We will be spending 5 nights in the Provence area. We would like to base in St. Remy. I have read reviews on different travel websites but still need some help. We will be there in July so we would prefer air conditioning. We will have a car but would still like to be able to walk into St. Remy, therefore we would rather not be too far out of town. I would like to hear your advice on that idea!

Obviously we will plan day trips from St. Remy.

We would choose something budget or middle of the road, not high end. This is our first trip to France and we appreciate your advice.

Try Mas de Carassins www.masdescarassins.com . Its been 10 years since we stayed there but it was a wonderful introduction to the area. Its close enough to town to walk but quiet and secluded with parking provided. We even took advantage of their evening dinner option and were pleased. Fantastic location and amenities at a reasonable price.

We've returned to the area half a dozen times and now stay in gites but still recall our first trip fondly.

Two years ago we stayed at a small hotel, Sous Les Figueres. It had the feel of a B&B, had a pool, secure parking, and was an easy & short walk to the town.The landscape around the hotel was pretty and each room had access to a terrace for outside enjoyment. Would definitely stay there again.

We stayed nearly a week at the Chateau des Alpilles. It may be a bit upscale for what you're looking for -- but it was one of the best vacations! We enjoyed interacting with the staff each day and, at night, others who stayed on the premises for dinner (highly recommended!). After a leisurely breakfast at the "chateau," we drove to a different place each day (Les Baux, Arles, Nimes, Gordes, Aix, Avignon, etc.). If you don't stay there, go for dinner (except Wednesdays, when the kitchen is closed).

I stayed at Mas de Carassins in late June in 2011. Great place, with nice rooms (AC). Close enough to town to walk, but just far enough from the center to have a little bit of seclusion. Definitely a good base for exploring Provence.

Thank you for your responses. Mas de Carassins is booked and the Chateau des Alpilles is more upscale than what we are looking for in lodging. Does anyone have comments on Hotel Van Gogh as an option for our exploring base? And still open to more suggestions, thank you again!

I am also going to be there for five nights in July. So I don't have a recommendation for you as I haven't stayed there yet but I'm booked into Hotel du Chalet Fleuri. It got good reviews on booking.com and tripadvisor.com and looks like it meets your requirements (which are similar to mine). So I don't know if it's really good, but I sure hope so.

We stayed at Hotel du Soleil during our stay in St Remy. We walked into town for market day and for dinner, very convenient.

http://www.hotelsoleil.com/

Van Gogh is not far from the village, is quiet and has been refurbished in 2011. Dont expect anything fancy but it's nice.
There are of course numerous number of Chambre d'hote in the village also. You can check the tourist office site. For abudget chambre d'hote in the very heart of the old Village I recommend Le sommeil des fees.
You can also find other idea on http://hotelenprovence.blogspot.fr/
But book now since July is heavily booked of course....