We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Le Guilhem in Montpellier for the week 19/07/11 to 26/07/11. The rooms were not large, but clean and comfortable – adequate with an excellent bathroom (rubbish hairdryer). We did not take breakfast but it appeared to be the normal continental, beautifully presented. The staff were attentive (unusually so for France) and looked after us very well indeed.
A week in Montpellier is too long so we decided to visit Sete by train, which turned out to be a lovely day out even though the train was late both ways! (They do let you know how late the train is running). We visited Carcassonne the next day hoping to refresh our 30 year old memories of the place. This was a true disappointment as it has been turned into a tacky ‘Disneyland’.
Montpellier has developed some rather alarming architecture in the Antigone development by the now polluted and silted river Lez . The Odysseum complex a tram ride away is the most soulless attempt at a shopping Mall and ‘Sports’ complex I have yet to see. The French just do not do that sort of thing well – sorry!
Montpellier itself is ‘buzzing’ with a huge range of restaurants and bars all charging roughly the same price for whatever one asks for and very few of the restaurants able to produce excellent food at a reasonable price. The prices are eyewatering, £5 for two coffees was standard, £10 for a ‘demi’ (50cl) of lager and the cheapest wine if you can find it is a pichet (50cl) for £6.50, most bottles are £20 plus for very indifferent wine. Supermarket wine is cheaper of course if you were to self cater.
The Hotel Guilhem is in a charming and steep back street with no parking conveniently nearby for the touring motorist – do not believe the brochures or the internet. Also there are massive roadworks where they are extending the tramway, so getting around by car is ‘difficult’. There is no need for the car it is a very walkable city and the trams and trains are clean and efficient. We did enjoy our stay but, one has to have good spoken French and
Montpellier’s biggest let down is the hundreds (I do not exaggerate) of down and outs and beggars and the dog excrement everywhere! It is vile.