Provence; your opinion on these Saint-Rémy-de-Provence hotels would be greatly appreciated.
 

Dear Fodorites, my partner and I would like to stay within walking distance to St Remy. All of these hotels offer parking, WIFI, TV and most have air. We will be traveling in June 2009 so air may not be a consideration. Since we love to travel and my partner has retired cost is very much a consideration. With "bang for the buck" a major importance which of these hotels would you choose for a 5 night stay? All of these prices include breakfast.

Hotel Castelet des Alpilles, 118E, for deluxe room,TripAdvisor rates 14 out of 26.

Hotel Sous les Figuiers, 109E, smaller, shower only, standard room on ground floor, no TV (a negative for my news addicted partner), TripAdvisor rates 2 out of 26.

Hotel Le Mas des Carassins, 136E, smaller standard room, TripAdvisor rates 4 out of 26.

Hotel du Soleil, 90E, larger deluxe room, no air, TripAdvisor rates 6 out of 26.

Gounod Hotel, this hotel looks interesting but I can not find a web site or even a definite price, TripAdvisor rates 12 out of 26.

We recently stayed at the Hotel du Soleil for two nights and very much enjoyed our stay. We had an air conditioned ground floor room with a small patio equipped with a table and two chairs. The room athough sparse was clean and comfortable enough.


The main selling feature for this hotel is gated parking at night, close proximity to town..5 minute walk to the centre and the nice sitting area with pool and courtyard. We enjoyed the tranquility at night.

We were pleased at the value but I would not say that you could compare it to the others on your list as far as quality...it's a two star hotel.

We tried to secure reservations at the Mas des Carassins and Sous les Figuiers and both were sold out. In the end, we were happy with our stay. It would not be a good choice for anyone that's fussy.

The website for the Hotel Gounod

http://www.hotel-gounod.com/

Good luck with your planning

The link to my photos are at:

www.kodakgallery.com/crazy4travel

There are a few photos of the hotel in St Remy...the courtyard is really quite nice. We enjoy have a place to sit and drink some wine at the end of the day.

crazyfortravel, great photos! Thank you so much for sharing. This will really help me with my 10 day itinerary.

I tried EVERYTHING to find the Gounod site. Thanks again for your kind assistance.

I am considering staying in St Remy for 5 nights and then Gordes for 5 nights. Do you know of any hotels in Gordes or somewhere in the luberon in or near a village

We very much enjoyed our stay in Bonnieux at the Le Clos du Buis. The host Pierre treated us like family and it made a wonderful base to see the region. It`s a B&B but you have access to a kitchen with a Fridge, microwave, toaster etc so if you want to make some light meals in the evening you can. It`s right in the town of Bonnieux with several good restaurants in close proximity.

We purchased goods at the market on two days and had a wonderful meal of bread, cheese, sausage, tapenades, olives, fresh tomato, avocado etc. A chilled bottle of local rose to wash it down. We were able to enjoy it in the wonderful courtyard overlooking the Luberon countryside and mountains.

The website for Le Clos du Buis is:
http://en.leclosdubuis.fr/

Le Ferme Huppe outside of Gordes gets very high ratings here on on the slow travel website as well. I think it might be a tad more pricey:
http://www.lafermedelahuppe.com/

Also Kevin Widrow`s B&B in St Saturin les Apt also gets very high marks:

http://www.masperreal.com/

I`m glad you enjoyed the photos and good luck with your planning.

I have stayed at Mas Des Romarins in Gordes. It is a lovely hotel, great hosts and within walking distance of Gordes We asked for a room with a view of the hills of Gordes and had a very pleasant stay there. There is also a common patio overlooking Gordes.I believe it is a companion hotel to Le Mas des Carassins
www.masromarins.com

crazyfortravel, all three of those hotels are good choices,

Le Clos du Buis, was my first choice but they are already booked for next May. They entertain the same tour groups every May so there are no openings.

Le Ferme Huppe, you are right they get great ratings on different sites. I think I would rather stay within walking distance or within a town. The location is close to Gordes but I would have to get back in the car and drive into town, something I would prefer to avoid.

