Special Places to Stay French Bed & Breakfast [Paperback]

Ann Cooke-Yarborough (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | Series: Special Places to Stay

This guide includes some 800 beautiful and remarkable private houses in France, all of them visited--then chosen simply because we like them. Meet interesting people and make friends in France. You'll find terrific value, with hundreds of establishments offering rooms at under $100 for two people, and even some great values in Paris too!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sawday and his team know how to judge properties and tell you just what a traveler needs and wants to know. He has an exceptional sense of good value..."
--Physians' Travel & Meeting Guide, August 2001
(praise for a previous edition)

"The best guide to staying in private B&Bs throughout France."
--Marie Claire Magazine (praise for a previous edition)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Hand-picked and meticulously inspected Bed & Breakfasts in France. An eclectic selection including sumptuous chateaux, tiny cottages, authentic family farms, old watermills, abbeys and townhouses. Each one chosen because the Sawday team liked its interesting hosts, character in buildings, organic and home-grown food or its good value for singles. Each entry has full-color photographs, regional maps and precise directions. (5 x 8 5/8, 432 pages, maps, color photos)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Alastair Sawday Publishing Co. Ltd; 7th edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762712473
• ISBN-13: 978-0762712472
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,882,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best B&B guide I've ever used!, March 26, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alastair Sawday's French Bed & Breakfast (Alastair Sawday Guides) (Paperback)

I used this guide to plan my husband's and my last trip to France. Although we've been to France many times, the excellent bed and breakfasts in this book made this the best trip ever. The descriptions were accurate and the facilities all lived up to our expectations and more. This book must be popular in the U.K. because most of our fellow travelers were British and had found the B&B's through the book. The book indicates which B&B's serve evening meals along with the cost of the meals; we enjoyed the lively family style dinners immensely. The places we stayed were outside of the towns and cities but the book gave adequate directions to find them.

Many of the B&B's owners did not speak any English which can make telephone reservations difficult for anyone who does not speak French, however fax numbers are included where available. Although the book did not stress any need for reservations, we traveled off-season in the fall and many places were full and turning away drop-ins. I highly recommend the book for planning a casual trip in the French countryside.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superlative French B & B guide, February 7, 2005

By 

Richard Hyman (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Special Places to Stay French Bed & Breakfast 9th (Paperback)

An American friend resident in France and my wife and I used this guide last May on a trip through much of France. We set out with a fistful of books: three lodging guides in English and three general guides in French including the familiar Michelin. After a few days we used only Sawday. We found it rock-solid: reliable, authoritative, sensible, up to date, well illustrated, easy to use - all we could hope for. We would phone during the day for a place to stay that night and scored most times with our first choice. [A caution: While some proprietors spoke English, we relied on our friend's French for the cell phone.]

All was as advertised: our hosts welcoming, the accommodations clean and comfortable. A few miles from Omaha Beach we stayed in a new extension to a 18th C. manor house on a 100 acre dairy farm. The next morning, after a delightful breakfast, the proprietress gave us a tour of her milking barn. The average cost for was $50 for two, breakfast included.

Some hosts provided dinner for $15 to $30 including wine. On another farm, dinner included home grown vegetables and home brewed aperitif and digestif, all for $14. In Arlanc although we phoned late, the proprietor graciously made a special trip to purchase extra food for a gourmet meal.

It was a memorable, and thrifty, way to meet real people. What's more, Sawday maintains a searchable database for pre-planning and a most helpful staff. Overall, a superb resource.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb source if planning a driving trip through France, February 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Alistair Sawday's Guide to French Bed & Breakfast (Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay) (Paperback)

My wife and I used this book as the basis for a planning a vacation driving through Normandy. We stayed in four different B&B's recommended in the book. We found the reality met or exceeded the descriptions and we were able to enjoy excellent stays. We recomend this book to any traveller to France wishing to use small hotels and B&B's.