MsTea

Is this common? I have received two responses out of four for inns & hotels in Provence & Cote d'Azur (It's been weeks). Do they take the month of January off, or is this their way of saying they don't have anything for me?
Just for the record, I'm trying to find lodging for a family of four and it's quite a challenge. Many places have only rooms for two, some offer space for a third person, very few have rooms or suites for four. Why is this? Are families expected to book two rooms when they travel? Thanks for any advice you can offer. MsT

robjame

Have you checked your spam filter? Some email programs treat these replies as spam and don't deliver them to your mailbox. There is probably a separate folder in your mail program where spam is isolated. Try checking this folder.

jgg

We are a family of 4 and we often have to rent two rooms. In some cities we have found quad rooms but they are harder to find. We have also rented apts. which can provide more space for the same or less money.

JuneAnn

I often use that as an indicator of a hotel's service, etc. I would choose a hotel with which I could have easy communications...it makes travel so much easier.

SuzieC

I'd consider that some of the hotels in the Cote just may be on VERY limited staff at this time of the year.

SuzieC

er... meant to add, adjust for the time difference and give 'em a call?

StuDudley

Some hotels are closed this time of year. That's probably what is happening to your e-mails. The exact same thing happenend to us last year. The Lices hotel in St Tropez is closed from Jan 7 to March 31. They occasionally answered the e-mails. Of the 14 hotels in St Tropez listed in my Michellin Guide, 8 are closed now.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

I agree - most likely they're closed for the season.

As for the number of rooms, ask for chambres communicantes (2 adjoining rooms sharing a common hallway and bath). Lots of hotels have them. But we also often had to book two rooms for our family of four, so yes, you many have to do that.

Christina

I would say it is probably both reasons (closed and they don't have room), but the time of year is really bad to be doing that. IF you are really interested in a place, it's better to call at this time of year.

I did this once and some places were closed and others only had someone answering email once a week or so, it seemed. After many weeks, that choice is up, though. Unlike many other cities, in Provence, I have had many more hotels simply never respond if they did not have room. I've never had that happen anyplace else, the establishment would always respond and say they had no rooms, but in Provence, they don't seem to want to bother.

I have had worst luck with FAXes in Provence so don't even bother with that anymore. Hotels/inns really don't want to respond to those as it costs them money. I just won't deal with any place anymore that doesn't have email, it makes things simpler and nowadays, it's really odd when a place doesn't even have that.

MsTea

I checked for spam - not there. Thanks for that suggestion though.
I have just made a request for an apartment and am keeping my fingers crossed. Can anyone recommend a favorite web site that specializes in apartments?
Thank you for your answers and suggestions- so many so quickly. Guess I'm not the only one with France on my mind on this gray afternoon.

saltymuffin

I have found the same thing. I too am booking hotels in Provence, and have found that they simply don't respond if they are full. For each destination, I have been narrowing down my selection to 2 or 3 hotels, contact all of them, and then make my selection based on who replys. I helps with some of those tough decisions if nothing else!

nbujic

I used Venere and had the resrvation conf.

saltymuffin

Venere is a great site, IF the hotel you are interested in is listed. so many of the small ones are not.

sandi_travelnut

check www.vrbo.com for some apts.

rkkwan

This is off-topic, but during my recent trip to Sicily, one of the small hotels I booked thru Venere actually <b>emailed me directly</b> to thank me after the booking went through. Now, that's good service.