Le Grenier à Sel

“A gem of a hotel”

Staying here, you would never think you are steps from the city centre. This wonderful old hotel is beautiful refurbished. We had a fantastic room with a huge bathroom and a large airy bedroom. There is parking for about 5-6 cars, but you need to advise the hotel in advance that you will be needin… more

Staying here, you would never think you are steps from the city centre. This wonderful old hotel is beautiful refurbished. We had a fantastic room with a huge bathroom and a large airy bedroom. There is parking for about 5-6 cars, but you need to advise the hotel in advance that you will be needing a space. It is clearly a very popular venue for locals to eat so my heart sank when we arrived at dinner to find several big parties being held that evening. But somehow the staff rallied and managed to keep everyone happy and we enjoyed a great meal. We have already said we will stop over here again.

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“Transported back a generation or two!”

Hotel and restaurant tucked away in the narrow medieval streets of Monlucon - really difficult to get near by car and even more impossible to park. The hotel furnished in a style that was the rage a hundred years ago. Some may like this but we were ambivalent. Air com in the room was nice as our st… more

Hotel and restaurant tucked away in the narrow medieval streets of Monlucon - really difficult to get near by car and even more impossible to park. The hotel furnished in a style that was the rage a hundred years ago. Some may like this but we were ambivalent. Air com in the room was nice as our stay coincided with the heatwave. Dinner was served on the terrace in the small walled garden and we were completely unmoved by the menu - it was just -boring! The service was slow and inattentive. Don't you just hate having to keep asking for everything you want and trying to attract servers that always look the other way. Breakfast was dreadful with the buffet empty even a hour before service ended.

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“3.5 star experience”

I hovered between 3 and 4 stars here. There is much to like but much to regret as well – both in the hotel and the restaurant. Starting with the hotel: Access is quite difficult thanks to a combination of the one-way system and very narrow streets; and the free courtyard carpark is tight for a lar… more

I hovered between 3 and 4 stars here. There is much to like but much to regret as well – both in the hotel and the restaurant. Starting with the hotel: Access is quite difficult thanks to a combination of the one-way system and very narrow streets; and the free courtyard carpark is tight for a large car. The welcome was warm but most of the common parts were off-puttingly dark. (The owners seem to have taken their eco approach to energy to an extreme!) It’s a lovely old building still retaining many period features in many of the rooms, including our bedroom on the first floor, but a touch more modernisation would be welcome: better lighting for reading, more electrical sockets for charging devices, better mattresses etc. The “welcome tray” for hot drinks contained one solitary Ceylon tea bag and one for Camomile, with only tiny expresso cups to make it in – a single mouthful! But the biggest problem in the room was the pervasive smell of mothballs eveywhere! Not even a spell with the windows open would clear it. Dinner was served in a room that was trying a bit too hard to look modern. The food, however, was well rooted in classic French techniques and traditions, with just small nods to modernity which added little but didn’t mar the dishes either. The wine last was short and fairly uninspiring and – when it came to the point – several bottles were unavailable anyway. Breakfast was a well above average buffet, served in a smaller, cosier room. Overall 3.5 stars would be about right.

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