The Privilege of Place ....Hotel du Palais des Papes, Avignon
Written: Dec 22 '07 (Updated Dec 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Outstanding location in the center of old Avignon, charming, if rustic in spots
Cons: Few public areas in which to linger, fairly small rooms
The Bottom Line: Bags of charm and a stellar location compensate for minor sins, hence the rating.
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| tombarnes's Full Review: Hotel du Palais des Papes |
The Hotel du Palais des Papes occupies a cluster of ancient buildings in the very heart of the historic center of Avignon. You are directly across the Place de Palais from the papal palace itself. One could not be in a more central location in Avignon.
Lobby
The lobby is little more than a hallway to the restaurants with an elevator leading upstairs. The ancient buildings served a variety of purposes, most of them commercial and residential until a hotel was opened on these premises in 1921. What little there was of a lobby was nonetheless festooned with Christmas decorations and offered a good deal of holiday cheer. There was also a fireplace hung with stockings (for the staff, perhaps?).
We were greeted pleasantly, though our room was not yet ready. The woman at the desk kindly arranged things so that our room would be ready after lunch.
Room
We were fortunate to have one of the front rooms (No. 20) overlooking the papal palace and the great square facing it. The room itself wasn't terribly large or elegant, but it had been decorated with an eye for whimsy. Iron chairs and a pine wardrobe (disguising the television) worked well with the bare plaster walls and Provencal fabric hung at the windows. The whimsy came in the form of a starburst mirror of sorts on the wall. The two large windows flooded the room with sunlight, though the old shutters outside actually worked (even if they seemed to be disintegrating). A pointed arch in the stone wall was suggestive of some previous purpose for the building, but one could only guess. If you are bothered by such things as old radiators and picturesque lighting fixtures (which may or may not throw out a lot of light- and I could really live without a lampshade advertising Taittinger champagne), this may not be the place for you. Storage space for clothing was adequate, if not impressive. If you are looking for sanitized goodies like coffee machines in these rooms, look elsewhere.
Open your shutters and the life on the square below unfolds before you. Upon opening ours, we beheld a great crowd of people bearing candles in an almost magical procession to to the nearby cathedral for a blessing of the sacrament. We joined the throng and found ourselves in the midst of something quite special.
Bath
Many of the rooms sport baths which have been smartly redone with stone floors and tubs. Some even have brass taps and beautiful mosaic tilework. Ours had none of this. It was neat, though not exactly appealing with pink and cobalt blue tiles of indeterminate vintage. Though there was a large shower head above, I couldn't coax any water out if the thing, having instead to make do with the hand-held shower hose below. I was happy enough to reuse the bottles of shampoo and conditioner I had taken from the previous hotels on our journey as the miserable little packets of shampoo weren't adequate.
Dining
The surprise about this little hotel is that the dining room is much better than one would expect from such a simple place. No, the Michelin folks aren't ever going to be interested in handing out a toque to them, but their dining room, Le Lutrin was far more appealing than we had expected it would be. The main room has a large fireplace with a cheerful fire going all day. Decorated for Christmas with the rest of the place, it was quite a sight to behold. Another dining room faces the Place de L'Horloge and features an additional (gas) fireplace. Prices are not inexpensive, but are reasonable when one considers the exchange rate. Breakfast (we usually had only the Continental breakfast) was not included in the rate (8 Euros) and seemed carefully rationed. Rationed or not, the supply was enough to begin our day on a good footing.
The advantages of dining here notwithstanding, the lack of public areas in which to sit and read a book or play cards (say, a bar or other sitting room) was the one great drawback we felt at this otherwise agreeable hotel. While there is a bar in one of the dining rooms, it is used as a service bar and not as a place to linger over a drink. There is, however, an outdoor cafe facing the Place de L'Horloge. Had the weather been warmer, we might have used it.
For foodies, an important side note is the Restaurant Christian Etienne, arguably the best in town, a five minute walk across the square from the hotel. I think we paid more for one lunch there than for two nights and breakfast at this hotel!
Service
It's hard to accurately describe the service here when there is, strictly speaking, so little of it to be had. The people at the desk were mostly friendly and we received efficient, if not always especially solicitous service in the dining rooms. One waiter stood above thew rest in making us comfortable, but I can't recall his name at this point. Remember to pat your wallet in thanks as you sacrifice on the creature comforts and fawning.
If you are in need of the internet, there isn't a computer in the hotel for public use. The nearest internet cafe is a ten minute walk from the hotel. I'm unaware of internet connections being provided in the rooms at this point.
Overall
This is the sort of hotel which will eventually be snapped up by some smart entrepreneur and spiffed up into the stratosphere. its size would also make it an east target for a takeover- only 27 rooms. The location alone suggests a worthwhile stop. Add fiendishly low prices and you have a bargain that's hard to beat (only 70 Euros for our room). No doubt, the lovely Hotel d' Europe and La Mirande are more polished on every level, but their prices are about six times what we paid for our room. I can't imagine a better bargain in Avignon for the location alone.
Hotel du Palais des Papes
3 Place du Palais
84000 Avignon, France
Tel. 33-490-860-413
Fax 33-490-279-117
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tombarnes
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Member: Thomas Barnes
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