“Wonderful and restful place with great service”

I had a lovely few days at Les Frenes. The staff were all friendly and welcoming and the service was outstanding. The building is a slightly older chateau and furnished very much in that style. The room we had was lovely with a view of the front of the hotel. The bathroom had a jacuzzi bath an… Plus

I had a lovely few days at Les Frenes. The staff were all friendly and welcoming and the service was outstanding. The building is a slightly older chateau and furnished very much in that style. The room we had was lovely with a view of the front of the hotel. The bathroom had a jacuzzi bath and a very good shower. There was lots of hot water and everything was kept clean. The room also had a really good hairdryer. The swimming pool was very good and everything was kept clean. It's quite a cold pool but that was a good thing given how hot Avignon was. The beauty therapy suite is small but delivers excellent massages. We had some wonderful meals outside under the stars. The food was exquisite. The menu is quite short but everything is fresh and delicious. The service is outstanding, Christophe and Marie-Jo were lovely. We really enjoyed the breakfast as well which had some lovely fresh bread. We would definitely recommend to anyone seeking a luxury relaxing break.

Moins

“Very Good. Could be Great. ”

First of all, it is hard to say enough about the wonderful staff at Les Frenes. They all work very hard, and are all very good at their jobs, constantly going above and beyond, for any request or need you might have. Just excellent service all around. The hotel is located just outside Avignon, in… Plus

First of all, it is hard to say enough about the wonderful staff at Les Frenes. They all work very hard, and are all very good at their jobs, constantly going above and beyond, for any request or need you might have. Just excellent service all around. The hotel is located just outside Avignon, in the suburb of Montfavet, in a (more or less) residential area. There are a few shops and cafes within an approximate 10 minute walk, but nothing in the immediate area. The area is very peaceful and quiet, and an approximate 20 minute drive to Avignon Center. We stayed in one of the Jr Suites, which was a few meters across the lawn from the main building. I recommend this option, especially if the hotel is busy, rather than staying in the main building. There is far less noise in the rooms outside the main building, and the air conditioning works much better. The garden and pool area is quite peaceful and beautiful, but could use a little more maintenance. Not that it was bad, but the pool had a few green algae spots, and some of the garden areas just needed some tending to, in order to be as beautiful as they should be. On the other hand, this is an old property, and I'm sure maintenance is sometimes an overwhelming chore. Our room (Jr Suite) was large by any standard, and was well-maintained and clean. Even though the weather was unusually hot while we were there, we stayed cool at night. The breakfast buffet was ample and tasty, with eggs (scrambled or boiled), bacon or ham, crepes (delicious) and fresh pastries, along with yogurt, cheese and fruit. Dinners were also very well-prepared, with top-notch service. When the weather is nice, dining outside on the lawn is a real treat. I'm hesitant to give them anything less than an excellent rating, since we really did love the staff, and any complaints should not be viewed as a reflection on them, but some may find the small maintenance issues in the garden and outdoor areas (especially if they plan to use the pool), as well as the noise and air conditioning in the main building, to be off-putting, so I decided to give them a "very good", on the cusp of "excellent". I think that, perhaps they just need one or two more people on the maintenance staff to stay on top of all the issues that an old property like this will inevitably have. In any event, you'll be hard-pressed to find better service anywhere.

Moins

“Faded elegance”

Let me first say the restaurant is excellent with an excellent and creative chef. Dinner was a pleasure! What lets Les Frenes down is the faded elegance. We had suite in the garden which had a comfortable seating area, king bed and large bathroom. However it was the details which let the room down;… Plus

Let me first say the restaurant is excellent with an excellent and creative chef. Dinner was a pleasure! What lets Les Frenes down is the faded elegance. We had suite in the garden which had a comfortable seating area, king bed and large bathroom. However it was the details which let the room down; one of the bedside table lamps did not work, the hot tap on one of the 'his and hers' basins in the bathroom did not work and the 'whole body' shower was difficult to adjust to simple rain shower, resulting in a very wet floor! Given that Les Frenes has a fairly expensive room rate make sure everything works correctly. Also, if you are staying in the garden, a torch would be useful as the path is very uneven and has been broken by tree roots in places.

Moins

“Uneven experience”

This hotel is in a suburb of Avignon, and a short drive from the TGV station, so the location is good. Pluses: swimming pool, quiet back garden, secure and onsite free parking, outdoor dining in good weather, very friendly and accommodating staff. Uneven: worn carpeting, woodwork, furniture. despit… Plus

This hotel is in a suburb of Avignon, and a short drive from the TGV station, so the location is good. Pluses: swimming pool, quiet back garden, secure and onsite free parking, outdoor dining in good weather, very friendly and accommodating staff. Uneven: worn carpeting, woodwork, furniture. despite what appeared to be relatively low occupancy, we were assigned to a small room that was challenging in terms of getting both our suitcases open at the same time! Meanwhile, Our friend who was single received a much bigger room on a lower floor with a terrace. While we both had trays with coffee pots, the cords were cut too short to reach the outlet, necessitating placing the tray on the floor in order to plug in the coffee maker, or placing it over the bathroom sink! Breakfast on the first morning was quite extensive, with baskets of fresh fruit and a nice array of baked goods and other items. Breakfast on day two was skimpy, with no fruit and a limited choice of bakery items. Dinner in the garden on the first night was very nice, the outdoor ambience s helpful. Dinner indoors on the second night suffered from too few staff for the number of diners, and food quality was not as good as first night, although the menu was precisely the same. Our second night was spent in a bungalow near the pool, with was much roomier, but we got only one drinking glass, the floors were very worn and the screens had big holes in them, forcing us to use the AC although it was a cool breezy night (we tried to open the windows and the mosquitos immediately descended upon us); tie backs were missing from the drapes, although the hooks were there. Hauling luggage over the lawn to the bungalows or hauling it up the stairs was no fun. Our first afternoon, enjoyment of the pool was somewhat spoiled by a gardener who drove his riding mower around for what seemed like way too many noisy hours. The downside of this location is that there really is not much in Montfavet, just residential. Again, though, the staff could not have been nicer.

Moins