Wander(lust)

An Inn in Provence, or Toujours Martine

While Provence is not the "region du jour" it was some years back, there remains a mystique about it that continues to seduce newcomers and faithful returnees alike. I, for one, am happy that it is not the Dordogne or the Languedoc or anywhere else in France---or the world, for that matter. It is Provence, and it is magnificent. Until I visited the region, I'd always assumed that the colors in Van Gogh's paintings were exaggerated. Yet there they are in the landscape, in all their intensity: the polleny yellow of the sunflowers, the purple of the lavender, the evergreen of the cypresses, the glinting silver of the olive groves, the mauve of the mountains, and the velvety blue of the evening sky.

My favorite place to stay in Provence is a small bed and breakfast called La Campagne Jeanne, situated a few kilometers outside Aix-en-Provence. I have a natural aversion to most B&Bs, with their lack of privacy and sense of enforced bonhomie. But everything at La Campagne Jeanne is done with the utmost elan by the proprietress, Martine Alexandrian, who lives in the adjacent house with her husband, Daniel. The B&B comprises just four rooms, each with its own private entrance and terrace enclosed by low stone walls. All the rooms are incredibly clean and crisp, with beautifully coordinated Provencal fabrics, antique timbers, tiled floors, and white bathrooms. La Campagne Jeanne is not luxurious, so if your Provence experience necessitates a Relais & Chateaux-type experience, better to stay at Villa Gallici. But I highly recommend it if you want to experience the wind blowing through the cypresses, the beautiful sunsets and night sky, and a chic but not overblown Provencal atmosphere.

And, best of all, the experience comes at a very affordable price: Each room is just 60 Euro per night, including a fabulous breakfast spread of fruit, yogurt, fresh juice, croissants, cheese, jams, and cappuccino. Martine is a wonderful host, and although her English is limited (and our French elementary at best), she always manages to get across directions and restaurant recommendations and to impart, well, joie de vivre. (Cliched, but true.) Because of its location four kilometers outside Aix, you'll need a car to stay at La Campagne Jeanne. You'll want one, anyway, to take day trips to the the Lubéron, Bonnieux, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Roussillon, Cassis, or beyond.

Lastly, Martine and Daniel have put together a great Web site that provides extensive information, including photos of each room and its particular fabrics and antiques. We prefer Le Mazet---with its walls lime-washed in the ochre shade of Roussillon and an antique desk with a secret drawer---but I'd be equally at home in any of the rooms.

The Worst Hotel in Italy

Let me say from the beginning: I'm not one for hyperbole. I don't compose such an inflammatory title lightly; a hotel has to be simply awful in more than one way to merit such an epithet. However, there is one particular establishment that truly earns this dubious distinction: the Villa Athena, in Agrigento, Sicily. Ugh----I shudder to even write its name, as the memories of the New Year's Eve we spent there in 2001 come creeping back, like the mold that covered much of our bathroom. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First off, the Villa Athena is a famous hotel located on a gorgeous site, overlooking the Valley of the Temples. Apparently many celebrities stayed there in its heyday---Sophia Loren and the like---but they certainly wouldn't deign to stay there now. The Villa Athena's sole draw is that from **some** of the rooms you can glimpse the Greek temples when they are lit at night. Yes, this is a lovely prospect, but you don't have to stay at the Villa Athena to experience it. The Valley of the Temples is an amazing sight, and you should definitely see it if you are in Sicily. But if you stay overnight in Agrigento or its environs, please don't make my mistake: stay at the Baglio della Luna or somewhere else instead.

From the moment we stepped into the Villa Athena's "lobby," I knew that nothing good could come of this. The rude receptionist immediately charged my credit card for $300, then practically threw the key at me, while the bellhop stood there, unabashedly scratching himself. And no, I don't mean that he was scratching his head. After carrying our bags to our room, he grunted when we handed him his tip. Then the real fun began, as we inspected our tiny room. The carpet was filthy and peeling, the walls were dirty, the bathroom consisted of a bare overhead light and a shower stall with no shower curtain, the furniture was a scuffed melange of pieces from the 70's, and the refrigerator/minibar didn't work.  Between the moldy smell emanating from the bathroom and from the fridge, it was rather pungent in there. My long-suffering husband ("long-suffering" because I always make him do anything I don't want to do while on vacation, since I do all the legwork) valiantly tried to rouse someone from the enervated staff to come fix the fridge--or at least to bring us a bucket of ice so we could chill our champagne, which we'd envisioned sipping at midnight while gazing at the beautifully lit temples--but to no avail.

