We were in a one-bedroom garden suite in early August. As I mentioned in my overview, we were in Sedona for a wedding, so our "enjoyment patterns" were different than those for someone who was having a quiet getaway. Regardless, I came away with an average-to-poor impression of the accommodations at L''Auberge. On the one hand, the cottage was spacious and well-equipped, with king-sized bed, dining area, loveseat and fireplace living area, and a bathroom with large vanity and door between the toilet and vanity areas. On the other--much heavier--hand, I was surprised that the cottages command prices upwards of $250 per night. I have stayed at a variety of properties in this range (Loews, Shutters, Hyat
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1. Age of decor. The French blue carpet in our cottage showed signs of obvious wear and had a grubby, overcast look. The bathroom was in a salmon palette that is dated to the late 80''s.
2. Lack of privacy. The cottages are set out in a faux random pattern that verily force neighbors to look into each other''s windows. We were standing in our living area when we heard a knock--when we turned toward the noise, we were staring out of our window and into the front door of another cottage, where that cottage''s inhabitants had opened the door. Also, noise echoes among the cottages.
3. Appearance of cottage. The deck to each cottage is very basic. Ours was not ugly, but neither was it pretty. It''s just a wood porch, no particular carvings, motif furnishings, etc. This does not bother me wholesale, but since the L''Auberge website describes these accommodations as romantic, I simply must protest.
4. The bathroom. The bath design is dated--no jacuzzi tub, which is now a standard feature at luxury properties. Also, the materials/furnishings in the bath construction do not look like quality, even if they might be.
My husband and I were both a bit stunned by the seeming rift between L''Auberge''s promotional materials and its reality. To be fair, we did not see either a Lodge room (in the main building) or an Orchard''s Inn room (elsewhere on the property) but the cottages are in the price point above these and I feel that if I were going to be impressed, the cottage should have done it. The overall feel was that of a project gone just a little bit wrong; the fabrics used in our room were rich and expensive, but they didn''t quite coordinate, and the king-sized canopy over the bed looked a bit tired.
If you have your heart set on a L''Auberge cottage, I suggest asking whether they have redecorated any of them recently. Otherwise, stay elsewhere and go to L''Auberge to partake in that which they excel--the FOOD.
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