We were taking a relaxing walking holiday going from La Brige in the Roya Valley down to the coast at Menton on the cote d'Azur. Of all the places we stayed, Villa Amiel in Sospel stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of size and quality of the rooms, breakfast, setting, but more because of the super welcome we got from the proprietors Patrick and Mark. When we arrived we got offered a welcoming drink and they also took the time to chat with us - telling us about the places to visit in and around the village such as the old Maginot line forts and the old chapels in the village. Mark has a wealth of information about great walks in the valley and beyond and his descriptions are spot on too. Come the evening when we wanted to know where to eat they also gave us absolutely honest recommendation for the restaurants (which they booked for us too) Needless to say the food was excellent! (la Mordagne and Relais du Sel) In fact we were so taken by the way we were treated, we stayed another night and frankly we would have stayed longer but they were fully booked after that. But the courtesy and service did not end there. We were going on towards Menton via Castilar but Mark suggested we went by St Agnes and stayed there overnight instead. Again they recommended we stayed and ate at the hotel St Yves (Good food, reasonable accommodation) and then took a route down to Menton that passed by the old town of Roquebrune and even told of a a great place to stay in Menton as well. All in all, our whole holiday was greatly enriched by our stay in Sospel and at Villa Amiel in particular. There is so much we would have missed if we had not met Patrick and Mark. Oh, and one last thing. When we can to pay our bill, the welcome drinks we got on arrival we not included - they were free - which was really quite a nice touch. read more