Despite these well-documented deficiencies, many guidebooks still list the Villa Athena. Fodor's calls it "pleasant," although not outstanding, and writes that "there's a convivial atmosphere in the bar, where a multinational crowd swaps stories." Judging from our experience, it was more of an angry mob at the front desk, trying in vain to get satisfaction. If any stories were being swapped, they were stories of how crappy their rooms were and how nothing in them worked. At least Frommer's has the decency to admit that the hotel's a pit in desperate need of an overhaul, giving it an "overrated" icon along with a star. And while staying our one miserable night there, we laughed ourselves silly at the blurb on the Villa Athena in our Lonely Planet Sicily guidebook: "Ring ahead if you fancy a night of pampered comfort." Oh man, was that ever a knee-slapper! Even if you'd been staying in youth hostels for a year straight, there is no way in the world that even the most downtrodden backpacker could consider that a night of "pampered comfort". After the giggles subsided, we lay on the none-too-clean sheets, toasting the New Year with warm champagne and the knowledge that Morpheus would soon descend mercifully upon us, after which we could flee the place in the morning.

If you think I'm exaggerating, peruse the reviews of the Villa Athena on TripAdvisor.com. I wish such a resource had existed back in late 2000. It would have saved me the pleasure of shelling out $300 for what one TripAdvisor rater aptly calls "the shabbiest dump we encountered in Sicily." Amen, sister (or brother)! Even our hotel in Scopello, where the bed mattress literally sagged to the floor, was preferable to the Villa Athena. At least the propietress of the Scopello hotel was lovely, charged us only $15, and helped us find a fabulous restaurant for dinner. And her hygiene was impeccable. Things were definitely looking up.

Zen in Berlin: The City's Best Hotel

Dorint Sofitel am Gendarmenmarkt
Charlottenstrasse 50-52

Many of Berlin's "boutique" hotels are exercises in passé, Philippe Starck "avant garde" and self-conscious design: the Sorat Art'otel and the Maritim Pro Arte come to mind. So where to go if the other extreme--the opulent excesses (and prices) of the Berlin Hilton, the Kempinski Hotel Bristol Berlin, or the Hotel Adlon--aren't your style? My preferred hotel in Berlin is the Dorint Sofitel am Gendarmenmarkt, a 92-room hotel that is both lofty and intimate. Although the building's facade still has Jugendstil elements, it's a far cry from its earlier incarnations, including one as a youth hostel in the early 1980s in what was then East Germany. Smack dab in the heart of Mitte, its location can't be beat (these days, you'll be hard-pressed to venture into what was formerly West Berlin), and some rooms have small balconies that overlook the Gendarmenmarkt, a jewel-box square anchored at one end by the Konzerthaus and at the other by the Franzsischer Dom.

The building has been painstakingly transformed by the Dorint chain into an upscale hotel that is artfully minimalist while maintaining an unmistakable edge of luxury. Overall, there is a great continuity to the hotel's design and style that is soothing and tranquil without calling attention to its cleverness. The rooms have all the high-tech accessories you'd expect of a five-star hotel, combined with high ceilings, rich brown and creamy white furniture, luxe linens, marble and wood floors, and understated lighting. The bathrooms are works of art, with a single-paneled door that opens into one area while closing off another, making the best of the rooms' size, which, admittedly, is not large. The hotel's wellness area, on the seventh floor, offers a steam bath, sauna, a state-of-the-art fitness room, and--low and behold--a meditation room. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly, yet unobtrusive.

The hotel, which opened in April 1999, is off Unter den Linden, and within easy walking distance to the Brandenburg Gate, the Pergamon Museum, the Reichstag, the Marienkirche, the Berlin Concert Hall, and other destinations. It's close to Hackescher Markt and Oranienburger Strasse, where many of the best, coolest restaurants can be found, and accessible by bus or metro to the happening areas of Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg. And, should you find yourself craving "Viennese chandeliers, classic antiques, and silk-covered chairs," the Four Seasons is right next door. But if you're anything like me, a drink there will probably send you fleeing back to the Zen-like calm of the Dorint.