This Logis hotel is pretty basic with amazing colour clashes in the decor, but don't be fooled. The restaurant is so huge for a good reason - the locals flock there for a blow out of fantastic food every night. The bedrooms are basic but then it's so cheap who cares. And the patronne is so welcoming you will feel at home very quickly.

The Hôtel de la Poste ** is a family-run, small Logis with 11 bedrooms, some large enough for families, with bath-rooms all brand new. The restaurant is large and seemed to have plenty of clients every evening – mainly French, with usually some Compostela pilgrims too – the little town of Tence is on the trail between Geneva and Le Puy-en-Velay. Fresh flowers were on every table and the food was delicious – several menus to choose from, each ending with a selection from the trolley of about 25 different cheeses and from another trolley with at least 15 different home-made desserts. Blueberry or raspberry tarts, raspberry and pear flans, a delicious chestnut cream tart, two chocolate desserts, white and black chocolate mousses, a fruit salad, crème brûlée – and others – and, if you didn’t find what you wanted, there was an enormous basket of fruit! - reasonable too – the most elaborate menu with a starter (home cooked foie gras, for instance), a fish dish, a meat dish, cheese and dessert only cost 26€. There were about half a dozen quite elderly people staying in the hotel, having lunch and dinner there, on holiday from Lyon or St. Etienne. The owners of the place were quite delightful, going to all lengths of trouble to make everybody comfortable and happy. I will certainly go back there - a good base for a walking holiday in this lovely region.