cwn

I am working on our June trip to France. We would like to spend nights in Ypres, Albert and Bayeux. These towns will be home base for day trips to the WWI and WWII sites my husband wants to see.

Can someone suggest places to stay in each town. We are looking for 4 star type of places. We like special or interesting small hotels. We also like the B&B places, but we do want a private bath. Plus I would like to have something interesting to see/do, if I get battlefield over load!

Thank you for your help.

Underhill

Could you be more specific about your hotel wants? Four-star hotels are the big, fancy, expensive ones; is that what you're after? Most of the towns you mention don't have luxury hotels.

USNR

You might have better luck looking for a place to stay in Amiens instead of tiny Albert. If your husband is interested in sights along the Somme, Amiens would be centrally located.

Ypres, of course, is in Belgium, not France. If you do not find a place in Ypres, you might try Brugge. I can recommend a gentleman there who conducts all-day tours in his own minivan of the Ypres area -- Mt. Kemmel, Poperinge, Langemarck, the cemeteries, all the way to the restored trenches along the coast, following the back roads to places few tourists ever find. While your husband does his WW1 exploring, you could wander through medieval Brugge on your own.

cwn

OK, I will try again.

We like very nice small hotels or B&B's especially those that are special for some reason. Cost is less a concern than quality. We like places with nice rooms and a private bath and maybe good food service too. Ariens would be OK. I didn't realize that a 4* hotel was only a big hotel, thought it ment service too.

Viajero2

cwn-- I, too, am a really baffled by your choice of some of your home bases given your stated trip purpose and the desire to "switch" the scenery, if overloaded (which I think is a good thought). Please consider Deauville as one of your home bases in France and also a day trip to Mount St. Michel. Deauville is the home town of Coco Chanel; her first store still there on the main street. Plenty to see and do (and shop!! ). Have a wonderful time! Sounds like a very special trip for you guys, enjoy it!

Christina

It isn't the case hat 4* hotels are only big hotels, that is not it at all. It is a category based on facilities, services and amenities, as you thought. There are definitely small 4* hotels in France (including chateaux, villas/mas in Provence, as well as small expensive boutique hotels, etc), although I don't know about the particular towns you are asking about or if that is the situation in those places. But it is not a fact that 4* hotels are by definition large, or that all 4* hotels would be called luxury hotels. Most would not. B&Bs are modest places, though, I don't understand why you want B&Bs if you want 4* places.

cwn

I have stayed at several B&Bs and small inns/hotels (not considered 5*) in the States that were equal to or better than the well known 5* hotels/resorts in the same areas as far as the rooms and service are concened! We have also found places like this in Southeastern France and in Germany. I really have no clue what the * ratings were, just thought the 4* would help define the quality that we would like to find, if possible.

I was hoping that someone might know the area of the Somme Battle lines and the Normandy Beaches well enough to be able the recommemd a really nice hotel or B&B in the area. My husband picked the towns based on the driving tour he wants to do. However, there may be a better town than Albert as a place to stay that is near where he wants to be. Albert was the recommendation of the driving tour operator, as were the other two towns. We are not locked into them, except Ypres.

Sorry, my use of 4* is causing a problem for everyone. It is after all a nice room and nice service that we would like to find.

Viajero2- Thanks for the suggestion- We are already planning to travel to Mount St Michel after our time in Bayeux. We were there before with one of our children, but it was August and all of France was there too! Do you have a recommendation on a place to stay there?

I don't see Deauville on the Sommes Battlefield map I am working from. It mostly has only the small towns. However. I will match it up with the regular travel map of France and see if it might work. Something for me to do is secondary to the ease of getting to the battle sites. I was just wondering if there was something else of interest in the different areas.

Maybe this area is too much a "battle" tourist destination to have the really nice accomdations and neat places I love to find.

IGN

I think I'm probably a bit late to pass on this information but it might be of help to someone else so....
My wife and I spent 4 days exploring the Somme WW1 battlefields (and also the beautiful countryside) earlier this year and were recommended a wonderful place to stay in a town called Corbie (about 15 mins from Amiens and right in the middle of everything that you'd want to see). The friend that recommended Le Macassar (they have a web site www.lemacassar.com ) told us about it like he was imparting a precious secret and, having stayed, I can see why. Its an amazing Art Deco mansion with fantastic rooms and the most wonderful welcome and service. We left feeling like we'd stayed with close friends and were thoroughly spoiled - truely the sort of experience that makes travelling all the more special.

cwn

Hi,

This is one of the places that sounded really nice and came highly recommended. We would have booked, except they have house pets. I have asthma that really flares around then. But it would difinitely be one to look in too.

jody

In Ieper (Ypres) try the hotel Ariane..good sized rooms, clean and a wonderful restaurant.

margo_oz

On a similar trip, a couple of years ago (to Australian sites) we stayed at Chateau d'Omiecourt, in the countryside outside Amiens.
http://www.chateau-omiecourt.com/uk/Default.asp?

It was one of the nicest places we stayed at on the whole trip - a welcoming hose, nice grounds, very good rooms with bathrooms.

We also stayed at Albert - at Averill Williams, but I couldn't really recommend that - although it was interesting!

alohatoall

Check out the chateaux listed here, including one near Bayeux: http://www.bienvenue-au-chateau.com/...d_propriete=16. We have stayed at several of B&Bs offered by Bienvenue au Chateaux and had wonderful experiences at all of them.

StCirq

Interesting that no one ever seemed to notice that the OP was actually heading to NW France, not NE. Hope she went the right direction when she got there!