I recently spent a very enjoyable 2 nights at the L'Occiatne Hotel which is about a 15 minute stroll from the centre of Castres.

My reservation was made directly with the hotel via it's website and when I arrived, check in was over in literally 30 seconds! I was greeted by the very polite front desk staff, handed my room key and told to enjoy my stay. No hassle, no fuss, no swiping of credit cards and no forms. Quite a refreshing change.

The room was a good size and I was initially dismayed to find it had no view until I realised there was an electric shutter on the window which looked out onto a lovely garden beside the swimming pool. The bed was huge and very comfortable but the facilities in the room were quite minimal. There was no safe, no tea/coffee and a sparcely stocked minibar. There was also no room service menu despite having an excellent in house restaurant.

The bathroom was also a good size with a full sized bath and shower although there was nowhere on the wall to hang the shower head. Because of this, I decided to have a bath but it was taking an eternity to fill so I went for a swim instead.

The pool was not exactly huge but it was located in a conservatory beside the restaurant and heated. Very nice.

Check out again was very straight forward and even though they had wrongly added a breakfast charge to my bill (I'd say it's a standard practice), it was removed without fuss or question. This hotel is very laid back and this most certainly enhances your stay. I would definately use this hotel again.