Hotel de la Cite Carcassonne

We visited for our wedding anniversary.. Lovely setting with excellent service from all the staff, and there is a seamless transfer from the private car park. It is well worth the fee. We ate inthe restaurant as well. Very well cooked with faultless service.

The food was absolutely divine and the service impeccable. We were served by Mohamed Ali, who we were surprised to find hails from our home land , Malta. He took the time to explain or meals in our native tongue of Maltese. Lives up to the Michelin recommendation.

Oh dear! This hotel has five star status but was very much a two star experience. The setting inside the walls of Carcassonne is promising but the hotel is altogether tired and dated. Our room, which we were told was an upgrade, was pokey and worn. The decor misses stylish by a mile and the bathroom was a mess of cracked marble and old fittings. The only shower was over the bath and had clearly fallen off the wall at some point and had been carelessly plastered back in place but no one had re-painted the wall since then. When we rang down to report that the TV was not working it took 45 minutes for someone to come and investigate. The mini bar contained just two bottles of water. The staff were trying to be helpful but seemed like trainees or students on a gap year - willing but hopeless. The restaurant menu was ambitiously formal so we didn't risk it and went out. Breakfast was the best bit of the stay but unexceptional. This hotel could be wonderful but needs a makeover.

After watching Rick Steves's video about this part of France, we knew it would be best to stay within the walls of the old town, and Rick was right. The hotel gives excellent directions to the parking lot outside of the town walls, and the driver picked us up quickly. We don't generally stay in hotels of this caliber, so it was a delightful surprise to be spoiled in such a way. The room was their standard, cheapest room, but it was magnificent. Spacious, spotless, richly decorated, and blissfully quiet. The French doors opened onto a garden with a nice view of the city and surrounding countryside. The hotel management had left a bouquet of flowers and some delicious chocolates made by their own chocolate chef in a beautifully-detailed chocolate box. Every evening, the bed was turned down and additional chocolates were left for us that were shaped like Carcassonne. The bathroom was well-appointed and immaculate. Towels were soft, absorbent, and in new condition. There were bathrobes and slippers for guests. Unfortunately the shower's spay nozzle with did not have a hook or other device to hold it in place on the wall. This oversight made it inconvenient to wash one's hair while holding the nozzle in one hand, and resulted in quite a bit of water sprayed on the floor and window sill. The first morning we enjoyed possibly the best croissant we've ever eaten at the small bakery that's just opposite the hotel and is run by the hotel, and the baked goods come from the hotel's ovens. Two croissants and some café au lait were the perfect start to a day. The second morning we chose to take the breakfast at the hotel. It was very good, with excellent service one could expect from such a fine hotel. The sole drawback to the breakfast was that the individual packets of sugar for coffee or tea were made of plastic. We found it most unusual that a superior hotel as this did not opt for an environmentally-friendly paper material for the sugar packets. Bottom line: Rick Steves was right about staying in the old town of Carcassonne. It's worth it to splurge of a room here and stay in less-expensive places elsewhere on your travels. If we're ever fortunate enough to return to this historic, unforgettable city, we will try to get a room here again.

I’ll start by saying it’s a cool place to stay for ONE night, you can see everything you need to see very quickly. It’s really interesting being inside an old fortified city…..the hotel needs TLC badly, black mold in shower, bathtub water wouldn’t heat up (shower and sink would though). Staff seams to be made up of university kids home for the holidays or on break. Def not a 5 star. But it’s one night and glad I did it, just not a place I’d ever come back to or think about again…… I kinda got vibes from City like when I get off a cruise ship and you know the port is all just tourist trap stuff. However, I have a super low rating compared to everyone else so maybe it’s just me.