BYOTP (and towel; and pillow) to the Hotel Pergola

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If the blandness and price tag of the big resorts in Gosier are not your cup of tea, you might be tempted to stay at the Hotel Pergola, a run-down villa right above the beach. It has the air of a Victorian seaside retreat, and a perfect view of the well-known Ilet de Gosier. Unless you bring your own lightbulbs, toilet paper, pillow, soap and towel don't even consider it.

We spotted this hotel as we were driving around looking for a place to stay, and were drawn by its location. Upon arriving we engaged in some bizarre negotiations with the owner, which were essentially that we pay 90E and stay as long as we like. So if we stay two nights, it's 45E a night, if we stay 3, it's only 30E a night-and so forth. I think that it was an experiment in how long tourists can survive without toilet paper (we bought some of our own). On the way to the studio, we had to find the electrician because the lights were broken. Then for days we begged for sheets and towels. Eventually we alternated between using a pillowcase for a pillow, towel, and blanket. There was also never hot water. Our kitchenette was a nice effort but the electric burner didn't work. The supposed restaurant was closed for renovations and the dry pool was full of leaves and cats. I reminded myself that this was before tourist season, so maybe some amazing transformations were about to take place- in the next two weeks? I highly doubt it.

I am not picky- but I do expect European hotels to provide certain niceties: clean beds, bathrooms with hot water, towels, sheets, and electricity. Otherwise, we'd camp on the beach. So don't stay at the Hotel Pergola, unless you'd like to take part in a similar deprivation experiment.