Question about staying in Sarlat?
 

We're just starting to think about a trip to Dordogne, for my 50 (yikes) in a few years. Probably in April. I've been reading advice to others about staying near, but not in, Sarlat. Mostly, it seems, because of the parking. Don't most of the hotels have parking for their guests? We stayed in a very small town in Provence, and while we enjoyed ourselves immensely, I think staying in or near St. Remy would have been kind of fun. So, given those thoughts, what do you think? Should we keep Sarlat in our thoughts for places to stay, or stick with Domme, Beynac, La Roque-Gageac, St Cyprien, and Le Bugue for our base? Looking forward to your response, annieladd
PS We'll be looking for a place in the less than $200 a night range for 2. Any suggestions will be appreicated.

For what it's worth: We used Sarlat as a base Sept '04 (actually, a very nice B&B 6 miles out of town, for 50€/night for two, so I guess we're in a different class) for 3 nights. Drove into Sarlat 3 times in 2 days. There is a muni parking lot at what seemed like a town square, 2 blocks walk from central Sarlat, in which we had no problem whatsoever parking 2 times. The 3rd time was at about 11:30 in the morning, just before noon, on market day, and it was packed. So we parked further away. The downside being we had to take a leisurely stroll thru a French village on a beautiful autumn day, and see more of a typical Dordogne town. So 1 day of 3 parking was a problem. Had I been willing to pay 200€, I would have had private, locked parking within the hotel, which would have been within central Sarlat. Yeh pays yeh money, and gets yez choice

From our base we went to some of the towns you mention, and more. The roads are pleasant, but winding. If I were to spend the 200€, i'd stay in Sarlat, since strolling after dinner in Sarlat would seem more interesting than strolling after dinner in Domme, or Beynac.
I agree with you about St Remy--looked like a fun town (we were there only about 2 hours)

We have stayed in a cottage on the edge of Sarlat several times and found it to be an excellent base. While it does get very busy, we have never been unable to find parking. I would expect that some central hotels will offer parking. Have a look at this site for accomodation - http://www.otspn.com/cgi-bin/WEB/default.asp It is in French but look under 'hèbergement' in the left menu and you will see properties in & around Sarlat and you will certainly be able to ead the prices in €'s.

Private hotel parking lots in Sarlat are not a common site - can't think of any that have private parking lots. That said, there is normally sufficient street parking to be had. On a busy summer, market day, you will have problems, but that would only mean that you would have a longer walk back to your hotel; not an unpleasant task.
There are numerous hotels in old Sarlat that will present you with numerous restaurants options within easy walking distance. We personally like the Villa des Consul - a well appointed, renovated small hotel overlooking the main drag, Rue de la Republique. Run by an amiable, English speaking local named David. Only problem is, you won't be able to spend your $200.00 there 'cause it's about half that price.
You could also stay out of town - Beynac, Roque Gageac, Domme and travel into Sarlat. No one place(Sarlat included) will keep your attention for longer than 1 to 2 days, so don't worry about where you base.

Hi annie,

$200 (167E) is high for that region.

You might want to consider these hotels.

We did not stay at them, but they looked nice when we were in Sarlat.

You will have to contact them re parking.

http://www.hotel-renoir-sarlat.com/htmgb/hotel.html

http://www.la-couleuvrine.com/gb/index.htm

((I))

Hotel Le Madelaine (not sure of spelling) is a good older hotel in Sarlat; in May we easily found parking on the street in front of the hotel. I would think it is in your price range.

Villa des Consuls, mentioned in a previous post, can arrange a parking space for you in a private garage a few blocks away. It would be safer than a municipal lot. Make sure you get good directions from David because it's not easy to find the hotel. I would highly recommend staying in Sarlat as a base. From there it's very easy to drive to other towns, and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. Not to mention that it's a beautiful city. Another plus for Villa des Consuls is that it has free laundry facilities. The cost of the room plus the parking should be less than your budget.

I stayed at the Hotel Le Renoir in Sarlat for 5 days in May. The hotel and room were quite nice, but parking was on the street. There was alot of traffic getting back into Sarlat in the late afternoons. I enjoyed walking around Sarlat in the evening, but next time I would stay in one of the smaller towns like La Roque Gageac or Beynac.

I was in the Dordogne area for 2 weeks, so besides Sarlat I stayed at a couple of beautiful places in small villages also. I really enjoyed those places the most, especially where they had their own dining rooms (and great food!).

