Which hotel to stay in on Mont St. Michael, France?

I took the Heart of France tour 3 years ago. The tour group was spread out between two associated hotels. I stayed in Hotel la Croix Blanche. It had private baths with showers, was clean, had a good breakfast, etc. I really enjoyed staying on the island itself because the difference between peak tourist hours and the evening and morning was remarkable.

One caveat on the Hotel la Croix Blanche. It has a spiral staircase up to the rooms from the restaurant. If managing this type of staircase would be a challenge for you, you might want to keep looking. The rooms were nice and had lovely views. You can get a sense about the staircase by clicking on the link below and taking the 360 degree tour.
https://www.hotel-la-croix-blanche.com/fr/

Hi. I took this tour in 2014. We stayed in La Croix Blanche. I believe I stayed on the top floor. My room looked out at the water while room next to me looked at the abbey. Yes, the rooms had private baths with showers. I cannot recall the breakfast specifically, but they are never bad. This hotel has a winding staircase to some floors. Photos are on TripAdvisor.

Since I only stayed in this one hotel, I cannot offer a comparison, but staying the night on the island was great!

We stayed just off the island (we traveled their independently). We stayed at Auberge de la Baie, Mont Saint Michel. Just off the island and about 5 minutes to their parking lot to take the shuttle. It was pristine clean, the restaurant looked great, we had a nice bathroom and it was moderately priced. The food at the restaurant looked FAR better than the meal we had from one of the franchised MSM restaurants (easily the worst food we've ever had in France). We arrived late afternoon, checked in. Took a bit of a drive along the coast getting lovely pics of MSM at the golden hour. Then we parked in the lot, took the shuttle to the island and spent the evening hours by the monastery. Next morning we got up, drove to the lot, took the shuttle walked up to the monastery to get there by opening. We toured the monastery, had a great time and were ready to go when the crowds were arriving. We took the shuttle, picked up our car and had a lovely picnic lunch at a spot with a view across farmland to MSM. Perfect.

I'm not one of those who found it essential to spend the night at or on the island. But I want to add that, while the modern, sublet-business of the Parking Lot is HUGE, it is not impossible for fit, regular walkers to walk from the lot (or any of the modern hotels on the (walking route under discussion) "strip") all the way to MSM itself. You would pass the small modern supermarket and other opportunities for an off-island snack, if you want it.

Google Maps has updated views of the parking lots, if you want to estimate the distance of the actual walk. If the Map view is too schematic to understand the parking lot layout, glance at the Satellite view as well.

Carol, we did this tour in 2019, and our guide Michaelanne chose which hotel people would be assigned to in part by whether or not folks would be able to handle that very narrow spiral staircase, either because of the size of their luggage, or their physical condition. I was having some trouble with a knee, and Michaelanne asked Stan if I could handle the staircase. He said yes, and it was fine. She had us on the list for that hotel because we had smallish backpacks. And if I recall correctly, we had slimmed down to just one backpack for the two of us for that leg of the trip.

Getting a wheelie bag up those stairs would have been challenging.

Edit to add: And Donald, I don't remember specifics; my notes about the hotel are limited to "Room 503, v. nice," other than noting the "steep, narrow spiral staircase." I suspect my standards are lower than yours; but my "v. nice" should at least equate to your "decent." Clean, private bath (I think all the hotels on that tour had private baths with showers; I don't remember any other option), and I made no notes about the breakfast. No note means it was neither outstanding nor terrible. I did note that our dinner the previous evening "may be the best group meal yet." An amazing seafood appetizer tray, followed by pré-salé lamb chops for me, and duck confit and créme brulée for Stan.

Donald, one thing I remember from our HOF tour, was being told that breakfast was not commonly included at French hotels. It was, on the RS tours in France because it was negotiated as part of the contract (need to have organized departures). Maybe someone can confirm or refute. As Rick described the standard 3C French breakfast - coffee, croissant, cigarette - perhaps its not the custom.

Yeah our room on MSM was somewhere up the hill in a nook & cranny unconnected to any "hotel" facilities. It was tiny and minimally furnished, and looked like . . . a monk's cell. But with a private bath. Not complaining at all, but you have to consider its not really an island, just a big rock with all this ancient infrastructure clinging to the sides and not much room to be spared. Nothing new could be built anywhere. Breakfast downhill in the restaurant was no different than anywhere else on the tour.

We also stayed in the Hotel la Croix Blanche. It was suggested that we leave our luggage on the bus and take only an overnight bag. This was great advice because the walk from the parking lot up through the narrow streets of Mont St. Michael is challenging.

We stayed at the Croix Blanche very nice hotel but take only a back pack if possible. If you stay on the island you MUST do the early morning service at the Abby. It is not a mass but a prayer service that is mostly sung. It is an amazing experience. I kept “thinking this is what angels sound like”

We stayed, a few years back, at Relais du Roi on the mainland and walked onto the island. Parking at the hotel. Great view of MSM !! We were able to be there late and early, then return to a hotel with lifts and big rooms and good food.