Wondering if anyone can suggest website(s) for hotels along the route du vin in Alsace. I'm guessing there's a lot more out there than what's on Expedia, and many with a lot more local flavor and character. Will be in the Strasbourg area, but want to stay outside of the city and get more of a small town feel.

My friends stayed at The Hostellerie Des Chateaux & Spa in Obernai.

We used Karen Brown's France book a few years ago to find small hotels and inns in Alsace (and the rest of France). Her website is www.karenbrown.com.

For 2- and 3-star hotels, Logis de France would be a start. These are independent, usually family-owned, rather small hotels. Lots of hotels in Alsace.

http://www.logishotels.com/

BTW, Hostellerie des Chateaux is not in Obernai but in Ottrott. 4 stars, pretty expensive. There are more 4-star hotels in Ottrott.

Caroline, we can help you better if you specify the level of hotels you are searching for. It is a huge difference whether you prefer luxury places or cheap B&Bs.

I'd say we like to stay in th equivalent of 3-4 star places. An example would be La Coeur d'Alsace, in Obernai, which my husband came upon today. We will have our 2 preteen daughters with us, and will most likely need 2 rooms, so high end splurge is not on the itinerary for this trip.

We will be attending an event in Barr one evening, so we'd like to be somewhere within 30-45 minutes drive of there.

I will take a look at both of the websites suggested and come back with any questions. Thanks!

Look at Hotel L'Oriel in Riquewehr. It is nice eonugh. reasonable, quiet, family owned. We were sent there by German friends who spend a lot of time in Alsace.

You could check www.tripadvisor.com and put in the name of the
town and see hotels,etc., read some reviews and then check out
the websites of the ones that sound interesting. Then you could come back to the board and ask for information about specific hotels or b&b.

I think you mean Cour d'Alsace in Obernai.

The first decision you have to make is whether you want to stay
- in a city (Strasbourg or Colmar),
- in a town (e.g. Obernai, Rouffach) or
- in a village along route de vin.

Obernai is a charming small town with historical buildings, bakeries etc.

If you prefer staying in a wine village, nearby Ottrott has several 4-star hotels:
www.hostellerie-chateaux.fr (maybe more on the expensive side, but check)
www.amifritz.com (rustic charme)
www.leclosdesdelices.com (we stayed there once and liked it - decent rooms, good pool, excellent food).

Another option what you can do is opening www.viamichelin.co.uk. Enter "Colmar" and "France" in the "display on map" form. Tick the box "hotels". Scroll the map to interesting villages, e.g. Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Turckheim, Riquewihr and click on the orange symbols for hotels.

We know we want to stay in a small town, as we will be in London and Paris on either side of this excursion and want to give the kids a different experience to the big cities. I will do some due diligence this morning and come back. Thank you.

Hotel Chambard in Kaysersberg.
lechambard.fr

We often stay at a 2-star hotel in Gueberschwihr, Relais du Vignoble. Gueberschwihr is a very charming but non-touristy village next to Eguisheim. We know a winemaker there and visit his family frequently.

The hotel is inexpensive and has nice rooms with large balconies overlooking the vineyards. Excellent value for money.

http://www.relaisduvignoble.com/

Front runners at this point, in no particular order:

Hotel A L'Ami Fritz in Ottrott - A little ways to walk to town, but food sounds amazing. www.amifritz.com

Cour d'Alsace in Obernai - More central to town, crummy website is hard to get info. http://www.cour-alsace.com

Hotel-Restaurant Les Hortensias in Barr - This looks nice but no one has suggested it, so I wonder what's up. Location? http://www.hortensias-hotel.com

Hotel Le Colombier in Obernai - Has some good online offers and location is central. http://www.hotel-colombier.com/uk

Chambard in Kayserberg - If we wanted to stay further south. Website gives me a headache! http://lechambard.fr/main.php

There were some others, but they appear to be booked already. Any thoughts on any of these listed, or others to consider?

In Riquewihr: Hotel le Sarment d'Or (only a 2 star)
Great food in restaurant.

http://riquewihr-sarment-dor.com/index/fr/cat/4/hotel

L'Ami Fritz is right in the center of the village.

Le Chambard looks good, certainly a class above l'Ami Fritz and I would prefer Kaysersberg over Ottrott.