Mercure Carcassonne Cite 3m

We chose this hotel for a couple of nights in Carcassone because of what we'd seen in earlier reviews about having your car in one of the hotels within the old city. They were right - it would have been a pain where as the Mercure was only 2/3 minutes walk (uphill) away but without the aggravation. That alone would have made it a great choice.

We had an upgraded room which was new and rather swish - very comfortable, wonderful bathroom with bath/shower and a wet room shower, proper sized towels and nice toiletries. It was so hot while we were there (air conditioning was tip top) that we didn't want to walk anywhere the first night so we ate in the hotel. First class and a great wine list which wasn't expensive. The hotel itself is quiet, well maintained with a lovely courtyard and gardens. I think a regular room would be a good choice too.

The whole focus of guides to Carcassone is naturally on the old part - which is wonderful but, the newer part is nice too and there are better restaurants there than you'll find behind the ramparts which tend to be designed for tourists. The walk from the Mercure to the town proper is about 15/20 minutes so you're a bit removed if you want to look outside the historic old city, or the hotel. for dinner.

The location of this hotel is convenient for visiting la Cite Medievale, virtually steps away from the official tourist parking lot. However, it is a little further away from the River Aude and new town, where there are more, probably better restaurants than in la Cite. I would say it is still walking distance though.

The best thing about the Mercure Carcassonne is its setting. When I visited in June the garden was lush and full of flowers. The swimming pool is a little bit up the hill from the hotel building. Although it is a chain hotel with modern construction, it feels like an older country home because of the garden.

The room I had was small, but clean and functional. There is also a mini-bar type fridge in the room. Didn't try the restaurant but it was well-patronized at breakfast.

One good thing, but also source of complaint that I have, and this probably applies to all Accor hotels in France, is the availability of WiFi in the entire hotel, including the rooms. However, it is offered by Orange France and the rate is high - 20 Euro for 24 hours or 65 Euro a week at the time of my stay. If you are touring and sticking to the Accor chain, you can get a week and use it at each hotel that has WiFi, which will be a better deal than paying each time for 24 hours. I wish it were cheaper or free though.

In summary, recommended. And I highly recommend Carcassonne for a short visit too - la Cite Medievale itself is very impressive, just have to ignore all the touristy stuff. Walk around the town, along the Aude, and make sure to try lots of the local wines.

Ideally placed for access to La Cite, although the final steps up were a little wearing in the southern French heat. A modern style hotel with very friendly staff who could cope (mostly!) with conversations in English. The restaurant provided good meals at reasonable prices although the breakfasts were not particularly wonderful. Of special note were the Grand Vins de Mercure featuring decent wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux at incredibly good prices, mostly below 30 Euro. The rooms are air conditioned but when the outside temperature rose above 30 degrees C the units seemed to struggle to de-humidify the air, but it was certainly better than nothing. The rooms are compact but adequate. The external swimming pool with poolside bar was pleasant for a late afternoon dip and drink.

Being American with a French vocabulary consisting of 4 words, I was very nervous, but the staff at Mercure was absolutely wonderful at making me feel at ease. They helped me with car rental, train tickets, directions, exchanging money - totally prepared for any situation. It's safe too behind a security gate. Everything about Mercure is charming, but the service is what makes it stand out. The restaurant is excellent: the dinner fantastic (must try the salmon!), the wine fabulous, the breakfast a good value. It's not easy to find, so spend the 10Euros and cab it from the train station. Great view out the back of the medieval city. I walked there and had a great afternoon. When you return, a beautifully landscaped courtyard is the ticket if you enjoy a peaceful glass of wine outdoors. If its cold, no problem, a cozy sitting area with fireplace is just the thing. Room was clean, the shower hot, the towels soft, the bed just ok. The only thing I didn't expect was the natural wake up service you get free of charge - a rooster in the row of houses nearby! Overall a great place worthy of more stars. Good for couples wanting a romantic getaway. I recommend it highly.

We travelled as a family with two early-teen kids, and stayed in early Jan 2006. We asked and received adjoining rooms. The citadel could been seen from the bedroom windows, which looked onto the back of the hotel. The hotel's location is ideal - about 200 yards from the Eastern gates.

The rooms were spotless. Not huge, not tiny, but adequate. Our plan was to spend as little time as possible in the hotel, and as much time as possible exploring. We rented a car to travel around, and the hotel carpark (free) was very handy - especially as parking this close to the cite would be difficult in high season.

We ate in the hotel restaurant twice - once when we arrived for lunch, and one night for dinner. The food was excellent - a high standard - although expensive in comparison to the many restaurants in the area.

For anyone with a car, the hotel location is very handy for getting on and off the main motorway - this is also very useful because navigating the tiny and narrow streets can be very intimidating.

The service in the hotel was great. We also occasionally had a drink in the small but cosy bar each night, and the staff were very efficient and friendly.

It was our first trip to this part of france and we would recommend it to anyone. The food and wine of the area are fantastic, the people are friendly, the scenery is magnificent, and medieval castles and bastides provide a wonderful backdrop. We would recommend visitting Mirepoix (lost-in-time village), Limoux (for the wonderful Blanquette), Castlenaudary (for the exquisite Cassoulet), and we would also recommend visiting some wine Chateau too. Our main regret is not fitting in a visit to Montsegur. We'll be back!

Great location, reasonable rooms, good resteraunt and car parking. Nice friendly staff as well. There are hotels within the city walls, but for this was a good compromise of price and location.

Steps from the Old City in a pleasant setting. Excellent price and special for seniors with FREE parking. Rooms are clean albeit somewhat sparse but more than adequate. Pleasant dining room off garden, substantial breakfast plus a Pool make for a lovely stop.

We found the Mercure de la Cite quite charming. Our room had two single beds with colorful yellow and blue coverings. No duvets here. The rooms were very tiny. We closed up the luggage rack in the closet , and put the chair by the dresser in the closet. The bathroom was very clean. Actually none of this bothered us. We were within walking diestance of the walled city of Carcassone so after dinner we strolled up and through the city. It was a sight to behold all lit up for the evening.

The dining room at this Mercure was quite charming also. The ceiling had beams and the floor was a rough planking of light gray. There was a fireplace and comfortable chairs in the small lobby. There is an elevator here but there are only two floors. All the rooms overlooked either the garden or the castle in Carcassone.

Carcassonne- Mercure-Porte de la Cité

The Mercure Porte de la Cité, is a three star hotel two minutes away from the walled Old City, La Cité, a medieval castle and fortressed city definitely worth a visit. The hotel is quite nice with parking included in the rate. As seniors we received an unexpected but pleasant surprise of a 6% rate reduction and a two-for-one breakfast (the regular rate of a full buffet breakfast is 11€). We could see the walled city out the window of our room, lit up at night. Quite an impressive sight. There are some good restaurants in town: the café du Dome, 35 rue des Trois Couronnes serves an excellent home-made cassoulet, or the Casino Cafeteria, serving a wide variety of food choices at a reasonable price. Also worth considering is the Pizzeria la Divine Comédie, 29 blvd Jean-Jaures.

If this is only a 2 star hotel, I'd love to see a 5 star!!

Friendly staff with lots of useful maps of the area, the town and La Cite.

Great location: two mins walk to the ramparts and 10 mins walk around the ramparts to the lower town and area to the restaruants and old bridge.

Rooms a little on hte small side but very comfortable and clean with views over vineyards. Very secure private parking with its own decent restaurant and bar. Food on room service was excellent if a little pricey.

Really enjoyed our stay here, in May. Near enough to all the amenities but far enough away from the crowds.