Hôtel de Savoie, Annecy: What You Are Actually Buying

The address is the argument. 1 Place Saint-François sits inside the pedestrian old town, roughly 80 metres from the lake and about two minutes from the Palais de l'Île. The building adjoins the 17th-century church of Saint-François, and the entrance arrangement beside it is the detail every guest remembers. Nothing built in the last century occupies this position, and nothing at this price does either.

What you give up is the building. There are 23 rooms and no lift, and the staircase is repeatedly described as steep and narrow. Reception is staffed from 15:00 to 22:30 only, so an evening train from Paris or Lyon needs arranging in advance rather than assuming. Reviewers also note the absence of air conditioning, which matters in July and August far more than in the shoulder months.

The noise is specific and predictable rather than random. Place Saint-François is where the town's refuse lorries and delivery vans work, on cobbles, from roughly 05:00 onwards. That is a recurring theme across reviews in both languages, and it is why the courtyard side is the one to ask for. The hotel does list soundproofed rooms, but the square is the square.

Read as a 2-star with a remarkable address, it is a reasonable booking. Read as a hotel, the 6.3 score is fair. If your week is built around walking out into the old town at eight in the morning and you sleep through anything, this is very hard to beat on position. If you want a quiet room, a lift and a late check-in, the money is better spent 10 minutes further out.

Choosing your room

Request: A courtyard-facing room. The hotel sells canal-view and courtyard-view as separate types, and the courtyard is the side away from the square where the town's bin lorries and delivery vans work across the cobbles from about 05:00.

Avoid: The top floors if you are carrying luggage or dislike stairs — there is no lift and reviewers consistently describe the staircase as steep and narrow. Also avoid booking at all if you need a room after 22:30 without arranging it first.

View: Rooms face either the canal or the interior courtyard — the hotel sells them as separate room types, so it is a choice you make at booking rather than on arrival.