Thanks for all your responses. It's great to know I don't have to spend $200 a night, $100 a night would be even better! I'll review all this, and probably come back for additional info. I'm surprised to hear from so many of you voting for staying in Sarlat, most of what I've read on this site seemed to indicate we should stay in the smaller towns. I guess maybe we could stay 3 nights in Sarlat, and the rest of the week in one of the small villages. Just don't want to repack my bags every day! Thanks again, I'll be back! annieladd

annileadd: I very much doubt you'll be ABLE to find a hotel that costs $200 a night anywhere in the Dordogne -except Le Centenaire in Les Eyzies and I wouldn't recommend staying there for several reasons (eating there, yes!).
Parking isn't impossible in Sarlat, but it's not fun, either, especially on market days (Wednesdays and Saturdays). If you drive around long enough, you'll always find a space, except in July and August on a Saturday between 9 am and 1 pm. No, most hotels don't have guest parking - it's street or lot parking for all that I can think of, except maybe La Madeleine which offers valet parking.

We were in Sarlat for a few nights in late September. We found the parking extremely difficult. There was a small lot near the first hotel we were at but there were no spaces. Luckily we found street parking but we had to put money in every few hours.

We then stayed at the Hotel Madeleine and found parking nearby. If we hadn't, the Madeleine has a garage and as long as they know ahead you can find space there. it's a wonderful hotel in a wonderful town. And oh that Saturday market!!

My son and I just happened upon the Hotel Couleuvrine in Sarlat in 2000...we had taken the TGV from Paris to Brive la Gaillard (5 hours) and rented a car to explore the area. No planning ahead of time for this part of the trip - just drove into Sarlat and found this hotel - we lucked out! The hotel had a tiny parking area in front of it - we always managed to get a parking spot except for once when we parked on the street (no parking meter) less than a block way - and was a tower in part of the original wall around the city. It was very nice. Our room was tiny, but fine for us (my son was 10 at the time) We loved the beams in the ceiling. They brought a breakfast tray to our room in the morning - croissant, baguette and a pot of tea for me and delicious hot chocolate for my son. The hotel had a great restaurant where my son and I had our first fois gras and other gourmet treats. I can't lay my hands on the picture I am thinking of, but it seems to me that the hotel restroom next to the restaurant had a square toilet seat - my son was hysterical!

As far as sites near there: Les Eyzies prehistoric caves were closed on the Wednesday we wanted to visit, but we found a great prehistoric museum instead. We also had a day trip to Rocamadour to see the town, la Foret des Singes (monkey jungle) and Rocher des Aigles (Eagle Rock bird of prey park) There was a great market within walking distance of the hotel Wednesday. We had no problem using Sarlet as a base.

Villa des Consuls charges 89 Euro per night (for a 2-person room) during high season, and it goes down to 80 Euro per night if you stay 7 nights. I stayed there in June and paid 85 euro per night. It has large air conditioned rooms, refrigerator, microwave, free laundry facilities, even English books for you to borrow. It's a wonderful place to stay, very centrally located, and right on the walking tour track. Just one drawback, they don't clean your room every day, so keep it clean yourself. If I remember correctly, parking is 6 euro per day. Villa des Consuls has several reserved spaces at a garage nearby. I can't recommend it enough for enough who wants to stay in Sarlat.

Hi annie,

>It's great to know I don't have to spend $200 a night, $100 a night would be even better!<

In that case, The Hotel Bonnet in Beynac-et-Cazenac is about 80E dbl w/bkfst, looks out on the Dordogne and has a parking lot.

See Ira Does France
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34676645

Photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-pla2au

((I))

PS

http://www.hotelbonnet.com/indexx.html

Hotel Bonnet is your best bet. Lots of parking very close by the hotel, fine food and great access to all areas of interest. Costs well under your budget. Fluent English spoken. Try the Hotel restaurant and the Petite Tonnelle just a five minute walk away.

If you plan to stay in the Dordogne for a couple of weeks you can rent a house in Sarlat or nearby and base yourselves there. I came across a group called "Your Friends in France" through gite.com that have two lovely and well appointed small houses in Sarlat for just 700 Euros per week but you have to rent for two weeks: http://www.yourfriendsinfrance.org/

We stayed at the Hotel des Recollets two years ago. They have parking arrangements with a private school about 1 1/2 blocks from the hotel. The staff was perfunctory - neither friendly nor rude. It is located just off the main drag (I forgot the name - Rue de la Liberte maybe, which is French for Main Street). There is a very nice Italian restaurant about two doors down from the hotel.