Mas Perreal, what a great website. It also gets great reviews and the gourmet breakfast sounds tempting. I also appreciate Kevin's frequent and helpful contributions to Fodors. I am just concerned that St. Saturnin does not have enough restaurants or people watching for a 5 night stay.

rosieg, Mas Des Romarins is one hotel I have considered because it is walking distance to Gorges and has good feedback on Tripadvisor.

I E-mailed them for a quote and received "Classical located ground floor with no direct view on the village of Gorde, large size bed, bathroom and toilets, Rate : 124 euros/ day/ 2 guests/ buffet breakfast included"

I am guessing to upgrade to a Superior room with a view would be around 150E/day, too high for our budget. Have you seen any of the "Classique" rooms with no view?

Hi! InMiami:

Stayed at Hotel Sous Les Figuieres for one week in 2006. The setting of the hotel is so lovely & tranquil, yet it is only a five minute walk to St Remy. It's a gem!

Our room #8 was beautifully appointed - subtle, restful colours, well-chosen decorations & furnishings, a large bathroom with double sinks & separate wc. A wardrobe, a closet & a small chest of drawers provided ample storage space! It had a comfortable large king-size bed. The best part was the terrace & garden just outside our french doors!

Every morning we enjoyed breakfast of fresh fruit, yoghurt, breads & confitures, cheese & coffee below the canopy of trees.

Kups & Gisele, the proprietors are warm & welcoming, and professional. They were helpful in making restaurant reservations & suggestions for day trips.

Can you tell that DH & I loved our stay at the Hotel Sous Les Figuires?

BTW - You will welcome the peace of no TV for 5 nights! If your partner needs to connect with the world outside, there is a computer with internet connection for guests' use set up in the winter garden.

Good luck with your plans!

2010

We loved our room at Chateau des Alpilles in 2005. I think it's a closer walk to the center of St. Remy than Mas de Carrins is.

In Gordes we stayed at Hotel Las Romarins also two nights. The view from their terrace of the town lit up at night was wonderful. It seemed like a short, safe walk back from a town restaurant at night. However, I would specify asking for one of the newer rooms.

Several I know stayed at the Figuiers and were content. The Gournod has rave reviews usually and is one of a few hotels in the center of town. We stayed intown at the L'Atelier des Images. LOVED IT!
Whatever you choose. They are all good choices.

Hi InMiami,
Our family of four LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Mas des Carassins. We stayed there for four nights last summer. The hosts were beyond charming and helpful, and the location was perfect--a short scenic walk to town.
Our girls shared a small room on the ground floor with a small private terrace. We had a large, airy, and tastefully furnished room on the second floor, with no terrace but a large bath, sitting area, and a beautiful view of the garden and the Alpilles from our window. We, too, stayed in June, and we did use the air conditioning

The gardens are absolutely lovely, there's a pretty pool, and our times eating breakfast and dinner under the romantic olive trees were a highlight of our trip. The food is very good (though not gourmet), and I highly recommend you eat at the hotel one night. So peaceful!

We also really enjoyed St. Remy. Have a great trip!

At the time of our stay my brother had the room across the hall from us overlooking the gardens but not the town. He was satisfied with this. As stated by others there is a lovely patio area outside the dining room that has a direct view of the town and was a great place to relax with a glass of wine or a book. We always felt safe returning from town in the dark. The rooms we had were on the 2nd floor one up from the main level@ 150.00 euros for each room. If you've been quoted 124.00 and would like to be in Gordes I would say go for it and make use of the patio for the views.The breakfasts were quite good,there is nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh croissants baking and marvellous coffee brewing.
The best views are really from the road leading into Gordes, it truly was breathtaking. you will love it I'm sure.

2010, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Provence and your stay at the Sous les Figuieres.

The hotel looks beautiful on their website. Room 8 now goes for 135E/night which is reasonable. When you add the 12E/person for breakfast the cost goes to 159E, ouch.

