DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL EVEN IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Apologies for the capital letters but we feel that all travellers should be warned about what awaits them if they decide to stay here. Please read on for details.

Following a long and gruelling drive from the midlands in England (12 hours on the road) what we needed most was a good meal and a decent nights rest, unfortunately neither of these basic requirements were met by the Le Saint Aubert and its associated restaurant.

The first impressions were not all bad, although the photograph chosen for the web site is rather misleading – you will not be staying in the castle type building, the rooms are in a purpose built block next door. Our room was at the gable end that faces onto the crossroads of the two main roads that lead to Mont-St-Michel – even with earplugs the noise from the traffic into the early morning was very loud. That coupled with the fact that the high diamond shaped window does not have a blind or curtain and is aligned perfectly with a street lamp and the constant noise of ?pipes? prevented the night’s rest we had expected. Unfortunately all these details were discovered after we went to bed and complaining would have meant getting fully dressed and crossing over to the restaurant as the reception is unmanned.

The room itself was adequate, but in a supposed two-star hotel I would expect the missing towel rail and shower curtain to have been replaced.

Saving the “best” for last – the restaurant. I can honestly say I have never been more ripped off or badly served in my entire life. I decided to go for the 18 euro menu (by the way, the menus in France are approximately 50-100% more than what you would pay in Spain and don’t include wine) and chose pâté and salad for the starter, traditional Normandy fish stew for the main course and a selection of local cheeses for dessert. It was 8 o’clock and the restaurant was half empty.

The starter – I had to remind the waiter of my order 3 times and ended up waiting half an hour (20 minutes after my wife and daughter were served) before it arrived and when it did I was not exactly thrilled; a single wafer thin slice of supermarket terrine pâté accompanied by 3 or 4 pieces of lettuce.

The main course – After the disappointing starter I had hoped the main course would be a filling and hearty dish but no, once again the quantity served was unbelievably small (it would fit entirely into a pair of cupped hands) consisting literally of one small piece of salmon (a quarter of a slice) and 2 or 3 chunks of some indeterminate white fish floating in a insipid cream based stock – the best thing about it was the bread on the table. The 30 minute wait did not help.

The dessert – At this point I was looking for cameras to see if I was the subject of some malicious practical joke so when the cheese finally arrived I was unsurprised by what was served. The cheese itself was fine, but again, the quantity was laughable, two micro-wedges of cheese served with a couple of leaves of salad – it really did seem as if the staff in the kitchen they were daring each other to cut ever smaller amounts to see if anyone would complain.

We finally left the restaurant one and a half hours later after paying 60 euros to suffer this insult of a meal – unfortunately our French and tiredness did not allow us to vocalize our disappointment.

To the owners of this hotel/restaurant SHAME ON YOU! This really is not doing anything to help tourism in France – the fact that you are next to a historic monument does not give you the right to abuse people in this way.

The first impression is olfactive -- yuck ! As one enters the room, one is met by a mouldy smell, exuded by the walls (see picture) and (as happens elsewhere) the shower curtain. Otherwise, the comfort is worthy of a French two-star hotel at a (very) reasonable price. Very little soundproofing, no limits on the volume of the TV sets.

On the plus side : a nice large car park, and a nice restaurant in a (heavily overhauled) ancient sheepscote. They offer a variety of menus, from very reasonable to luxurious (we have tried one of each and enjoyed both), with local specialties (buckwheat pancakes, seafood brochettes, and of course pré-salé lamb meat), and a nice choice of affordable wines (the côtes du rhône is really nice with the lamb preparations).

The service is nice and friendly, but again : the personnel could do with a dash of deodorant.

I chose the Hotel St. Aubert because of its fantastic location and great price. The website map shows it to be right on the island, only steps from the abbey of Mont St. Michel. I couldn't believe the price for such a great location, but there is was, right on the Google map. Except it's not where there arrow points. The hotel is across the causeway, back on the mainland, over two kilometers away. I felt as if I had been tricked. (Well, I was!)

When I arrived and they told me they were full and sending me to a nearby hotel, I was delighted. I did not want to spend one minute or one euro with these people.

Marc Burgett, Minneapolis, MN