I booked a "junior suite" in March for the three of us at the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux for 3 nights. (May 25-28). The hotel had great reviews and was in the center of town. We were taking a 2-day Overlord Normandy Tour on May 26-27. We were in Paris when I was called the day prior to our arrival that our room would not be available because the 14 new rooms were not approved for occupancy until June 6. They provided a link to a Bayeux tourism web page and wished us luck in finding a room. There were no rooms to be found. Everything was booked for 100 km from Bayeux due to a 4-day French holiday. I had to book a room in Surdon and rent a car. We had to get up early each day to make our tour. The hotel never should have booked any of the "new" rooms until they were ready. I could have easily chosen an alternative hotel even a few weeks earlier. No compensation was given. They said they were "sorry". This experience ruined our trip as we were looking forward to staying in Bayeux. I do not recommend anyone to stay here.
Posted by
Paris
9565 posts
Oh my, that's horrible!!!!
Posted by
shingle springs, CA, USA
782 posts
Wow,that is amazing,I stayed there in 2013 and the hotel was great as well as the location and the reviews are great,sorry to hear that.
Mike
Posted by
Huntington Beach CA
1113 posts
That is terrible! I'm glad you were able to figure something out and made it work 😡
Posted by
11156 posts
"Sorry" isn't enough. They still owe you some compensation but letting others know on forums is a good start. What a terrible thing to have happen on a special trip.
Posted by
3245 posts
I read a similar story to yours on TripAdvisor. In that traveler's case, Overlord Tours helped him/her find a room in Bayeux.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I wished I had thought to contact Overlord Tours for assistance. I had to scramble to find a place to stay...
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7295 posts
Rallard, because this is your initial post here, we need some more information. June 6 is the d-day anniversary. Can you provide some additional authentication about your story? (I have never stayed at the Churchill and have no connection with any hotel in any country. But I've read good things about the Churchill here for YEARS.)
Edit: Please tell us if you are "sawright63" on TripAdvisor?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I ended up spending 3 nights at a small hotel called Le Petite France in Surdon. The couple there (Michel and Marie) were wonderful hosts. They waited for us to return from Bayeux to serve us dinner. I rented a car from Hertz in Bayeux on the Route de Cherbourg not too far from the Novotel. Since we had to depart early last Fri/Sat to make the tour we had breakfast in Bayeux. I went to the Churchill to complain about them awful treatment for my family. The clerk said the owners weren't there and there was nothing he could do. Very poor treatment for guests that should have staying in the hotel.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
rallard, what a terrible experience! I'm very sorry this happened to you. I'd be very upset. And I'd be posting about it every where I could... so thank you for letting us know.
If you ever get to go back again, I highly recommend Hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux where we've stayed at least 6 times.
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2186 posts
Susan, the family in the Trip Advisor review with a similar experience did end up at the d'Argouges. We are big fans of that hotel.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Patty, Glad to hear that!
Posted by
1 posts
Sorry you had a horrible experience from a hotel in Bayeux. We however, had a wonderful experience in Bayeux at the Hotel le Bayeux. The staff was helpful and set up our half day tour of the battlefields and American cemetery. The hotel was old and quaint, but was updated and the 3 of us had more room than we did in London. This hotel was within walking distance of everything, which came in handy because after about 30 minutes, no cabs were showing up at the train station and the workers at the station did not offer the call a cab for us but instead told us we had to wait in the assigned spot. If I did one thing differently, I would have had the hotel make me a reservation with a cab upon my arrival. If I ever return to Bayeux, I would have no problem booking this same hotel.