Hôtel Les Terrasses Poulard — Hotel in Avranches

This review is for the hotel restaurant. This restaurant (and I use that term loosely) was appalling in almost all respects. Most of us opted for the menu du jour and chose the mussels in white wine as our main. While the mussels were well cooked, they were tiny and the accompanying sauce was utterly devoid of flavour, resembling something akin to dishwater. My wife's omelette was bland and the bizarre egg foam (clearly used to bulk out the portion size) was disgusting. Our desserts were a mixed bag: the ice-cream was good, but the chocolate mousse was a cheap imitation pudding and the apple tart was decidedly average considering they grow delicious apples locally. For the sake of full disclosure, our starters were quite enjoyable, including a camebert salad, prawns and farmhouse terrine.

And what shall be said of the service, of which there was none... in short... aggressive, rude, slow and forgetful. Our waiter was impatient when taking our order, and generally seems aloof and curt. Our starters came quickly, but as most of them were cold, this was hardly and achievement. The rest of out food came relatively slowly, but our desserts took just short of an eternity to arrive. The ice-cream arrived first, but we were forced to ask where the rest of our desserts were. Somehow our waiter interpreted that as as a request to bring the bill, completely ignoring or forgetting the existence of or need for our desserts (that we would inevitably have to pay for). Once we explained the predicament, he made a dismissive and rude comment, before wandering off across the restaurant.

Once we received our disappointing puddings, we requested the bill. One would expect the restaurant to want to clear tables rapidly and draw in new customers from the ever-flowing stream of people climbing up to the abbey. But no! We sat for another eternity swimming in the humid, boiling stew that was this badly cooled disaster zone. We collected the cash in order to pay the bill quickly when it arrived. Our waiter in a show of stupendous incompetence asked us if everything was OK and without waiting for a reply, reached for the money. Blocking his grab, we sternly requested the bill again. He disappeared. Another waitress attempted the same ridiculous tactic with our money. Again we angrily asked for the bill. She disappeared. It finally arrived, we paid and rapidly exited that poor excuse for an eatery that is likely to taint many more tourists' visits to such a fantastic...

The only reason to stay at this hotel is the location. Accommodations on the Mont are scarce, and it's a special thing to wake up ON Mont St. Michel!||However this hotel is severely lacking on engagement and guest service. Arriving at this location is tough due to the isolation of the mount. I called the hotel asking for guidance on parking, and was given vague instruction to Park in lot #3, which was VERY hard to locate. He also advised that due to tides, I would have to wait until about 9:30 PM to take the tram to the Mont. ||Sadly, the tram service drops guests off 3/4 of the way to the mount, with no warning about the tides (you can't walk the remainder during high tide), and without consideration to the weather. (Driving rain and significant winds). I was cold, soaked and had to wait for the next tram to take me back to land! Do lots of research and arrive during DAYLIGHT. The hotel provided NONE of this information in advance! A simple email with complete instructions and a map sent to arriving guests would be appropriate.||Once at the hotel, the check-in experience was minimal, and I had to ask the desk clerk who took me to the room, to carry something as we ascended 3 outdoor flights and 4 indoor to a basic, harshly lit room. (one light fixture didn't work at all). Check-out was equally minimal and disinterested.||Go for the location, not this hotel, check the tides and ASK the hotel for all the details in getting to them including parking on the mainland which is very confusing. Everyone I encountered there was disinterested and disengaged and didn't offer anything. It was as if they were doing me a favor letting...

The hotel is nicely situated up from the path to the Abbey. The room I had was clean and tidy. The bed was comfy and firm. In the room there was a fridge which was very useful. The room was a little odd in that one of the windows could not be shut all the way. I was able to improvise to stop the rattling. I closed the curtains and put on the heater to balance the cold and had an undisturbed night. There was a towel heater which could be switched on and this helped to warm the bathroom. The shower was fine with a decent pressure. I could not connect to the Wi-Fi it said ‘weak connection’ and I had to rely on making a 4G hotspot from my phone. Maybe it was where the room was in the hotel which caused the connection issue ? From memory there was no English speaking channels on the TV - not even the BBC world service. The breakfast was served in the restaurant below called ‘Restaurant La Confiance’ from 8am. You come out of the hotel and down the steps and enter the restaurant. You give over your room number to the restaurant manager. The breakfast buffet had a nice and tasty selection of foods. Reception was friendly and helpful throughout. Though nothing to do with the hotel I struggled to get back to Rennes. The shuttle bus only goes back to the Parking site and not Pontorson station. Thankfully there was a bus for Rennes at the parking site. I think this info (departures from MSM) should be made available in the hotel reception maybe or people should be instructed to go to the tourist info - if they have...