Hotel Mas Des Carrassins

Hello,

I am looking for a nice B%26amp;B centrally located in Provence. The choices are overwhelming and I am more confused than ever! I%26#39;m decided (I think) on St. Remy and was delighted to find Mas des Carassins as it seemed to have everything I was looking for... however, after reading some posts, I%26#39;m having second thoughts. Some seem to suggest perhaps this property isn%26#39;t what it used to be. Has anyone stayed there recently?

I%26#39;d appreciate any other suggestions, in St. Remy or elsewhere. I am looking for %26quot;authentic%26quot; provencial accomodations (not modern), room opening onto a terrace, nice pool %26amp; grounds, breakfast offered (ok if it%26#39;s extra), and close to a town (either walking or short drive).

Also, since we%26#39;ll have almost two weeks to spend in Provence, I was also considering splitting the time between two areas- perhaps one closer to Aix and the other aound Avignon~ is this recommended?

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!!

|||

Avaroo,

Many many places in Provence that would correspond to what you describe. Of course, depending how many $/Euros per night you plan to spend...

One I stayed recently is Mas la Bonoty near Carpentras (http://www.bonoty.com/home_us.htm for the webpage in English), in the Northern Provence.

Something in between B%26amp;B and small hotel, it is in the countryside about 1 mile from a charming old town (Pernes les Fontaines), in a former farmhouse. Nice confortable rooms, very quiet place. The current owners are English, but they have kept the atmosphere, don%26#39;t worry!

|||

Thank you for the suggestion. The mas looks lovely. Unfortunately, there doesn%26#39;t seem to be any photos available of the rooms- are they nice? I%26#39;ve been surprised by the number of places I%26#39;ve checked out that look spectacular from the outside but have dorm-like rooms. Our budget is generous but I don%26#39;t want anything over-the-top expensive.

|||

Well, rooms at Mas la Bonoty are with local items, and rather simple designs. I found the price for value ratio very good considering for a double we paid 85 euros, breakfast included.

(Provence is great but not so cheap!).

2 weeks, in terms of expenses you might consider renting 2x one week as a %26quot;gite%26quot; (a small house or an appartment). But then you have to take care of breakfast. Another option, a bit more expensive, but that would be my own choice, would be to spend 2/3 days in various B%26amp;B places.

As for cities, Arles (with its impressive Roman amphiteater), Avignon and Aix are probably my favorite, but of course there are lots of villages, like Baux-de-Provence, with as much charm.

As for nice places, a very reliable choice as for the nicest ones (means also not the cheapest!) is

rivages.reservit.com/reservit/zone.php…

(also lists hotels, but you can ignore them)

It is based on a guidebook that has been published yearly here for the past 20 years, gives you the location and a first idea, and you can then go to the B%26amp;B website (indicated) for more details %26amp; pictures.

Didier

|||

One thing that you may know or remember, and that I forgot to mention, is that here we are in a civilized country ;-) , and all prices always include taxes and service.

|||

One thing that you may know or remember, and that I forgot to mention, is that here we are in a civilized country ;-) , and all prices always include taxes and service.

|||

Hi Check out B%26amp;Bs on this web site. Lots of onfo and pix.

rgds

Wilko

|||

Thank you very much for the suggestions!

Didierz, I would consider spending 2/3 nights at various B%26amp;Bs but we will be traveling with our 20 month old daughter and don%26#39;t want to pull up stakes too frequently. Otherwise, that%26#39;d be a great idea.

|||

Hi. I just responded to a post by AuntBoo on this forum that you might want to read. It pertains to Le Mas Des Carassins which my husband and I ADORE!!! We were just there in October and haven%26#39;t a bad thing to say about it! I truly believe you will be happy there. We certainly were!

|||

Hello!

I have reservations for nine people to stay at the Mas des Carrassins in March. I visited this hotel five years ago and loved it. I am a tour operator and lead small groups on gourmet tours to a number of regions throughout Europe. I always research hotels carefully to be sure my clients are happy. I think this hotel is wonderful and I remember when I visited last time reading the reviews in the hotel%26#39;s guest book. They were all unbelievably complimentary. If you want, I can let you know exactly what I find next month.

Another hotel I love is Le Mas de l%26#39;Oulivie in Les Baux. I stayed there with five people in 2005 and everyone loved it. No restaurant but surrounded by many gastronomic restaurants as well as family places.

Jean from Olde Ipswich Tours, www.ipswichtours.com

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 9:24 am, September 21, 2009