Le Lion d’Or

Gorgeous room and view.
Food was just meh in Bayeux…
Expensive and meh.

For options in Bayuex this Hotel is great. Great location right in the heart of the main street, short walking distance to main city sites and train station. There is no elevator which isn’t an issue for me, however some might need it. The room was nice, clean, good view of the courtyard. No a/​c which also wasn’t an issue we stayed in early May weather was in the 60’s August might be different. The «king» bed was just two twins pushed together. The breakfast was a bit over priced for what was offered. Staff was friendly and spoke English which was helpful. Overall I would stay again.

The good:
Location
The bad:
The parking lot is tiny, if you want a space, you have to pay for it.
No elevator
Hotel smells of whatever they served for dinner each time you walk through the door.
No ice available
2 small bath towels and two hand towels were provided, no washcloths.
No a/​c
The bathroom floor is so cold that it feels like you are being stabbed with each step you take.
No shower curtain, shower head is about 5 feet high, fine for me, not so much for my other half who is 6’3
They give you actual keys, which you are supposed to turn into the desk each time you leave.
If you go out at night, be prepared to be back by 11 or they lock the gates.
Room was cute and had bed and breakfast type of feel, but it stunk. It smell like it was full of mildew.
Two twin beds pushed together to make a king sized, oh how I love sleeping on the crack.
The walls are thin and the floor creaks, we were able to hear the people above us walking around most of the night.
The wi-​fi is awful. It goes on and off and you have to keep signing back in. The username and passwords are random letters, numbers and characters. Its a pain.
The ugly:
Lets start with my favorite:
Around 1:30 a.m. the fire alarm starts going off. a few minutes later there is a knock at our door, due to no peephole, we open it. There stands a man wearing all black, does not identify himself, but barges into the room to ask if we are smoking. We assure him, we are not. He then says he is going to check the room and goes into our bathroom. He tells us that because someone took a hotel shower, we caused the fire alarm to go off. This makes no sense as it was a 5 minute, lukewarm shower. This situation scared us both, we had no idea who this man was (and still really don’t) but for him to barge into our room with no apology was extremely inappropriate.
We took a 2 hour day trip to another city, but I wasn’t feeling well so we drove the 2 hours back so I could rest. We got up to the room only to find that some type of construction was being done below us. They were using a jack hammer and drills pretty much non-​stop. We ended up having to get up and just go wonder around the city as the noise was more than I could handle.
And finally, the first night we got there, we were celebrating a birthday. We asked for 4 glasses and ice from the front desk, they wouldn’t give us either. We asked for 4 champagne flutes and they didn’t want to give them to us unless we bought the champagne from this.
Needless to stay, we will never being staying at this place again and would recommend other to stay away!

Stayed 2 nights.
Acceptable. Good and friendly service. Great location – I walked to the Bayeux Tapestry museum, the D-​Day museum, the reporters’ monument, the Saturday outdoor market at Place St-​Patrice, the British Cemetery, the Cathedral, and many restaurants.
Reliable hi-​speed Wi-​Fi internet connection (maximum of 2 devices at a time per room).
Average bed.
No elevator.
Preserves the WW2-​era atmosphere that made it a favorite of Dwight Eisenhower. My room had a slight cumulated odor of past times; initially I opened the window despite the cold. Real keys for the room door that one turns in at reception when going out.
When I checked in there was a loud repetitive thumping from the room above me. Initially I feared it might be the hotel’s washing machine (though a strange location), but then realized it was the bed creaking at increasing frequency – the sound ended suddenly and was (somewhat sadly) not heard again during my stay. Other than that, I never heard sounds through the walls from other guests.
The parking lot was torn up, so – to my disappointment because this was one of the top reasons I chose this hotel – resourcefulness was needed to park my car. Fortunately I was lucky as it was a weekend. On Saturday night I was able to grab one of the 3 non-​torn-​up interior parking spaces – free. Not possible on Sunday night because construction on the parking lot was resuming Monday, but I was fortunate in quickly finding a spot on the street just outside the driveway. No cost – (as the hotel receptionist let me know) street parking is free on Sunday, until 9am Monday.

Summary based on 1 two night stay:
–good location, near sights, restaurants, and a market
–easy to book from US
–English spoken
–ok, free Wifi
–decent rooms, but no aircon
–no lift
–parking extra
–breakfast good early on, but selection limited later. Moderately expensive. Alternatives nearby.

I had the pleasure of lodging at Le Lion d’Or for a week in November 2001. All of the usual adjectives which uninteresting people use to describe non-​chain hotels apply and I will therefore endeavor to avoid these banalities. The moment I refer to anything as «quaint,» you have my full permission to stop reading this review.
Le Lion d’Or has the character of old things, things made of wood and stone, welcoming, so that I immediately felt as if I did not desire to be anywhere else. Such was the character of all of Bayeux, which I had the opportunity to observe on the short walk from the train station, but this familiar warmth became particularly acute upon my arrival here. As other members of my party checked-​in, I observed the photographs and letters adorning the the walls; it appeared that President Eisenhower had experienced the same feeling during his stay.
I will not waste words describing the room in which I slept – smallish, by American standards, but entirely comfortable and precisely what I had expected – since it is the dining room where I experienced my happiest memories. I lack a proper education in French cuisine but even in my ignorance I know these meals were exceptional. (Though, admittedly, the multiple bottles of fine Normandy cider accompanying these meals may contribute to this fond recollection.) The breakfast was also quite good, filling my belly for a day exploring the beautiful countryside surrounding Bayeux, examining the town’s famous tapestry and medieval church or visiting WWII battle sites along the coast.
I often return to Le Lion d’Or in a moment of reverie, for it was truly a memorable experience. Were I to ever find myself in Bayeux, I would not dream of staying anywhere else.

Très chic
C’est un restaurant où le service est très soigné. Des jeunes de l’école hotelière y travaillent et respectent à la lettre les règles du service. Par exemple si votre convive prend un dessert et vous non, ils vous mettront quand même une assiette –qui reste vide– ! C’est assez guindé, prévoir d’être bien habillé. La qualité des plats est très bien, seul les quantités sont justes mais on s’y attend car c’est un gastronomique !