The Chain Gang Cycle Tours

Where We Are Now

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Now is the time of year when I keep getting reminders of how close our season is. Pete Doherty was jailed for 14 weeks, and so will not be performing at Glastonbury. Our season is well under way by the time the Glastonbury festival gets washed out each year, so there’s less than 14 weeks to go. In fact, a mere 6 weeks. Better get ourselves ready then.

All our hotels are booked now, almost. We’ve had a couple of disappointments. The hotel I’d chosen to replace the rude incompetents of the Auberge de la Reine Jeanne in St Rémy de Provence have done the dirty on us. The Hostellerie Le Chalet Fleurie have cancelled all our reservations, because another tour operator wants to spend two nights there, which clashes with our bookings.

I despair of some of these French hotels at times. Last summer, at a time when I was getting disillusioned with the Reine Jeanne, I stayed at the Chalet Fleurie. The owner asked why we didn’t use them as our regular hotel - well, her timing couldn’t have been better, so we had a good look around, talked about prices and timings, and earlier this year made a series of bookings. Our bookings were confirmed, we’ve listed the hotel in our new brochure, and referred to it in the literature we sent out to previous customers. Then, out of the blue, everything was cancelled.

So, we’ve had to choose a new hotel. As ever, this means spending a bit more money, but I think we may have fallen on our feet. We’ll be staying at the Hotel Le Castelet des Alpilles near the centre of St Remy.

Hotel Le Castelet des Alpilles

Hotel Le Castelet des Alpilles

Hotel Le Castelet des Alpilles

Hotel Le Castelet des Alpilles

A move upmarket, but very friendly people, and as Clare said: “If the people at Le Chalet Fleurie are that flaky, it’s far better to find out now than in the middle of July”. True enough, so a bit of a result if you look at it that way. If I keep thinking in this vein, I’ll think I owe Le Chalet a favour!

French Hotel Booking

You’d think everything would have calmed down now that the cycle tour season is over, but things are still pretty busy in the Chain Gang office. We’re sprucing up the website and getting new cycle tour brochures printed for 2008. This means collating an enormous amount of information and images, finding more efficient ways to deal with admin, and all the while, starting to confirm (already) the first few cycling holidays for next year.

One of our most important jobs is almost done – that of booking hotels for all our 2008 bike tours. This sounds easier than it is, mostly because many hotels in France and Italy go into deep hibernation over the winter months, so our emails and phone calls just disappear into the ether.

Those that do respond are clearly bored and looking for some sport. (There can’t be that much worth watching on French telly, so I reckon this is how they get their kicks!) You are obliged to duck and dive like a prize fighter from Deptford as you try to fathom the mysteries of the French hotel booking system. The exchange goes something like this . . .

• Me: Salutations Monsieur, I’d like to book these rooms for this date please
• Hotel: Yes, we have those rooms available
• Me: Formidable! I’d like to book them please
• Hotel: Is Madam sure?
• Me: Positive.
• Hotel: Well, just let us know when you decide you want them and in the meantime we’ll keep them on option.
• Me: I want them now, please.
• Hotel: Now?
• Me: Yes. I want to book them now – for next June.
• Hotel: I am ravished to tell you that our charming rooms will be available in June.
• Me: Marvellous. So are they reserved for us?
• Hotel: Not until you confirm back to us.
• Me: This is me confirming back to you.
• Hotel: Now?
• Me: Yes.
• Hotel: Well then we need your credit card number to confirm your confirmation.
• Me: Right now I’d give you my house and all my possessions if I thought it would help, sunshine.

We love them really, and when we finally get there, they’re ever so charming and hospitable. Which is why we keep going back for more.

We will be featuring pictures and links to many of these delightful establishments on our website, so look out for them.