Best Western Le Donjon Les Remparts Carcassonne

There are, for all practical purposes, two Best Westerns in Carcassonne: the main hotel and the annexe. Make sure you know where you are staying, as it will make all the difference.

We were visiting Carcassonne a week before our scheduled stay and decided to check out the accommodations. Needless to say, I am very glad we did -- as we ended up with a lovely terrace room.

The main hotel is lovely and carefully maintains the spirit of the city. It is wonderful to be inside the walls when the "tourists" have gone home.

The staff is a bit diffident: English is not their preferred tongue. However, it was amazing how their English improved when I launched into my (somewhat fluent) German.

Carcassonne is a tourist destination; and they do it quite well. Similarly, the Best Western Hotel is a tourist hotel; but I would stay there again.

The Best Western Le Donjon Les Remparts has quite dodgy advertising - we booked through tripadvisor and were sorely disappointed. We were placed in the Les Remparts "Annexe" of the hotel, which is a separate building that should be classed as 2 star. It is 300m UPHILL from Le Donjon, (we had to haul our baggage) and it is situated next to a noisy bar that plays music late into the night. Good luck with your security & belongings, someone kept propping open the backdoor to Les Remparts. Note there is no staff in this building, only guests, so you have to walk back to Le Donjon if you want any assistance. Le Donjon Les Remparts website features pictures ONLY from the Le Donjon, NOT ONE picture of Les Remparts

Beware!!! Le Donjon and Les Ramparts are two different facilities and room quality appears to vary widely. We visited in August 2004 and were put into Les Ramparts. Contrary to most reviews I had read about the hotel, the rooms were very disappointing. Room was VERY small and poorly lit by desk lamps and one tiny window. Pillows and mattresses were old, soft, and lumpy. Corners of room looked like they had not been vacuumed in months. Paint and fixtures were old and stained. Only bright spot was the bathroom, which was small, but adequate and appears to have been refurbished recently. Staff were not helpful and were in complete denial that any problems existed. A quick flip through the Guestbook revealed a schizophrenic array of both very positive and very negative comments on the hotel. Take your chances, you have been warned.

I stayed one nite here. I loved my room at the top with a sky view. The staff was great, the breakfast OK, couches in reception were awesome. I was with a group and visited many of the other rooms and they were all different, quaint and beautifully "French". I highly recommend it.

Close to local shopping and good eating, and a visit to Hotel Dieu was very interesting.

Our family of 5 stayed one night at Hotel des Remparts. It is conveniently located a few blocks from the main shopping area of town. The staff was extremely nice and spoke very good english. The breakfast was the normal breads, jams, coffees and teas - quite good.

The hotel seems to be a collection of buildings put together. Constant attention to uneven floors and steps up and down in unusal places was necessary. The bathrooms were renovated and clean, but different. In our king room, with an old bed, we had one bathroom with a toilet and sink, but no soap, hand towel or trash basket in it. The other had a sink and tub/shower Although the building is off the main shopping, at night with the windows open, it was loud with people walking about. In the morning, the was quite a bit of street noise.

On a return trip to Beaune, I would probably look for a quiter hotel.

This hotel is a jewel. The location within the walled city made it especially worthwhile. However, it should be mentioned that access can be a bit challenging since getting into the city can

be difficult. Nonetheless, we especially enjoyed the

staff and facitilties. The personel at the front desk

were friendly and helpful. The room was very clean and comforatble. And the breakfast

was quite tasty, although the room was a bit cramped. In sum, this is a highly recommended hotel.

We stayed at this delightful hotel which is perfectly situated inside

the city walls of Carcassonne, a place which is just like something out

of a film set. The room we had was small but perfectly formed,

breakfast was probably the best my husband has ever tasted and the

hotel also has a great restaurant just next door.We had both evening

meals here.

Having sampled and been delighted with Carcassonne and the hotel during a wet and extremely cold spell, I would love to go when the weather is just a little warmer....Bliss....!

Stayed at the Donjon in the summer of '01. The hotel is inside the walls of the old city, so if you're driving its better to drop off the luggage and park outside the walls; if you arrive by train take a cab.

This is an updated facility with fashionable appointments. Room was small, but very clean and with great bedding. One night a concert was held inside the old city and the sound did carry into the room (free entertainment, though!) The old city is fascinating after the day trippers leave, but congested when they're there. Many excellent restaurants, cafes within the old city walls so there's not much need to walk back to the new town area.

Everything about a holiday to Carcassonne is special. The flights from England are quite reasonable, the old city is magnificent, and the hotel is one that I would return to at any time. The staff is friendly, multilingual, and most helpful. One of the most outstanding features of the hotel is the breakfast garden. The food was fresh and varied and my wife and I found outselves not wanting to leave this special spot. Our room, although somewhat small for a double, was clean and well appointed. I would recommend, however, that the information pack given to prospective guests indicate as clearly as possible how to get to the hotel. If someone had recommended that we park the car on the rim of the city and walk up into it, we would have saved ourselves a great deal of driving around. But the hotel is outstanding!

We stayed here in September, 2001 and I don't know why anyone would stay elsewhere in Carcassonne. I loved being in the old city at night when all the tourists left, you could walk around the city and the walls almost by yourself. And then you could be exploring in the morning before the crowds arrived. The hotel itself is cozy and charming, with every modern convenience. And the price was extremely reasonable.