grandmere

I had hoped to stay at the Hotel l'Ecrin, but it looks as though I waited too long, and they are booked for the night we want to stay there in May. Does anyone recommend any others that are in town and w/in walking distance of sites, and 120 E or less, and of course, clean, etc.? I'm looking at Hotel des Loges and Le Cheval Blanc online; anyone know anything about them?

I may be back here asking about hotels around Les Andelys, if I get turned down by La Chaine d'Or.

Thank you!

smueller

We were pleased with the Hotel du Dauphin, which was less than 100 Euros per night. It is one block from the harbor (Bassin) near St Catherine's church.

grandmere

Smueller, thank you for writing about the Dauphin; I just finished reading about it online. I need to do something w/in the next couple of days, and this just may be it.
The location sounds good; I assume it was clean, comfortable, etc. Was there a place to park a car?

Thanks to you and any others who may respond.

cigalechanta

grandmere, have you considered the Absinthe?

http://www.filfranck.com/hotel_l_abs..._Normandy.html

grandmere

No, I've never seen it mentioned online when I google; thanks for the tip, Mimi; will check it out! I do see it as restaurant, n'est-ce pas?

cigalechanta

nice hotel and restaurant

Kavey

Our trip was back in 2001 but here is what I posted then about our hotel:

The Hotel Le Cheval Blanc has a wonderful location looking out on the outer harbour. It is not directly looking out over the internal basin harbour which is featured in the pictures but is only yards away from that and you can see it from the windows at an angle. Perfect location. Rooms were quite small and very ordinary, considering I booked deluxe, but they were clean, and comfortable and had a harbour view. Ruth and John's room was smaller, and newly furnished and decorated, making it a little more attractive, ours was larger, being on the far corner, with lookouts in two directions which was a bonus, but with old, dated and tacky wallpaper, linens and furniture. Good size bathroom though plain, but with nice strong shower with hook attachment so can shower standing up. No A/C but swung the windows open. Both rooms were fine but nothing to rave about, however I would definitely stay here again for the location, view, comfort and friendliness. Friendly and helpful reception staff. Also the hotel offered a plastic card which gave discounts on local attractions, we used it once each for a discount on the boat trip. It also gave discounts on the horse and buggy rides around twon, local museums and purchases from local farm shops.

Dave_in_Paris

My first choice in Honfleur, which we have visited repeatedly in the past 18 years, would not not be a hotel but a bed and breakast, run by Liliane Giaglis, on the rue du Puits.
http://www.giaglis.com/HONFLEUR/PAGESGB/chambres.htm

It's in the historic district but away from the crowds, with very generously sized rooms, pleasantly decorated rooms, and Liliane and her husband, Antoine are exceptionally gracious.

The Absinthe has a fine fine restaurant, and we have recently stayed in their suite, which is also spacious, but not as nice at more than double the price.

Patrick

It's now been 8 years, but we loved a several day stay at Hotel LeChat right in the center. We had a wonderful corner room facing the market, and unfortunately our first morning there was Saturday, so the set-up woke us about at about 6 AM., but it was a warm and friendly place with nice rooms. Parking is in their lot a couple blocks away however.

cigalechanta

This is a new place.

www.lamaisondelucie.com

Dave_in_Paris

You mentioned parking. It is scarce in Honfleur. It doesn't hurt to try finding a public parking place near where you're staying, but it rarely works. Among hotels (excluding those on the periphery, where I doubt you want to stay) very few have parking. L'Absinthe does, but it's in a garage that's a fair hike from the hotel. The main town parking lot is on the edge of the historic district. The Giaglis' bed and breakfast is about a three minute walk from the Old Harbor -- dead center of town, about the same distance from the harbor as L'Ecrin. In Honfleur, the lack of parking is a (very worthwhile) trade-off for over-the-top charm, in a plece where streets were laid out centuries ago. At any rate, you will not be using a car to go to restaurants or museums, because there will be nowhere to park when you got there! And by the way, when you go, do go to Au P'tit Mareyeur, the best restaurant in town.

Dave_in_Paris

Just an addendum to what Patrick had to say. We have also stayed several times at Le Chat and liked it. Great location on the Place St. Catherine, though the rooms were small. However, the hotel (which was owned by the same folks who own L'Ecrin) changed hands in the last year or so. It appears to have been "upscaled" and I believe the name has been changed. Unfortunately, I don't recall the new name.

Kavey

Good point re parking. Our hotel also had parking available but it HAD to be booked in advance and it wasn't right next to the hotel. Parking in Honfleur is hard to find...

wren

Dave, do you know anything about Giaglis' b&b? I am considering it for July, but would love your input.

wren

BTW, La Maison de Lea is the former Hotel LeChat.

cigalechanta

Wren, do you mean the one I posted maison de lucie?

cigalechanta

Forget It wren, I found it. It looks like they did a wonderful brighting of the place.

Laidback

Hotel l'Absinthe is very well located in Honfleur. It is like an annex of the restaurant across the alley, in fact we had to check in at the restaurant. The suite on the top floor is spacious and has one window with a harbor view. The hotel parking is a brisk walk. The restaurant is nice as is their brasserie,Grenouille, but the best by far to our group was La Terrasse et L'Assiette. Honfleur is a quaint little walking town with a still active fishing/shrimping fleet. We used it as our base for 8 days while taking day trips in that area of Normandy.

StCirq

We also were woken up very early by the market outside our window at Le Chat. Our room was also very tiny, even by French standards. The owners also demanded at least half-board. I guess this is all moot since it's been acquired by new owners recently. We much preferred the L'Ecrin.

Grandmere1

Thank you, everyone! I wrote a reply about an hour ago, and it never posted. These all sound like very good suggestions, and I will follow up on them. Right now I'm leaning towards Dave in Paris' suggestion about the B and B. We'll see what happens!
I can't get rates for l'Absinthe online; any ballpark estimates, anyone?

I'm assuming that all lodging mentioned allows for dropping off luggage, then driving car to a garage or whatever? I don't mind walking, but don't want to be pulling my suitcase very far down the street in this quaint little town!