hotel recommendations?

Guest1230789Guest19 April 2011 20:13:08

Hello!聽 We're planning our first trip to France, in June. We'll be in Toulouse, Montpellier, and some as-yet-undetermined small town in Languedoc-Roussillon.
We're hoping to get some input from folks who know these areas - the first question is about hotels.聽 We have found that often the kind of hotels we like aren't yet in the guide books.
Does anyone know of a hotel that comes close to our ideal?聽 We appreciate any leads.

Our ideal hotel:

- primarily non-smoking (we're both very sensitive to smoke)
- preferably no pets (we're both highly allergic)
- small, friendly, with family-style dining or kitchen privileges
- encourages interaction between guests, knowledgeable about the area and happy to share advice
- nice area within walking distance of center of town, easy access to public transportation
- rooms have either two beds or king-size bed

We don't care whether bathrooms are shared.
English-speaking staff would be helpful, but we both speak enough French to get by.

Your opinion:
- What is a reasonable cost for this?
- Can we expect to be able to extend our stay? or is it important to book an entire week?聽 We're aiming for flexibility.

Julie & Rick

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Julien Founder

Member since 11 March 2005

17 years of happy life abroad

JulienFounder20 April 2011 05:43:33

53134

Hi Julie & Rick,

I used to live (when I was a student) in Montpellier, I can't help much about the hotels, but try to find one close to "Place de la Com茅die" (it's the town center). Avoid hotels near the train station.

if you've got one day to spend in the very south, you should try Collioure in the Pyrenees Orientales.

All the best,

Julien

Guest1230789 Guest

Guest1230789Guest20 April 2011 13:32:45

thanks for the advice Julien!聽 We have Collioure on our "possible" list - it just moved up :-).

Julien Founder

Member since 11 March 2005

17 years of happy life abroad

JulienFounder20 April 2011 13:38:09

53134

there's a couple of pics here by the way /en/pictures/europ 鈥� oussillon/

Guest1230789 Guest

Guest1230789Guest20 April 2011 14:53:12

gorgeous! (like I needed even more incentive!)

Julien Founder

Member since 11 March 2005

17 years of happy life abroad

JulienFounder20 April 2011 17:33:50

53134

Maybe you could also spend one day in Carcasonne, a famous medieval city

nickylin Member

Member since 28 February 2011

nickylinMember20 April 2011 19:24:40

Hello,
I agree with Julien, Carcasonne is a great visit.
I keep a blog with nice ideas in France and some other places, but I dont have a lot of adresses in the areas you are visiting, you can still go take a look on my blog, maybe you can find something interesting.

There are also some websites offering 'chambre d'h么tes', it is the equivalent to B&B.

Bon voyage

Guest1230789 Guest

Guest1230789Guest20 April 2011 20:00:10

wow! thanks for all those links!
I'm finding out all sorts of names for what seems to suit us:
gites
B&B
h么tes de charme
inn
chambre d'h么tes
maison h么te

I'll definitely check out your blog - I see you're from Panama :-) We currently live in Costa Rica, so sorta neighbors...

Carcassonne is on our list - originally we thought we'd catch it on our way, zip through and move on, but *amazingly* someone offered her spare room. And another mentioned a village nearby that looks amazing. So, it's on our stay-here-awhile list :-)