a bit shabby....as I will be working, I need a clean, bright comfortable place...any alternate ideas under 200 euros/day???

Maribel, I am interested in €45 lunch menu you mentioned so I took a look at the hotel site. Perhaps I can try it next time in Lyon. I spend a weekend or two per year there. That's their Menu d'Affaire isn't it? You wrote the price included wine but I don't see a mention of beverage on the menus detail. Can you tell how it did go actually?

We stayed at the Villa Florentine and really enjoyed it. The room was beautiful (the bathroom products were gorgeous - had a bath just to use the soap!!)The view is amazing and the walk is really not too bad. Would recommend.

kappa,
Our meal at the V.F. was in '04, and we took the Menu d'Affaire, only offered during the week at lunch. My Michelin guide says that the price is 45€ but doesn't indicated that it includes wine in '06. It's still a good value for the presentation, quality and the setting!

Ferros,
As I mentioned above, we did stay at Globe et Cecil.
I would not book a room on one of the lower 2 floors, as they appeared to be quite basic, and totally different from our fifth floor. The upper floor doubles, now at 155€ have been redecorated in an Art Deco style. My friends stayed in room 53, and room 51 is a pretty corner room with bath and shower. The single, 52, has a shower only. We were quite happy on the fifth floor.
The rate includes an ample continental breakfast served downstairs. We loved the located on the rue Gasparin, an elegant shopping street in the heart of the 2nd. The owner, Nicole Renart, was charming. This small privately run hotel is not luxurious, but it did offer a good value, at least for us.

We had originally planned to stay at the des Artistes, but the square was in total renovation that summer, so we chose the Globe et Cecil. It's still recommended in the '06 Louis Vuitton guide, as is the des Artistes. The G et C rooms have been equipped with wireless Internest access, I believe.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Maribel, so I understand you don't remember if the beverage was included. Well it's not that important. Probably not any more of they keep the same price two years later. I will try to convince my friends to invite me there for my birthday in two months ;-)

of > if

Yes, kappa, when we took the Menu d'Affaire the wine was included, because my total bill, for 3, which I have in front of me, with wine was 135€, 45€ each.

But on the V.F. web site wine isn't included. My '06 Gault Millau states that a 40€ menu with wine now is served for lunch at Le Petit Florentin, the alternative restaurant only open for lunch on Sun./Mon.
At any rate, for a special birthday lunch, the Villa Florentine would certainly be the place I would choose!

Thanks Maribel,

I will resend a note to the Hotel asking for their better quality room...I like the idea of the corner! We are staying 7 nights so they better be very accomodating otherwise this Forum will be informed when I return!

Dear Maribel,

Thank you very much for this idea for lunch. My friend has agreed and we will be off to Lyon at the end of this month. We can make it as a day trip but perhaps we will stay overnight as we have already done a few times.

Thank you to Paucie too for starting this thread !

We stayed at the Cour des Loges for one night last year. I did not like it as it was too dark. Way too dark! Ant while the lobby was stricking the after dinner smoking that got into our rooms wasn't so great. There were six of us in three room. My room had a tiolet smaller than on an airplane. The shower/tub and sink were two steps up behind a curtain. Not so great. I didn't like the other two rooms either.

I wish we had stayed at the Tour Rose. Similar location and probably nicer. We didn't stay at the Villa Florentine as we were only in Lyon for one night and didn't want to "waste" time getting to and from the hotel.