Le Dragon
12 Rue du Dragon, Strasbourg
00333 8835 7980
Price band **
Jean Zimmer is well known to skiers of a certain age and inclination as one half of the fraternal double act that ran a mould-breaking off-piste ski school in Val d’Isère, introducing us to their favourite powder runs and Rieslings. More than ten years have passed since Jean grew tired of dodging avalanches and moved back to his native Strasbourg to run a small B&B hotel between the Cathedral and the waterways of La Petite France, set back from the Quai St Nicolas. Inside the 17th century building, the tone is bachelor sobriety: grey, modern and, as Jean might say, cool. The same goes for the staff, who are young, helpful, friendly and intelligent and may be persuaded to carry bags upstairs (not all rooms are served by lift), if you look sufficiently weary.
The benefits are entirely practical. Free overnight parking outside the hotel or nearby. All the sights of central Strasbourg are in easy walking distance. These include restaurants and winstubs open late so on a long journey through France – to the Alps, perhaps – you can keep driving without having to worry about the deadline in the kitchen. There is a small front garden, for a drink or summer breakfast; and a rack of bikes to rent by the hour, day or week. Not forgetting the golf offer, which is an exceptional bargain: a free green fee at Jean’s club Le Kempferhof, a beautiful place and one of the best golf courses in Europe, if you stay two nights at Le Dragon. What are we waiting for?
Price bands: from * (B&B for less than 50 euros per person in a shared room) to ***** (expect to pay at least 175 euros)