Alistair Sawday's Guide to French Bed and Breakfast

by Emma Carey and Alistair Sawday

This guide opens the door to the private homes of hundreds of people in France. Now over 500 houses - the vast majority inspected, colour photographs and easy-to-follow directions, full of advice on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0952195402
• ISBN13: 9780952195405
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Alastair Sawday
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A superlative French B & B guide

An American friend resident in France and my wife and I used this guide last May on a trip through much of France. We set out with a fistful of books: three lodging guides in English and three general guides in French including the familiar Michelin. After a few days we used only Sawday. We found it rock-solid: reliable, authoritative, sensible, up to date, well illustrated, easy to use - all we could hope for. We would phone during the day for a place to stay that night and scored most times with our first choice. [A caution: While some proprietors spoke English, we relied on our friend's French for the cell phone.] All was as advertised: our hosts welcoming, the accommodations clean and comfortable. A few miles from Omaha Beach we stayed in a new extension to a 18th C. manor house on a 100 acre dairy farm. The next morning, after a delightful breakfast, the proprietress gave us a tour of her milking barn. The average cost for was $50 for two, breakfast included. Some hosts provided dinner for $15 to $30 including wine. On another farm, dinner included home grown vegetables and home brewed aperitif and digestif, all for $14. In Arlanc although we phoned late, the proprietor graciously made a special trip to purchase extra food for a gourmet meal. It was a memorable, and thrifty, way to meet real people. What's more, Sawday maintains a searchable database for pre-planning and a most helpful staff. Overall, a superb resource.

Book is even more fun if you can speak French with your host

Not one home in Normandy and Brittany was a disappointment. All booked on one day notice and offered romantic Norman towers, Breton water mills, and dinners we never could have had in a resturant. Each hostess went out of her way to praise my college graduate French and tell extra stories about the war years or the local economy. We met lovely British and Belge families. Everyone is now on our Chirstmas card list.

Excellent, Honest and Fun

We have been to France twice now, with this book at the ready! We would not travel without it! The descriptions off each B & B are so true and we have never been dissapointed with the accomodation nor the prices - anything from £20 - £40 per night (for two of us - not each) including a tradtional french breakfast. We never know where we are going to end up, we book the B & B that morning to arrive in the evening, giving us a chance to travel, shop and explore the area before then crashing out! Last year we went to the Cote d'Azur and we found most of the B & B's had swimming pools a great way to end a hot day! Any more info? Then E mail us!

Best B & B guide I've ever used!

I used this guide to plan my husband's and my last trip to France. Although we've been to France many times, the excellent bed and breakfasts in this book made this the best trip ever. The descriptions were accurate and the facilities all lived up to our expectations and more. This book must be popular in the U.K. because most of our fellow travelers were British and had found the B & B's through the book. The book indicates which B & B's serve evening meals along with the cost of the meals; we enjoyed the lively family style dinners immensely. The places we stayed were outside of the towns and cities but the book gave adequate directions to find them. Many of the B & B's owners did not speak any English which can make telephone reservations difficult for anyone who does not speak French, however fax numbers are included where available. Although the book did not stress any need for reservations, we traveled off-season in the fall and many places were full and turning away drop-ins. I highly recommend the book for planning a casual trip in the French countryside.

A superb source if planning a driving trip through France

My wife and I used this book as the basis for a planning a vacation driving through Normandy. We stayed in four different B & B's recommended in the book. We found the reality met or exceeded the descriptions and we were able to enjoy excellent stays. We recomend this book to any traveller to France wishing to use small hotels and B & B's.