Accommodations Worldwide

We read the recommendation for Le Lot (46320 Issepts, FRANCE; phone 011 33 [0] 5 65 40 17 61 or e-mail catherineissepts@wanadoo.fr) (April ’06, pg. 55). We stayed there during our trip to southern France in May ’06 and it was by far our favorite chambre d’hôte of the trip.

Catherine has two rooms. Our spacious room with a view of the countryside had its own bathroom. We paid €34 ($40) each night, and this included a breakfast of croissants, yogurt, bread, homemade jams and coffee.

From my March 12-26, 2006, trip to AUSTRALIA, here are appraisals of hotels in the Northern Territory. (For others in New South Wales and South Australia, see the September and March articles)

On our trip to western FRANCE in May ’06, we stayed in two places that were especially noteworthy.

For decades, I have been staying now and then at the delightful St. Margaret’s Hotel (26, Bedford Place, London WC1B 5JL, ENGLAND; phone +44 [0] 20 7636 4277, fax 7323 3006 or visit www. stmargaretshotel.co.uk), most recently in July ’06. Mrs. Rosanne Merazzi, the delightful owner, is still about and greeting visitors.

On a quiet street off Russell Square, St. Margaret’s is one block from the British Museum. The back of the hotel faces a garden.

The National Trust (Box 39, Warrington, WA5 7WD, UNITED KINGDOM; phone 0870 458 4000 or visit www. nationaltrust. org.uk), founded in 1895, owns many historic properties (houses, manor houses, abbeys, etc.) across England and Wales as well as properties of natural beauty, most of which are open to the public for a small admission fee.

(Also see the March and January articles)

Friends and I stayed three nights at the Gasthof Fraundorfer (Ludwigstrasse 24, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GERMANY; phone 011 49 8821 92 70, fax 8821 92 799 or visit www.gasthof-fraundorfer.de).

I was happy with the Hotel Ambassade (Herengracht 341, 1016 AZ Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS; phone +31 20 555 0 222 or visit www.ambassade-hotel.nl). I stayed there March 29-April 3, ’06, during the off-season, so my double room cost €185 ($238) per night, reduced from the rack rate of €220 ($283).

Here are two hotels from our June ’05 trip to Adelaide, AUSTRALIA.

Let me tell you about a tropical paradise my husband found on the Internet: Taman Harum Cottages (Box 3216, Ubud, Bali, INDONESIA; phone [62-361] 975567, fax 975149 or visit www.tamanharumcottages.com). The owner/manager is Ib Hariyana (Hari, for short).

Everyone had their own bungalow with an upstairs patio that overlooked miles of impressive green rice paddies. Our bathroom was like a semi-outdoor grotto, with lush plants and high boulders giving us complete privacy. During our stay in November ’05, the room rate was $45 a day.