La Mirande

We had breakfast included, and the room where it was served was stunning. There was plenty to choose from, and it was delicious. The hotel is beautiful, with a vintage, artistic feel and a subtle, pleasant fragrance throughout the room. Staff were warm, polite, and always willing to help with my questions. Its location is perfect, directly opposite the Papal Palace.

There was even a cat that seemed to call the property and gardens home. The staff were lovely and happy to chat, and the hotel's position made it easy to visit the Palais des Papes, museums, art galleries, and all the fantastic bistros tucked into the winding side streets of Avignon's historic town. We loved our time at La Mirande. Our room was spacious and gorgeous, and every shared area was exquisitely tasteful. It was a very special highlight of our travels.

The decor and atmosphere at the hotel's Tea house were impressive, and I had chosen it to show my client the majesty of Avignon. We arrived around 5:45 p.m. hoping to have tea, but waited more than 10 minutes to be seated. By the time the waitress came, it was 6 p.m. and tea time had finished. She served a group who arrived after us first, so we couldn't have tea at all. I can't remember her name, but she had an East accent and her manner felt completely impolite, with no service at all. It was the worst experience I've had, and it shouldn't happen at a luxury hotel.

Dinner was shockingly good, considering how poor everything else was. Breakfast, on the other hand, was terrible. Only the bread and eggs were edible. The hotel felt more like a badly run bed and breakfast than a luxury place. AC didn't work for our whole stay, the bathroom never had consistent hot water, and the room reeked. The carpet and linens were stained. We were told not to use the balcony because opening its door would switch off the broken AC. Service was unacceptable too. I saw front desk staff refuse to hold other guests' bags, and the concierge seemed to know little about activities in the area. When I asked to leave and move to another hotel because of the AC and hot water problems, they said I wouldn't get a refund. They eventually gave us half off, but the stay should have been refunded entirely.