Gîte Au Petit Vivoin

The pool was lovely and warm, and the hostess made us feel very welcome. We stayed in the family apartment, which was spotlessly clean and spacious, with a kitchen, dining area and TV. The beds were really comfortable.

Dinner and breakfast in the restaurant were both good, and the service was excellent. We stopped here on the way from southern France to the UK via Calais. Our family room was clean and tidy, though the temporary single beds felt a bit uncomfortable. Decent value.

The one thing that was immaculate was the cleanliness. The room itself felt more like a shoe box, and the mattress dipped in the middle so we kept ending up there through the night. The tiny bathroom had nowhere to put toiletries in the shower, and there was no tea tray for a drink when we arrived. At €85 a night, I think you can get more space and better quality at an Ibis or Formule 1. The hotel is in a very small town in the middle of nowhere, so there wasn't much choice around. Breakfast was the biggest disappointment and didn't feel worth the €10. When we came down, the plate had two slices of baguette and a pain au chocolat, along with a nasty little pot of yoghurt topped with watermelon, a small orange juice and a tiny plastic tub of industrial raspberry jam. Coffee came in one cup, with no offer of a refill. I expected a continental buffet with cold meats, cheese, juices, cereal and hot drinks. What we got looked cheap and unappetising. I wouldn't book here again unless I had no other option. Maybe having no other hotel nearby lets them get away with offering the bare minimum for a high price. It wasn't worth what we paid.

Pretty decent hotel in a very small town. This was the best bed I've had in a hotel, though I do like a firm mattress. The food was overpriced.