I won't lie: this hotel is out of my usual price range at 125 euros for a single plus 8 euros extra for parking in the garage. But it was mid-afternoon and this was my last night in France. The heat wave had driven me from the Camargue and I wanted to end my trip in Aix, my favorite French city. I decided, as the tourist office clerk insisted this was the least expensive hotel they could find, that I would take it.
The first room I was given had yet to be cleaned, so after a trip down in the posh modern elevator to the posh modern lobby and another trip back up, I found little ole me all by my lonesome in a huge triple. I really appreciated the space, since I needed to repack three weeks' worth of souvenirs and gifts between carry-ons and suitcase for the flight home. I had acres of room to spread everything out and admire my good taste in purchases.
My favorite type of hotel is small, old, atmospheric, maybe a little funky or rundown. Hotel Aquabella is more like the French version of a Ramada Inn, a 100-room high-rise complete with pool, restaurant, spa, and gym. Service, provided by uniformed staff, is pleasant in a professional rather than personal kind of way. The sparkling room featured a luxurious queen bed plus a twin, with terrific mattresses, covered with tasteful (really!) orange and blue patterned bedspreads. There were reading lights actually bright enough to read by and air conditioning which could be adjusted from lukecool to positively frosty. The TV got two English language stations. The closets could have held my entire wardrobe. There was one room for the toilet and another for the sink and tub/shower. Hotel Aquabella provides the full range of goodies, too: shampoo, shower cap, lotion, even his-and-hers terrycloth bathrobes! I took one good look at that roomy tub and those blazing lights, such a contrast to the 30"x30" showers and 40-watt bulbs one frequently finds in French budget hotels with "character," fetched my bedtime reading book, and climbed in for a nice hot soak before dinner. Ahhhhhh. Maybe sometimes plush and modern is good!
Breakfast was 12 euros, and I'm sure it's very good, but frankly I can't eat 12 euros worth of anything in the morning. Besides, I was leaving literally at the crack of dawn, well before service started, although they did offer to pack up some food to go for me.
The hotel's location offers the best of both worlds, just off a busy main road on the very edge of the pedestrian area. I could duck quickly into the twisting lanes of the old quarter and find myself promptly at Place des Cardeurs just as the candles were being lit on the tables of its restaurants. And the next morning, it was a short and simple drive to the autoroute.