Name: Hotel le Relais du Mont Ventoux
Address: Rue du Portail, 84390 Aurel, France, Aurel, Aurel, Aurel, 84390, France
Rating: 8

Ticket assistance

General

Iron and board

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Pets allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Avignon-Caumont Airport

Fort St-Andre

Pont d'Avignon

Avignon Cathedral

Musee du Petit Palais

Palais des Papes

Chartreuse du Val de Benediction

Place de l'Horloge

Eglise Collegiale Notre-Dame

Tour Philippe le Bel

Musee Calvet

Collection Lambert

Paul Cezanne's Studio

Saint-Sauveur Cathedral

Place d'Hotel de Ville

Eglise de la Madeleine

Place des Precheurs

Les Allees Provencales

Grand Theater of Provence

Pavillon Noir

Place des Quatre-Dauphins

Vasarely Foundation

Paul Cezanne University

Hotel le Relais du Mont Ventoux

Aurel

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

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3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

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37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

This guesthouse is a quaint old building located in the small village of Aurel.  I was very excited to stay at it after some very friendly and helpful email exchanges with the owner.  However, when I arrived, my heart sank.  Truthfully, after getting into our room I tried for two hours online to find somewhere else to stay but everywhere else was fully booked.

First, here are the good points:  The location and view from our room was stunning.  Lavender fields scattered along the sides of the hillsides.  The town of Aurel is cute and neat.  It can be covered by foot in about 15 minutes.  The owner of the guesthouse is friendly and provided what she stated, a room with a view and breakfast.  The hot water in the shower had good pressure.  The bed sheets and bed were relatively comfortable.  The breakfast offered was sufficient for the price paid.

The bad points in my view outweighed the good.  Throughout the property were dead or semi-dead potted plants.  Some pots just had dirt in them.  Plastic posters of lavender fields were attached to the old stone walls of this beautiful building.  Why?  The reception was dark and dreary and the outside stairs leading to our room seemed to have never been swept in several days if not weeks.  The upper deck near our room was cluttered with outdoor furniture which didn’t appear to be used very much and just created an obstacle in getting in and out of the room.  Again why?  Lights hung around our deck along and along the downstairs.  All of this created a cluttered atmosphere.  There is so much beauty in the old building itself.  I found it strange that all these unnecessary things were littered about creating a chaotic atmosphere.  

The toilet in our room dripped for about 45 minutes after each flush.  A long crack on our bedroom wall was pretty unattractive and even though the shower functioned, it was a very ugly unit with a base that just looks dirty possibly moldy in one spot.  The towels were stiff and rough.  Great for exfoliating but not drying.  Maybe use some fabric softener?  The table on our balcony looked like it had been purchased at a second hand shop with faded colored flowers on it, again just very unattractive.  The overall feel of the place reminded me of a college dorm room.

I did end up bailing on dinner which I had stated I wanted in my emails.  I did this because when I was shown the kitchen at 4pm at checkin, there were croissants sitting out in baskets from breakfast with no covering and a half of bread sat on a cutting board with crumbs everywhere.  I was a bit concerned by the kitchen cleanliness.  However, at breakfast the next day I noticed everything appeared to be in order, so my fears may have been unfounded.

Overall this property has so much potential to be a real stunner.  But the clutter and outdoor areas really degrade it.  I hope that the owners get it together because they could have something very special if they paid more attention to details.

Some Good More Bad

Just outside of Sault in the village of Aurel is this wonderful surprise. Eat indoors or on the terrace with a view, the meal was fantastic and the people exceptionally friendly. Don’t miss out on this wonderful spot.

Fabulous food, staff and view

We arrived at the hotel after a long day cycling and immediately got great service. They opened the kitchen for much needed refill and the set-menu in the evening was excellent. The views of the valley are amazing and the rooms can accomodate large groups. We were 11 people and enjoyed two apartments.

Quiet and cosy

We were touring with bikes and stayed here ahead of a cycle up Mt Ventoux. It is ideal accommodation if you are cycling or walking, traditional French "logis" accommodation. It has a secure cycle store and our ground floor room, accessed from the street, was ideal for sorting our bikes and getting organised for the day. The food was excellent; simple, authentic Provencale home cooking with breakfast the highlight, home made yogourt and jams, croissants, fresh bread etc. Our room and bathroom had been recently refurbished although quirky with old fashioned funiture. There was free Wifi but a poor signal except in hotel reception/restaurant.

Good base for cycling

We were shown to a table in the terrasse restaurant which is on the opposite of the road to the hotel and kitchen. Luckily although it’s a main road there isn’t much traffic. Parking is limited close to the hotel but there’s plenty of room by the mairie at the entrance to the village. The 22 rooms are popular with holiday makers, especially cyclists and walkers. We were fascinated to find a group of 8 made up of Australians, Canadians and Americans, mainly in their sixties, who were staying in at the hotel in Aurel while enjoying a cycling holiday. They were evidently having a great time and the waitresses all spoke some English, one sufficiently fluently to be able to share jokes with them.
The waitresses were friendly and efficient. We chose the €22 menu which had a choice of 4 starters and then three mains, fish, poultry or lamb, followed by a wide choice of homemade desserts. For an additional €3 we included the supplementary cheese course. The meal was good value, well-cooked local food, served unpretentiously. I chose the risopeautre, a delicious mushroom risotto made with the local grain, petit épeautre, which retains its nutty bite and texture even after absorbing loads of flavour from the juices it’s cooked in. My husband had the Duo de Terrines Maison. My lamb dish was several undercooked slices of gigot, and my husband’s poultry was a rare magret de canard. Both of them were served with three piles of petit épeautre, some courgettes and slices of aubergine. The meat was delicious and very tender. Our plates of cheese were generous. For dessert I chose tarte aux abricots, although apple and lemon tarts were also on offer, as well as sorbets and ice cream. My husband had a chocolate fondant. The wines on the list were all local and realistically priced.
We had a most enjoyable evening and would recommend the Relais de Mont Ventoux to anyone wanting a well-cooked meal using local produce at a sensible price.

Hotel le Relais du Mont Ventoux

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