Normandy and Mont Ste Michelle

We stayed at Hotel Churchill in Bayeux to tour Normandy. We took an Overlord tour that was excellent. We drove from Bayeux to Mont St. Michel and stayed on the island for one night as felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The view at night from the island is beautiful. The hotel we stayed in on MSM was La Croix Blanche. Hope you can make that reservation early as the rooms on the island go quickly!

I stayed in the Hotel d'Argouges on the Rick Steves Paris and Heart of France tour I took a few years ago. It felt pretty central - easy to walk to the cathedral and to the museum where the tapestry is located.

We also stayed on Mont-Saint-Michel but I don't remember the hotel. It was not memorable. I was in an annex up the street and thru an alleyway but at least I did not have a circular stair to navigate.

Mont Saint-Michel is one place you will thank yourself for packing light and just having a small carry-on size bag to handle. I know from your other threads you are planning to go to the early service at the Abbey. Since you are going in mid-May it should be daylight when you need to make your way up all the stairs to the Abbey. I was there in an October and I really, really needed a flashlight. I'd probably take one anyway in case it's a rainy day as it's a bit dark inside.

We stayed at the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux which we really liked with its great location (near Bayeux Tapestry and Cathedral and near the jump off place for the Overlord Tour which we took)
Loved Bayeux; there are a couple of snapshots of the hotel here:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/bayeux-bringing-1066-to-life/

And for MSM we stayed at a B&B on land to get the distant view -- worst B&B we ever stayed at and we have always regretted not staying ON the island. We did visit late the first night after the Abbey was closed and walked and had dinner and it is lovely after the tour buses are gone. We were also there in late October when it wasn't crowded.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/mont-st-michel-is-that-a-real-place/

We visited in 2017. In this case we stayed in St Malo for several days and then drove to Mont St Michelle and a room actually on the island.

They only have something like 35 rooms on the island, and I understand some of them are pretty nice. Ours wasn't. It looked like a 20 year old mobil home on the inside. It did, however, have windows on both ends and a very nice view in both directions. It was clean, but nothing else. On the other hand, it was sorta quaint in the sense that we had to walk through an alley about 3 feet wide to reach it. I wouldn't do it again, but for a first trip it was pretty cool.

Also, be aware that there is nothing open on the island after about 5pm. Which in our case was pretty cool, because we were primarily interested in photography, and everybody else was gone. https://www.theimpartialobservers.com/p987939581

If you don't mind spending the night on the mainland, the Du Roy (sp?) was where we ate. The food was pretty good, as opposed to the food on the island, and it looked more like a modern motel. The special vehicles taking tourist to and from the island stop there and it's a very quick journey.

We stayed at the Churchill in Bayeux in July of 2017. We had a rental car which we had to park in public parking a block away. The absolute best day of the whole trip was the day spent with Chris Emery of Visit D-Day. As a passenger in our rental car, he gave us an in depth personalized tour. I know we had a far better experience than we could have gotten from a minivan tour. We had already visited some museums and sites on our own so he tailored the day to our interests. Chris and his wife Sue also run a B&B, which would be my choice if/when we could travel to France again.

On Mont Saint-Michel we stayed at Hotel le Mouton Blanc. Our triple room was in the annex, accessed by one of those narrow back alleys. I think it was chosen because it was the only place we could book a triple (travelling with our teen son). I don't remember anything bad about the stay.

We stayed on the mainland at Les Valtieres du Mont Saint Michel - http://www.montsaintmichel-gite.fr/fr/accueil/. We enjoyed it although it was not luxurious. This was back in April 2014.

I remember two. An Airbnb in Etretat and a hostel in Cancale. Not sure I can recommend them.

The Airbnb was a country farmhouse. The lady who owned the place, my host, ended up being my girlfriend for a year and a half. We just talked, really, in the evening but later that trip met for a date in Paris. After that we planned times together in France and in the States. She sold the farmhouse, however, and bought a flat in Le Havre overlooking the sea.

I also stayed at the HI Hostel in Cancale (about 30 minutes from MSM). I remember it because the hippies that ran the hostel were fascinating. I felt like I'd stepped back in time about 50 years - also true of the architectural style of the hostel.

If you want a suggestion for lodging other than Churchill for Bayeux try Reine Mathilde. Not luxurious by any means but a great location near town center and a very nice restaurant on main floor. Beware that parking can be an issue in Bayeux if you are renting a car - you may have to walk a bit especially if you want the free parking just on the outskirts of the main town.

Another vote for Hotel d’Argouges in Bayeux. We’ve stayed there 6+ times and love it. Very central, wonderful owner and staff, lovely gardens for relaxing, beautiful flowers everywhere, free pkng, delicious breakfast included, large bathrooms, large bedrooms, super clean. You won’t find better.

I highly recommend staying the night on
Mont St Michel, not nearby. The experience of being there from 5pm to 11am the next morning (before it gets crowded) is magical - unlike the experience between 11am-5pm when the island is packed. We stayed at Hotel Les Terrasses and liked it.

The Logis les Remparts in Bayeux. Quite comfortable, we had a spacious triple room, nice breakfast. There was lots of free parking right outside the front door. We did not stay in MSM but spent a part of the day ( the other part gorging on oysters in Cancale), which was fine for us. This was a few years ago. Safe travels.