Please let me know of any small hotels or B&Bs in the area that you recommend. We are going from May20-31 which is a very busy time there. We are trying to avoid the big cities and crowds, to the extent possible.Thanks

We have stayed at Le Hameau in St. Paul de Vence and Mas du Soleil in Tourrettes sur Loup and would recommend both. Both villages are inland and less crowded than the coast, although St. Paul de Vence gets crowded during the day. I know a friend who tried to book Le Hameau for three days at the end of May and was told there was no availability.
Good luck and have a great trip.

Near Valbonne is the fairly new small hotel Bastide de Valbonne, and in nearby Plascassier (small village 3 km west) is the Relais de Sartoux. In Valbonne itself (a charming small town) is Armoires, a pretty little hotel on the town square.

I have written before about Domaine des Roses in Mougins--will top it for you now--also, have written a longer review on the slow trav site some time ago, which u can also check out.

Someone just posted (RobynFrance; search) about the Domaine des Roses near Mougin, which sounds very nice ideed. Here's the web site:

http://www.bbfrance.com/pinazo.html

Robynfrance, I did a search on Domaine des Roses in Mougins for July on this forum and your reply was the only thing that came up. Could I possibly get the same info that you were writing about to QWE, and did you mean that you would post this as a reply or need my email address. Any info would be great. Thanks! gg

Here is my review from the Slow Trav site--hope it is what you are after.

Provence: Mougins: Domaine des Roses
1011 Chemin des Cabrières, Phone: 33.4.93.75.55.73; fax: 33.4.93.75.55.12
www.bbfrance.com/pinazo.html

Reviewed by: RobynFrance from NC

When: May 2003

This is a marvelous b & b in a beautiful residential area in Mougins, just outside Cannes. The accommodations are for a couple or family, with a beautiful bath.

This was a wonderful experience for us. It is more like being a guest in a private home with a separate wing. The included breakfast is gorgeous and copious and there is a little fridge, coffeemaker and nice storage in the wing. We came back early each day to relax as the setting and pool were so scenic. M. and Mme are very helpful--we speak fluent French so the language is what we seek--English is minimal but they have the basics I believe.

Check the pictures on the website for a good idea of the beauty--not rated with stars. It is an incredible bargain at 65 Euros and we hope to return on another


Take care,
Robyn France

I assume you've seen this thread with the same title as yours because I think I suggested you read it; but just in case you couldn't find it
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34393022

Another thread with more info

Help needed with location cote d'azur
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34395322

A specific suggestion from another thread

Author: grandsam
Date: 04/18/2003, 03:31 pm
Message: try collinedevence.online.fr It's a lovely B&B with pool, owned by a Franco-German couple (Kristin is the one you'll deal with. She is a delight.) We stayed there last May. You'll need a car, of course.

and another from an older thread

Author: hans
Date: 05/21/2001, 12:52 pm
Message: In March my wife and stayed at the Auberge de Tourrettes in Tourrettes-sur-Loup. We liked it because it was located in a small medieval hill village, yet only a half hour from the coast by car. The inn was comfortable and newly rennovated -- try and get the room with the terrace so you can have breafast there in the morning. The restaurant is superb!

http://www.aubergedetourrettes.fr/

you can see more shots of the village and the inn in the Cote d'Azur, part 2 album at

http://community.webshots.com/user/zaepfels
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In addition to these suggestions mostly up in the hills west of Nice, I've (mclaurie) also stayed in Villefranche (at the Hotel Welcome) which is on the water just beyond Nice. It's a charming old town with several hotels. The Welcome has no pool but has a bit of charm for a reasonably priced hotel in a very convenient location. There is a train station & easy access to Nice & other towns from Villefranche more so than from the hill town locations. Others here have mentioned the Flore & the Versailles both I think do have pools.

Hope this helps.

We got home last night from a 10 day trip to Provence. Our favorite of all of the places was stayed was the Auberge de Tourrettes in Tourrettes sur Loup. It is about a thirty minute drive from the coast, but the town is enchanting. We stayed in their apartment which is in an adjacent building and which has a truly magnificient view. The rooms with the balcony should have almost the same view. The food was amazing and the people could not have been nicer. The auberge is not actually within the walls of the city but is is just adjacent.