Au Coeur Des Vignes

During our recent five-week trip around France, this annex stood out. It's on the edge of épernay, just yards from a local champagne vineyard. Guests can use the ground-floor kitchen dining area as needed, and breakfast is a traditional continental spread with fresh bread, patisserie, cheese, and coffee. The owner handled my request for gluten-free bread and non-dairy milk, and gave us an excellent welcome. French helps! The rooms are comfortable, with traditional decor and furniture.

We booked at short notice and were welcomed so warmly by our hosts. The room was comfortable, the vineyard setting lovely, and breakfast was good, with nice personal touches too. We could leave our bicycles safely, and parking is secure. Booking.com showed no availability, but there was a room when we called, so it may be worth checking by phone.

The hostess made us feel so welcome, chattering away in understandable French and offering help with a ride to and from the train station, perhaps a city tour, and restaurant and champagne tips. You get a fresh, clean room with a private bathroom and a stunning view of the vineyards just meters from the terrace doors. It stayed cool enough to sleep through the record high temperatures outside, and the bed was comfortable, with plenty of spare pillows and blankets. Breakfast, served by the hostess herself, came with fresh bread, excellent French cheeses, tasty marmalades, freshly made coffee, and good orange juice. The kitchen is fully equipped and available at all hours. It's a 15-20 minute walk into town along quiet streets with little traffic, and there's parking if you're driving. A lovely homely place to stay in Epernay, and we'd definitely return. It almost makes you want to go back just to feel that welcome again.

We travel a lot and have booked rooms in many countries, but nothing like this has happened to us before. It ruined more than a holiday, it shook my trust in people. I don't think Chantal was professional or reliable, and I'm sharing what happened so others won't be disappointed. On 1/03/2015, I phoned to reserve two rooms for two nights for my father's 60th birthday. Chantal said she trusted me and that I didn't need to pay in advance. She emailed a confirmation, and I returned the signed contract. On 20/03/2015 she wrote that there had been a double booking and blamed her husband, saying she'd already asked him not to handle anything for the B&B, but since retiring he was a bit lost. After a lot of trying, I reached Chantal again and learned one room was still available for both nights. Four of us would have to share it, but I gave her another chance. On 1/04/2015, I pressed for confirmation of the new total price. Though she offered payment on arrival, I wanted to pay beforehand for more proof and reassurance. I sent several emails and called multiple times without getting a proper answer. I told myself maybe things were less strict in this region. Then, as Chantal had asked, I called 24 hours ahead on 1/05/2015 to confirm our arrival time. She calmly told me she'd given the room to someone else. She also called me "litigieuse" (debateable?) and said the contract hadn't been fulfilled because it wasn't paid in advance. Can you believe that? I spent so much time on this and worried so much. During our phone calls she told me her whole life story at my expense: taking her new dog to the vet, redoing a room's floor, and being tired of running the B&B because it stopped her having fun with friends on weekends. If she can't do this with heart and soul anymore, she should just quit.