B&B in Côte de Beaune or Côte de Nuits?

Hi Nick: To help you focus on the villages in the "red Burgundy" (pinot noir) region, here are the main red Burgundy wine villages in the Cote de Nuits (the northern Cote d'Or sub-region for reds) are:Nuits-St. GeorgesMarsannayFixin (fee san)Gevrey-ChambertinMorey-St-DenisChambolle-MusignyVougeotVosne-RomaneeFlagey-EchezeauxAccommodations, in Beaune (I have not stayed at any of these accommodations but they're well recommended by the experts at Michelin):Hôtel le CepHôtel du ParcHostellerie (not a hostel!) du Chateaux de BellecroixAccommodations north of Beaune, in the heart of the Cote de Nuits (the sub-region of the Cote d'Or specializing in burgundy red wine/pinot noir):Hôtel le RichebourgChâteau de GillyLes Grand Crus

Hi Nick-
I am watching the replies you are getting concerning Beaune. My wife and I will also be there 2 nights in March. I would like to hear from someone that actually stayed at the place they recommend. I am studying the area and am using the websites - www.beaune-burgundy.com/ and www.logisdefrance.com. I have tentatively picked a couple of places but due to the time of year I am going to do a "drop in" on the place I pick, or maybe call that day before I get there. I am leaning toward the Hotel de la Paix, but also looking for a good B&B. We are also going to Epernay for two nights and I am looking for that area also. I posted a note almost identical to yours, but got limited response. I hope we get something good out of yours. Thanks - Searching Also - Bill

Nick - I've used Trip Advisor many times for finding good hotels and B & Bs in Europe and the U.S. The site has not failed me.

A few years ago I stayed in a B & B outside of Beaune in a town called Melin. Chateau Melin. It was awesome. Very large room and very relaxing since it was in the country.

To the 3 posters above: Gentlemen, in addition to checking here, suggest you use Tripadvisors.com, Viamichelin.com, or Rick's books to get reviews by people who have personally stayed in a particular accommodation you're considering.If the Helpline were to be your primary method of searching for personal reviews, you'd end up with too small a sample of the possible accommodations you should be considering.At the Helpline we have at most about 120 regular repliers, with maybe half of those actually reading your post in a period of a couple of days; and thus the odds are not high that more than one or two of those 60 repliers have stayed at a particular place, or even a particular town, in the French countryside that you're considering.An efficient way to search for reviews of accommodation, stayed in and rated by experts recognized as authoritative by the French themselves, is go to ViaMichelin.com, click the Tourisme tab, input exactly 21200 Beaune (or wherever your area is), check Hotels Selected by Michelin Guide, and the resulting search will give you lots of information about good properties.And a B&B in France is generally called a chambres d'hôte, you'll want to know what amenities or services are included.

This is not a direct answer to your question Nick, but I thought that I would write about our recent experience in Beaune (mid-January.) We spent time in Paris before we took the train to Beaune where we spent 2 nights.

In Beaune, we stayed at the Hotel de France--a good budget option but not suitable for anyone looking for elegance--it was 57 euro a night and located RIGHT across from the train station--very convenient as we didn't have a car--the hotel was about a 10 minute walk to the main area of town. In addition to Hotel Dieu, we visited a funky little museum called the "Museum of the Wine of Burgundy" which provided interesting facts about the history of wine making in the region.

The hotel in town that looked most interesting to me was the Hotel des Remparts (positive reviews on Trip Advisor)--I would check it out to see if it meets your criteria.

Off-season isn't the best time to visit Beaune--we were there during the President Obama's inauguration. We had CNN on the TV in our room so we were able to watch the events--we rushed to dinner hoping to meet others in a similar festive mood but many of the best restaurants were closed and the streets were quiet!

The best experience we had in Beaune was visiting the home of a part-time local wine expert that we met during lunch at Bistrot Bourguingnon. He and his wife invited us to their home in Beaune that evening and made a wonderful spread of local crusty bread, cheeses, pates, terrines, and cornichon pickles. We tried 3 different local wines that evening--it was a highlight of our trip!

The next day, we headed to Lyon for 4 nights where we had the best food and wine of our journey.

Nick, I hope that you, your wife and William enjoy your time in Beaune as much as we did!

Happy travels!