You can’t do better for location than the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux. It is perfectly positioned across from the Information Centre, literally beside the local Carrefour if you want ready to eat meals, directly opposite takeaways and bars if you want cheap eats and on the main road with a selection of restaurants of various budgets if you want a bit more upscale dining.
It’s also local for the Cathedral, the Tapestry Museum and the pickup point for the various tours which go to the D-Day Beaches as well.
We had two separate stays booked at the Churchill and stayed three nights in total. The reception area is what you’d expect from any hotel in France, but the staircase is where the hotel decor starts reflecting the namesake. It’s plastered with photos of Winston Churchill on his visits to France and the WW2 motif is repeated throughout the hotel.
First Room
Our first room was a standard, with a good sized bed efficiently positioned in the space available and the window overlooking the entrance. The floodlights outside illuminated the hotel a little too well on the second night and we had to ask them to turn off the outside lights which they did straight away.
A lovely little desk sat in the corner allowing you to get some work done and the TV was a good size for watching from the bed – not so much if you were foolish enough to try to watch it from the chair at the desk.
The bathroom was newly renovated and had the static pump dispensers so I couldn’t quite see what brand of toiletries they had.
Breakfast
We’d been spoiled for breakfast in our trip through France and the Churchill was no exception, even under Covid conditions.
Individual baskets of yogurt and breads were provided for each table, with single serve butter, jams and marmalade. A coffee machine, water and juice jugs were the available for self service as was the cereal station with two choices plus individually wrapped madelines.
They also brought a plate of jambon et fromage – no Camembert this time but they did come with some mini tomatoes.
Second Room
We’d arranged for the third of our three nights at the Churchill to be in a Deluxe room, but upon checking in found that they had upgraded us to a Junior Suite. The biggest difference as you would expect was the size – the standard room had been a snug 14 sqm, but the Junior Suite was a very roomy 23 sqm! From the pictures I’d seen the Junior Suites were decorated with a different featured picture – ours could very well have been called the Jeep Room.
The Junior Suite certainly felt a lot more like a posh hotel than the standard room, with robes and additional pillows in the cupboard.
The bathroom was brand new, with good water pressure in the shower. Again the dispensers were the mounted type so I couldn’t see what kind of toiletries they’d stocked them with.
An impressive array of windows allowed natural light to flood the room, and the curtains were thick enough and well designed enough to totally block the light at night, which allowed for a very good night’s sleep.
The chaise longue was a nice touch and the decor was as modern as the standard room was classic.
Special mention must be made of the staff member who was on each of the times we checked in or out – so much so that I asked him if he ever went home. He laughed and said he was on from 7am to 8pm – a long day indeed. I regret not asking his name – he was always responsive, friendly and helpful. He also seemed to understand my attempts at French, pausing more to figure out the answer rather than decipher what I had tried to say!
You’d be hard pressed to find a better place to stay in Bayeux – the location as mentioned is superlative and the service is a cut above. Definitely worth a return visit!
