Carcassonne France Hotel Reviews – the Best Hotels in Carcassonne

Carcassonne Hotel Review – Hotel de la Cite

by Wade Rowland

HOTEL DE LA CITE – Luxury Carcassonne France Hotel Hôtel de la Cité in Carcassonne France

It is Carcassonne’s Inquisition Tower which overlooks the fairy tale garden of one of the most romantic hotels in the world, and one of the friendliest and most accommodating in our experience. Hôtel de la Cité’s immaculately-detailed rooms are contained within the renovated interior of the old Bishop’s palace, next door to the gothic cathedral, Basilica of Saint-Nazaire. One of three small hotels within Carcassone’s citadel walls and unquestionably the best, its public spaces are worth a visit whether or not you stay there. Especially interesting is the bar/breakfast room with its enormous paintings showing Carcassonne as it must have looked at various stages of its history, from neolithic times through its Roman, Visigoth and medieval French incarnations.

Hotel de la Cite in Carcassonne, France

HOTEL DE LA CITE – Luxury Carcassonne France Hotel

We had asked for a room with a double bed when we’d reserved by phone from Paris, always a wise precaution unless you prefer the twins that are much more common in French hotels. None was available, but rather than disappoint us, the hotel staff had upgraded us to a corner suite. We could scarcely believe our eyes. Leaded casement windows opened on to the tiny plaza in front of the cathedral and a breeze billowed tapestry-like curtains in the bedroom and sitting rooms. There was a huge, fragrant bouquet in the suite’s private foyer. The marbled bathroom featured a walk-in shower the size of a horse stall. The furniture was antique and immaculate and there was original art on every wall.

Each of Hotel de la Cite’s 42 guestrooms and 19 suites are individually furnished and decorated; no two rooms are alike. The same exacting attention to detail seen in the hotel’s public spaces continue in the luxurious guestrooms.

Luxurious individually decorated rooms and suites overlooking Carcassonne

That night, out of gratitude but against our better financial instincts, we ate in the hotel dining room, La Barbacane Restaurant. Our suspicion entering the neo-Gothic room with magnificent fireplaces, high ceilings, stained glass windows and cathedral chairs was that this was not a room for triflers was confirmed by the wine list, which had the heft of a big-city phone book. Entrées were priced to suit the budget of someone who could actually afford the suite we’d been given.

The restaurant, though, does not disappoint. The Michelin-star La Barbacane (Executive Chef, Franck Putelat, and Pastry Chef, Régis Chanel) offers imaginative menu selections with fresh takes on traditional cuisine, created with the highest quality ingredients.

Details: Hotel de la Cite
Place Auguste-Pierre Pont, 11000 Carcassonne, France
www.hoteldelacite.com
Tel: +33 4 68 71 98 71 Fax: +33 4 68 71 50 15