But....they also offer two rooms for 85E/night. When I asked by e-mail why the rooms are much less expensive they responded "The medium rooms are smaller in size and have shower; they are situated on the north side".
2010, did you happen to see these smaller rooms?

hopingtotravel, the Chateau des Alpilles web site looks great. I'm surprised it does not have a higher ranking with Tripadvisor. And, another vote for Hotel las Romarins!

cigalechanta, Hotel Les Ateliers de l'Image is out of our price range(185E with breakfast) but I appreciate the photography theme of the hotel.

Wow! rates have gone up. We paid 155 double with shower.

Hax, you felt that you needed air-conditioning in June?

I know you mentioned "walking distance" to St.-Remy, but just in case you have a car, you may want to consider staying about 6 km west of St.-Remy at Hotel Mistral in Mas Blanc des Alpilles. We just stayed there and thoroughly enjoyed it. The rates for two are 51-59 Euros with an ample breakfast buffet, and the hosts are very nice. The hotel is listed at the Logis de France site.

InMiami..we were in St Remy Jun 4th and 5th. We didn`t use the air conditioning the first night and found the room really stuffy. The second night was a much more comfortable sleep with the air conditioning on a low setting. We had patio doors so there was no other window to open, otherwise we may have opted to do that since it was a quiet location.

When we first contacted Le Clos du Buis they were sold out. Luckily for us they contacted us a month later with a cancellation.

I feel exactly the way you do and prefer to be in a town at night to be walking distance to restaurants. The Mas de Romarins seems to get very good reviews here as well. We`ll usually take a room without a view if the hotel has a public area where you can enjoy the same view. We rarely spend any time in the room anyway unless there`s a private terrace. It`ll leave you more funds for some great meals out.

Looks like your plans are shaping up well.

Hi! InMiami:

We did not peek into other rooms at Sous Les Figuiers. Our best guess is that our room #8 faced south. I might be inclined to ask if the standard room is on the ground level with access to the garden. Being able to open french doors & walk outside onto a terrace can "extend" the living area of a smaller room.

Also, you can opt out of breakfast at the hotel to make it more affordable and walk into town for coffee & croissants!

Hope this helps!

2010

hopingtotravel, if you are still following this thread; can you tell me more about the Chateau des Alpilles?

You stated that you liked your room, how about the public areas? Did you enjoy the included breakfast?

Several years ago I spent 3 weeks staying at Ch. des Alpilles. In factg my room is the one right over the front door entrance. It is a large room.

Nice hotel....

The public areas were large grounds with a plane tree avenue. It was warm so we didn't spend a lot of time inside at the bar which I recall as having red leather chairs. There was a swimming pool and sauna which my DH inaugurated for the year--it was late April.

For breakfast I would say you might find a better value in town. I recall baguette, coffee, and orange juice. However, you have to remember that was my first trip to France and I wasn't completely weaned off scrambled eggs and the endless coffee pot!

Our room was an upstairs corner with shutters which closed out the sound of croaking frogs at night. It's been 3 years but I'm thinking I remember hardwood floors, a red and white decor, a nice bathroom with a big open window.

If I recall, at least one of the owners was American.

Our trip was 17 days and DH recalls it as one of his favorites, if that helps.

We just returned from four days at Mas des Carassins. It is located on a quiet side street, at most a 10 minute walk to town. The grounds, accomodations, breakfasts, dinners and especially the hosts are FORMIDABLE. It may be slightly higher in price, but the price quoted for four nights included breakfast everyday and two excellent dinners. You can't go wrong here!

hopingtotravel, thanks for the additional information. At 118E/night including breakfast this hotel is one of the most economical choices in town.

zorrosf, did you stay in one of the Superior or smaller Classic rooms? We are considering the Classic grade room, did you have the chance to see one of these smaller rooms?

InMiami,

My two daughters stayed in one of the smaller classic rooms. It was cute, but small, with a small bath. Our superior room was very large, had a sitting area, large bath and a view. I think it is well worth the extra money.

And I so agree with zorrosf--you just can't go wrong here.

To your earlier question, yes, we did use ac in June. It was very hot for a few days.

