Mont St. Michel - where to stay?

I can't recall off the top of my head where I stayed, but as I understand, all the the hotels on the island are pretty much interchangeable. All of the restaurants basically serve the same food as well, with one glorious exception... which I can't remember the name of either, but Rick recommends it in his book.

Except for a few restaurants and perhaps a smaller number of shops, not much remains open on the island after the crowds leave. But, this is the best time of day to explore the ramparts and all of the little twists and turns of the island. The abbey closes at night, but you can walk around freely just about anywhere else.

We have stayed at the Mont twice experiencing the high tides on the second trip It is beautiful at night and most of the crowds are daytrippers. First time we stayed at Les Terasses Poulard and had a nice quiet room overlooking a chapel. On the return trip (LTP booked fully) we stayed at Mouton Blanc and had a horrid room that overlooked the main street and there was noise until 4 am from a caberet below. The room was in dire need of a redo--shabby bed covers, worn out rug, etc. Definitely avoid eating at Madame Poulard's omelet place--it is so expensive and not even very good. We spent 100 euro for mediocre meals with inferior wine--RS advised against this place and we should have listened. Be sure to see the abbey--a real highlight. It is open after dark but not real late so try to get there sooner rather than later.

Looking up in the book, the restaurant I mentioned has an easy to remember name- Restaurant le St. Michel. If you eat anywhere on the island, eat here.

Erin, we have stayed on Mont St. Michel twice. I can't remember the name of the place we stayed the first time, but on our second visit we stayed at Aubege Saint Pierre and had a very nice family room a little farther up the mont. It was really a nice room with a queen downstairs, and a loft with two singles upstairs. As other posters have said, I would recommend trying to get ther before dark. You can use this site to see when the tide will be coming in during your visit - http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/horaires_juin08_gb.htm. Plan on spending a couple of hours touring the abbey!

We stayed in Mont St. Michel on our first night in Europe...what a thrill, and worth it. Wherever you stay, be sure to ask how late you can check in. We got lost a couple of times driving from Paris, and arrived at 4:45, 15 minutes before they would have been closed! Lots of shops seemed to close early as well.