I've not stayed at, or eaten in the restaurant of, La France hotel for 10 years. We used to stop here regularly on our way down to Dordogneshire. It used to be good.

We've just spent a night at La France, where we met up with some friends for a meal ... despite the 2 recent poor reviews on TA.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but the service we received smacked of indifference. I don't expect to be greeted as a long lost friend when I check in, but I do expect more than (in french) 'here's the key, the room's on the second floor' especially if I've driven some distance to get to the place. And if I order a second bottle of wine to go with the main course, I do expect it to arrive sooner than 20 minutes later. And when it does arrive, having had to remind the waitress that we were still waiting, I do expect an courteous apology - not necessarily in English.

The food was of reasonable quality and the wine list was ok.

The decor of the hotel in the communal areas has seen better days; it could do with a bit of a face lift. The stairs and corridors are as shabby as the student accommodation I lived in the some of the less desirable areas of Birmingham in the 70's and as we approached our room on the second floor there was the distinct whiff of stale cigarette smoke (again similar to the afore-mentioned student accommodation but without certain additives). Our room was at the back of the hotel and although the room was clean, the cigarette butts on the asbestos-like lean-to roof just below our window bore witness to the fact that a smoker had been puffing away in it (room 12). Disgusting! The room our friends were in (7) was at the front of the hotel and was, by all accounts, very nice. In fairness, they're experience was not the same as mine/ours.

Breakfast at £7.50 was ok but the inflamed flesh pink walls of the breakfast room made it hard to swallow.

I don't like writing negative reviews, but this place could be, as someone has already put it, a real gem. This stop over was at the end of a very nice holiday (see my other reviews); of all the places we stayed La France was the most expensive and it was the worst. Maybe we had been spoilt ... or maybe the other hoteliers/b&b owners where we stayed were and are trying harder.

Come on la France pullez votre socks up.

On a positive note, WIFI worked a treat!

Bonsoir.