The Gem — Hotel in Amiens

We contacted The Gem from Australia and our emails were promptly answered by Estelle who was patient with our many questions. |In addition, she arranged transport to and from the railway station; a half day trip to a war cemetery of particular family interest and a third trip which was to the Sir John Monash Centre. We were chauffeured in a most comfortable and scrupulously clean Mercedes van. |We were advised of the costs in advance and felt we got great personalised value for money. |The Gem is located on the edge of town. A leisurely walk into town each day via a different route meant we made new discoveries every day. |The Gem itself is part of a family home and as such we were delighted to be able to share their heritage, family space. Due to my needs, we were able to book a ground floor room with all access on even ground. The king size bed was very comfy. There were sufficient furnishings without the room being crowded. The bathroom was spacious and well equipped. We’ve never seen a larger shower rose! Heated towel rail meant we didn’t need to change towels every day. It also added some warmth when the weather turned a bit nasty as it sometimes can in early Spring. The room heater was very effective too. |The family has a 2-yr old beagle called Nougat. He’s a little gentleman although he has a liking for dropped table serviettes!! We’re not really ‘dog people’ but can report that the family members were all on alert to prevent him being a nuisance. |Estelle serves a generous continental breakfast of croissants, baguette, fruit, yoghurt, homemade jam, honey, coffee and a wide selection of teas. There’s no pressure to finish breakfast and we were very pleased to be able to eat a little later on the weekend days. |Estelle is multilingual which is a real bonus. She and her three daughters were all just lovely to us and made us very welcome indeed. |The Gem is a top rate Guesthouse. We were so pleased we chose to stay there rather than a hotel. The whole experience...

Looking on the map you would not expect this place being quiet. But it really is.Only a 10 min walk from the cathedral.You get in through a small yard behind the main building, guarded by a handsome friendly beagle dog named "Nougat". The breakfast room is an old conservatory with large windows. The rooms are in the main house as well as in the back building just across the yard.||We had a superior room on the ground floor which was spacious and nicely equipped with the all the usual things you would expect. The king size bed is excellent. The bathroom with toilet and a huge shower cabin is separated by a sliding door. No hooks or rack for the blankets but a towel radiator. Not the best solution when the heating is off. Bring your own Kleenex.||The service by Madame is friendly. She will answer all your questions in French, fluent German and English.The breakfast is very good, yet very traditional french. There is a big coffee and milk in a bowl, one croissant and a few slices of baguette, butter and various self-made marmelades. These are delicious as well as the fresh fruit salad and the extra cake on sundays.||I cannot grant five stars, though. Some minor "negatives" should be mentioned.||The parking situation is quite challenging on weekdays.||The heating (in the back building) is insufficient/off, even on real cold evenings.||The Windows could not be opened. We had to leave open the door (behind leaned-on blinds, which seemed safe enough).||The towels were not changed in 5 days.||Some cheese, egg, cereals or yoghurt would have been nice, at least once in a while.||After all, we really enjoyed our stay and can recommend the "The Gem" to everybody who does not expect a hotel service and wants...

Situated in a quiet street just outside the central ring road, this looks like a terraced house from the outside but once you enter through the old carriage gates at the side, it is what it says - a gem! We were greeted by the owner's daughter who said that she spoke some English but in fact she was completely fluent. she checked us in and gave us a map of the city which she talked through with us and highlighted places of interest and good restaurants to eat at. The stable block across the courtyard from the house has been tastefully converted into rooms and ours was on the top floor and was roomy and spotlessly clean. It was just a short walk from the property into the town centre and it was easy to walk back and forth to look around and then to return to change and go back again for dinner and to watch the light display on the cathedral. We had a very restful night's sleep and were not disturbed by any noise as it's in a quiet residential area. Breakfast is served in the conservatory of the main house and there is a good variety of bread, cake and homemade preserves. Seated at a communal table, it gives the chance to talk to other guests and also the owner who was very welcoming and happy to tell us about the origins of the property, the renovations and the city. Private parking is not available but we managed to pull up nearby to drop off our cases and then find a spot to park on the street a little further away. We had a lovely stay and would highly recommend - it was excellent value for money. If we return to Amiens in the future, we would just book in here without looking for...