About 35 years ago we stayed a Hotel while driving from Paris to Lyon - it was near Lyon. I would like to find the place again if it still exists but I am not sure of the name and don't recall the town so here goes.
It might have been called the Post. I was told that it dated back several hundred years and had always been a hotel, stagecoach stop, etc. The concierge told me that it was the oldest continuously operating travel sleepover place in France, but I do not know if that is true. Outside it looked like a white wall and had a large wooden gate. Driving through the gate to the interior it looked like a very small town with half timbered buildings - it was like going back in time. The hotel had a fabulous restaurant. People at the time came from all over for the restaurant and would stay over. Can anyone identify the place and town?

don't know it for sure but this looks like a contender:

Hotel de la Poste - at Chantelle, France
http://www.val-de-sioule.com/poste/
- situated along a line from Paris-Orleans-Bourges-HOTEL-Lyon

Thanks Travelnut but I don't think that is the place. The pictures do not look right and as I recall, the hotel that I am looking for is no more than an hour from Lyon, probably closer to 1/2 hour or so. The hotel did not look like a building from the outside. Just a long white wall, a few stories high that had a large gate. You did not see buildings until you drove through the gate. There was a parking garage at the end of the street. At the time I was driving a small Renault 4. All of the other cars in the garage were Mercedes, Big Citroens, Rolls and such. I was thinking what did I get myself into - did the price quoted have the decimal point in the wrong place? As it turned out, the hotel at the time was not expensive at all, but the restaurant broke our budget. There was not an entree under the equivelent of $50 and this was 1968. I would love to revisit next year when we plan to recreate our honeymoon trip for our anniversary.

How about this one..it's been an inn since the 1700's

http://www.innsoffrance.com/hotelview.aspx?h=2029

Thanks Jody- although it is further from Lyon than I recall, I am pretty sure this is the place - it sure looks like what I remember and the restaurant was said to have been in the Mich guide forever so that checks out too. It is also on the road we took between Paris and Lyon and not far from Vezelay where we stopped for awhile. It sure brings back great memories. We arrived in the mid afternoon and there were a number of very well dressed folk - obviously belonging to the large automobiles in the garage - standing around the small lobby waiting for their rooms to be ready. A young lady in a French maids uniform (black with white lace) was passing around a tray with snifters of excellent brandy (free!!) while we waited. I have never seen that since. We are really looking forward to returning and I see that the hotel prices are still very reasonable. Thanks again.

Actually I wish I'd found it sooner for myself and our trip next month!!!!

Maybe you can still work something out.

Jody - I was doing a Fodor search for another post and came accross an old post of yours about the du Danube. That is our favorite in Paris too. Last time there we had the large room up in the attic with the little balcony overlooking the street. The hotel is a charmer with a location that is hard to beat. I wish it had AC.