There's not much to do in Vezelay, but it makes a good base for exploring other areas and with the basilica and this michelin starred restaurant, we decided to spend two nights here. The issues began with our arrival. There's not much of a parking space in front of the inn, and in fact the main gates were partially closed, so we cautiously drove in enough to get off the street and then my significant other got out to ask them to open the gates further. The response he got was to ask him for his reservation information. He explained that it was in the car, which I was trying to pull in properly, but could not because the gates were not open. They finally opened the gates and when I drove in he came out to ask for the reservation paperwork, because they could not help us without it.

When we finally produced the paperwork (both of us at the front desk now), the woman did not have our reservation in the book and treated us like it was our mistake. We showed her the paperwork with the dates and her response was "we don't deal with Expedia" (we booked our rooms on expedia). We even explained that we had made a reservation the next night at the restaurant, and then she was able to find our reservation, which was somehow starting the next day. Luckily for us, they had rooms that night and could put us in there (we felt like we were supposed to be grateful for this accommodation).

We finally got our room, which was nice but certainly not luxurious in any sense. It was a standard B&B look. We had paid around $200/night for the room, about half their normal rate. There's no way I'd pay $400 a night for those rooms and even $200 was a bit steep compared to other places we stayed in burgundy. The bathroom was the nicest part, really big tub and clean, modern appliances. When we left for dinner that night we asked for recommendations, and they said to just go into the town of Vezelay up the hill (they did not give us any names of places or call for us to see if they were open). We also asked them to chill a demi bottle of champagne for us that we had brought with us. They could not do it right then due to the dinner service but would have it chilled by the time we got back.

The rest of our stay was uneventful (I will review the restaurant separately), but I definitely felt like this place was a bit too snooty for its own good and didn't present itself well when we first got there. That left a bad taste in my mouth the rest of the time and I was relieved to be moving on to the next place when we left. Other random notes: the parking lot is very small so you may have to park across the street at an alternative lot (esp if your car isn't a fancy looking old car). This street can be a little dangerous to cross since cars drive fast and its a bit of a blind curve. There's this cute, very glamorous looking older lady who seems to work at the restaurant, maybe she's the host? In any case, she was adorable and I totally loved her style. She even tried to help carry my bags when we were leaving but I wouldn't let her because she looks so fragile. Oh, we got a box of treats from the kitchen when we checked out, which would have been really nice except it was the same stuff we got at dessert the night before at the restaurant. It wasn't that great the first time, so we were def not that excited about it as leftovers and ended up throwing most of it away.

We have had a unique experience in the restaurant. Friendly staff, superb food. This is french cuisine at its best. When you are able to pay for it (yes, it is very expensive!) you will have lived through a few hours that you can enjoy also afterwards for a long time. We had lunch. Beautiful garden and terrace.

Beautiful rooms and charming hotel. The owners are very amicable and service is impecable. We wish there were more things to do around the area to stay more time. Vezelay is tiny but unique. Marc Meneau is a genius in the kitchen. He is an artist with the combination of ingredients and presentation of dishes. What an unforgettable experience!

The Pompous Peacock

I went to stay in this establishment in June with 2 great friends as part of an annual driving holiday and it all started well, drinks on the terrace after a long day.
Dinner however was like something out of the John Cleese book of memories.
The chef has an extremely high opinion of himself but my starter was just terrible, (some of them are €65) perhaps the more you pay, the better they are.

The fish I chose was bland, not well seasoned and was quite small, but this is nouvelle cuisine of the most pretentious kind I suppose.

My friend had to send the duck back and frankly this caused complete pandemonium and instead of dealing with it in the normal way, all hell broke loose!

We were fussed over, offered salad and bread, but no apology, which was a shame as most of his meal was actually delicious.

The rooms are fine but the service overbearing and everything including the wine is horribly over priced – avoid.