My favorite chambre d’hôte in FRANCE is Le Lot (46320 Issepts, France; phone 011 33 [0] 5 65 40 17 61 or e-mail catherineissepts@wanadoo. fr). This is in the Quercy region, just south of the beautiful Dordogne area; Quercy is just as pretty and not as expensive as the Dordogne. Even with the unfavorable exchange rate, you can have a great vacation here for far less than in most regions in France. Our most recent visit was in December ’05.
We spent three days on Cheung Chau, CHINA, a small island that is a 40-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Central, in early December ’05. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel (East Bay, Cheung Chau; phone [852] 2981 0081, fax 2981 9673 or visit www.warwick hotel.com.hk).
During a 10-week trip to Asia, January to April ’05, we had the pleasure of staying in several excellent hotels.
I enjoyed a 2-week trip to SWITZERLAND in September ’05 and recommend the following places to stay. They are each a great value in a country where a small bottle of water sells for $4 and mailing a postcard costs $1.44.
• Hôtel de Sonloup (1833 Les Avants sur Montreux, Switzerland; phone 011 41 21 964 34 31, fax 964 34 80 or visit www.sonloup.com) is perched on a knoll; your room will overlook either the Alps or Lake Geneva. My single room with bath cost CHF90 ($72) per night, with breakfast. Swiss hotel prices include tax and tip.
Château de Labessière (55320 Ancemont, FRANCE; phone 33 3 29 85 70 21, fax 33 3 29 87 61 60 or visit www.labessiere.com or www.au-chateau.com) is a wonderful bed-and-breakfast near Verdun. The château is easy to reach by car or train.
Just wanted to share a great apartment in Baltimore, West County Cork, Ireland: Harbour View Apartments (phone 353 [0] 864029566 or 2820142, e-mail info@harbourapartments.com or visit www.harbourapartments.com). The owner is Sarah Connolly.
On a trip to SCOTLAND in November ’05 we stayed at the Schoolhouse B&B (Caroline St. Dornie; phone 01599 555 482 or e-mail leigh@eilan.freeserve.co.uk).
Here are two lovely B&Bs from our April ’05 trip to NEW ZEALAND.
On our month-long trip to INDIA in November-December ’04, we found the Clarks Shiraz (54, Taj Road, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA; phone +91 05622 222 6121 or visit www.hotelclarksshiraz.com) to be a fine and efficient hotel, far better equipped to accommodate travelers than several of the other hotels we stayed in. But somehow it gave us one of the least-satisfying experiences.
A group of five of us traveled by car through Germany, Austria and Slovenia in May ’05. Most of our accommodations during the trip — guest houses, “Zimmers,” “sobe” (in Slovenia) or hostels — combined our double and triple rooms and gave us a per-person rate. All prices listed here include tax and breakfast. I made all of the reservations except one over the Internet, and only the hostel asked for a credit card number to hold. All had free, convenient parking.