La Tour de Crecy

A prime reason for our constant use of Crecy as a stopping-off point when we arrive in France is this simple hotel, and particularly the fact that it was owned for many years by the irrepressible Laurent and his lovely and very talented wife and chef Brigitte. We had read on other reviews that the hotel was now under new management and, as some of those reviews were less than complimentary, I must admit to being overly-ready to write the place off. On arrival however, we were greeted by a very charming young man; our room (no 1) was roomy and comfortable and our meal of a shared pizza and a salad du gesiers was enjoyable. Re the latter, the salad was way short of the one previously served up by Brigitte, but bearing in mind that she was an exceptionally talented chef, you have to accept that having such a chef in a two star hotel shouldn’t be expected as the norm, and we were more than satisfied with the standard of both the food and the service. Breakfast was very nice and we enjoyed juice, fresh fruit salad, yoghurt and a basketful of fresh breads along with decent coffee. The bottom line is that whereas that magical era of being welcomed by Laurent is now no more than a passing memory, we are still very satisfied with this hotel. The people we met were welcoming and very nice, the standards of service and food were perfectly acceptable, and the value for money remains top class. As such, we will continue to use this as our first stop of choice when journeying in France.

We were on a motorbike tour in the French Alps. Our guide has frequently stayed at this hotel in the past, but it is now under new management. The stay was a stop over on our way back to the UK. Our tour guide had previously been so impressed with the hotel that he felt it justified a 10 hour ride to get here. Due to the extremely long day most of us stopped for food. Just the tour guide and one other member of the party pressed on in order to get to the hotel before the restaurant closed at 8:30. When we arrived we were provided with secure parking for our motorbikes. A real bonus. The rooms were very spacious, clean and had all the key facilities. We got a drink from the bar. The bar man was very friendly and spoke excellent English. We enjoyed our drinks outside on the beautiful square. We got a kebab from the shop across the square. Whilst eating this outside the hotel we were asked to come inside. We thought it was an issue with us eating food from another establishment outside the hotel. We were happy to sit in the bar to eat them. However we were told the bar was closing even though it was only 10pm. Surprising as we would all have had a few drinks and provided the hotel with additional profit. We asked if we could get one last drink. We were told we could but that we would have to take it to our room. The seven of us headed up to our room where we sat and chatted whilst enjoying our drinks. It wasn't long however when there was a bang on the wall. We joked that the place was perhaps *******. Soon there was another bang so clearly we were disturbing someone, we soon worked out we were adjacent to the owners accommodation and it was they that we were disturbing not another guest. So we all moved to one of the other rooms further away. However the owner then came and told us to be quiet. We were astonished at this as it was only 10:30pm and we were only chatting not partying and making lots of noise. We then decided to go to our separate rooms. The two guys however stayed in their room and continued to talk to each other. They were soon visited again and told to be quiet. Amazing! If it had been after midnight and they were being loud I could have understood it. However they were making no more noise than if you had the TV on. Clearly the owner expected quests to go to bed and go to sleep at an early time. Next morning a pleasant fresh breakfast of French bread jams and spreads. Together with fresh orange juice, tea and coffee. A lovely hotel in an excellent location. The stay however was totally ruined by the curfew.

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