Arles Hotel Tips by davequ Top 5 Page for this destination

Hotel De L'Amphitheatre: Renovaded, updated, and very affordable Hotel De L'Amphitheatre Review

Hotel De L'Amphitheatre appears to be the latest "good hotel deal" in Arles.

It is now completely renovated, has air conditioning, and is getting some good reviews on the 'net.

Excellent location, right by Hotel Calendal and right off the Roman Arena, close to many of my favorite hangouts and restaurants in the old city.

Next time I might even be tempted to pay extra (if possible) for a night in the "Belvedere" suite (145 Euros /night) as it supposedly is a cool room with a 360-degree view of the rooftops of Arles. There are pix of it on the hotel website.

Definitely worth a try I think.

Here are the latest "TripAdvisor" reviews:

Unique Qualities: All rooms are air-conditioned now, Internet access in the lobby and a massage therapist (on call) - pretty luxurious for a 2-star in the old part of the city.

Location is one of my favorites, right by the arena at the "top" of the old city.

The prices are very reasonable, ranging from about 50 to about 80 Euro a night.
Petit dejeuner 5-EU / day, parking 7 EU / day ... again, quite affordable.

They have a website with lots of info (that sometimes loads slowly, due to the distinctly French well-intentioned-webmaster tendency to torture potential customers with too many slow-loading but fun flash & shockwave applets)

but it's worth waiting for.

Again, if it was me and based on location, raising price of Calendal and the current steep dollar-decline, this is likely where I would probably stay myself these days.

Hotel De L'Amphitheatre

Address: 5 - 7, Rue Diderot, Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azu

Comparison: about average

Directions: Half a block "west" (down) of the Arena, at rue Diderot & Rue De La Bastille. Here's a MAP

Phone: 011-33/4-90-96-10-30

Price: US$80-120

Theme: Hotel

Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus: Excellent Staff and Central Location Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus Review

Eccentric, with much personality. If you must have a new, modern hotel, this is not for you, but:

I recommend this hotel for 4 reasons:

- It's historic character;
- the location right on the Forum overlooking Cafe van Gogh;
- the food (Brasserie du Nord-Pinus ) and most of all,
- for the wonderful and extremely helpful lady who resides just to the right of the lobby as the concierge.

If you speak a little polite French to her, she is so kind, helpful, knowledgeable and professional (at least she was to me), she alone makes staying at Nord-Pinus worth it.

A standard room in 2008 is now about 160 Euros (superiore ~ 230 EU), and about 17 Euros / day to park a car in the garage.

As a special treat, for between 300 and 400 Euros/night they have a unique "bullfighter" suite/apartment. Many bullfighters and artists (Picasso) have stayed here.

Unique Qualities: See above. A quick story:

One evening, having a tough time picking out a good, non touristy restaurant near the forum I stopped in to speak with her (the concierge @ Hotel Nord-Pinus) and asked her opinion.

Even though I was not staying there at the time, she acknowledged and helped me with my poor french, offered her suggestions, and when she saw I was confused by her directions, she left the desk and took me BY THE ARM directly (about 5 streets total) to her 2 favorite restaurants (they were both excellent).

I am going to pay extra for a terrace room @ Nord Pinus next time I return to Arles, just because of her.
Madame, vous êtes tres aimable, et gentile! Nord-Pinus is privileged to have her working there.

Parking note: If you drove to Arles, driving your car in&out of the old city & parking can be an adventure.

ps... Check out the fotos all over the hotel of guests that have stayed there... especially the Helmut Newton bw nude of Charlotte Rampling taken in the Nord Pinus Grey Room.... woof..

Address: Place Du Forum in the old city center

Comparison: most expensive

Directions: In the forum, Cafe van Gogh on the left, Nord-Pinus directly in front of you behind the statue of Mistral.

Phone: 04.90.93.44.44

Price: US$180 and up

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.nord-pinus.com/

Hotel le Calendal: One of Arles' Best w/ Beautiful Garden: '08 UPDATE Hotel Le Calendal Review

I'm updating this tip in Spring '08 as things have changed (for Americans) -

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I wish more French 2-star hotels (now upgraded to a 3-star) were like Calendal.

Perfect location, professional staff, a good restaurant, clean, very "Provence" in its design and colours, a good deal, with a most beautiful garden.

Eating in the garden is Calendal's high point.
Staff are very kind and helpful.

Here is the updated website
with all the info and some good pics.

Unique Qualities: For such a charming place, still great rates in 2007.
So much for that - rates have gone up, and with the decline of the dollar vs euro, yanks like me will really feel the pinch.

The prices are relatively the same as when I stayed here in 2001! How Hotel le Calendal can avoid the euro "inflation demon" is beyond me, but good for us!
Definitely a good deal.
Sadly, not any more.
e.g. I used to rent rm44, a nice little "double" overlooking the quiet garden for about 65 EU, which translated to about $55 in '01, and ~$70 in '03 & '05.
Now a double is (per the website) "Double ou twin: de 99 à 119 euros"
Holy m@rd*!! - That means at today's rates, a 'best case' $150 / night! More than twice the previous cost a couple of years ago.

Right next to the Roman Arena at the "top" of the old city, walking distance to everywhere in the Arles. There are many little cafes/restaurants within 50 meters of the lobby, and the hotel itself has excellent food in their restaurant and Salon de thé.

The garden is fabulous. You must eat at least one meal in the garden during your stay (petite dejeuner here is excellent and very relaxing).

(room 44 is one of the nice little rooms I like that overlooks their beautiful garden)

They have a small garage for private parking and can also arrange parking for your vehicle in the public lot.

Hard to beat this place anywhere in Arles.

Sorry about the rude-red '08 updates, but it beats writing smiley, flowery upbeat travel prose (sometimes referred to as " lying ") -
Hey, it's still a great hotel with a killer location, but thanks to raised rates and even more so the U$ declining economy (not Calendal's fault)
Calendal is sadly no longer that "steal" it once was for Americans.

Address: 5 rue Porte de Laure 13 200 Arles

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: Right next to the Roman Arena, between the Antic Theater and Arles Amphitheater.
Here's a MAP

Phone: 04 90 96 11 89

Price: US$120-180

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.lecalendal.com/