Oddly, when we stayed, the room was (I thought) quite expensive. I wonder if any circumstances, or competition, have changed. (Or maybe I've just become inurred to the falling $)

Our room was on the second floor (I think there are only two!) towards the back. I can't remember the room number, but it was perfectly fine. Be sure to specifically request a bathtub if that is important to you. You will not be disappointed in this property! They even have a free computer for guests' use! Call and talk to Christophe or Michel if you want specific information about which particular rooms may be available. I sound like a shill, but I am just a VERY satisfied former guest.

InMiami:

We visited the very first week of June and were thankful for the excellent A/C.

InMiami, am I reading this right that Clos du Buis is booked for May 2009. We were planning on staying there May 1, 2009 for 4 nights, should we be looking elsewhere.

zorrosf and hax, the Mas des Carassins is offering one of their Classic rooms with breakfast for 138E/night which is within our budget. The Superior room would bring the total to 160E/night, which comes to $250/night. Since we want to travel to Europe once a year we really need to budget. It kills me that we stayed in luxury hotels in Prague and Budapest for $150/night just last year.

suze, yes the Clos du Buis is already booked for May and part of June for 2009. I am not sure if that includes the very beginning of May. I was asking about May 14-20, 2009. I would E-mail them at once.

hopingtotravel, the most expensive double at the Le Castelet des Alpilles is going for 96E/night. The breakfast is an additional 9.5E/day per person. For 115E night I will be getting their best room while at the Carassins I will be paying 23E more for their cheapest room. luckily I still have time to think this over.

Just to clarify: not familiar w/La castelet. The one we stayed in was Chateau des Alpilles.

We've stayed twice at Canto Cigalo in St. Remy http://www.cantocigalo.com/ and found it fine for the price. Looks like 79€ is the top price this season. We really enjoyed the gardens and the peace and quiet. Short walk to the centre of town. Rooms are not luxurious but perfectly good in a clean and basic way.

hopingtotravel, thank you for the clarification. I am getting my Chateaus and Castelets confused! Yes your recollection is correct, the Chateau is beautiful but outside of my price range.

geebee14, now I see the Canto Cigalo on Tripadvisor, very nice property and great prices. Thanks for the tip!

We stayed at the Hotel Gounod two years ago and was very happy with the room. We had a ground floor room with a little patio. They have a small built in pool. We were there in November. They had secured parking a short walk away.
The best part was that when we walked out the front door - the market day stalls were RIGHT THERE. We could go shopping and take everything right back to our room.

In May of 2007 we visited 10 days in St. Remy, and we stayed in Villa Glanum and we loved it. It is about a 15 min. walk to the ring road, etc.

The best part is that is was very
affordable...check on Rick Steves...he also likes the place.

The villa has a nice pool, beautiful gardens, and nice rooms, many with balconies.

Check it out.

Maizy

I decided to bite the bullet and reserve at the Mas des Carassins. I am not traveling until May and will give a complete report.

We stayed at Mas des Carassins a couple of years ago. Here is a cut-and-paste from our trip report:

"Mas des Carassins, St. Remy de Provence

This small hotel just out of the center of St. Remy came highly
recommended here. It did have the unfortunate distinction of coming right after having an entire two-story home to ourselves, so initially, our room seemed a little small and plain. The absolute best feature of this hotel is its grounds and lovely gardens. We enjoyed our breakfast in the garden every morning. The room was generally comfortable, although we did find
ourselves tripping over all of our stuff at times. The hotel serves dinner in the garden five nights per week, including two of the nights we were there; however, we did not partake. Allie said ‘no’ to the sea bass on the first night, and although the second night’s veal menu sounded (and smelled)
very good, we were all much too full to take on a four-course meal that
night. We loved the very casual, laid-back atmosphere here, as well as the little bulldog, Zazou, who had the run of the grounds. The pool was nice, if a bit chilly. We enjoyed a quiet dip and a little relaxation after our days out
touring in the area – that is, after Allie got over the shock that she would be sharing the pool area with women sunbathing topless (please note: her mom was NOT one of them). All in all, this was a lovely place to stay. Nice, quiet location, too. Garden-view double with extra bed and mandatory breakfast: 181€ per night."

Hope this helps.