Back in the days when both mon mari and I were gainfully employed we traveled with little regard to cost. Not that we stayed in $500.00 per night hotels, but we stayed in nice hotels, usually featuring good restaurants. Ah, the restaurants….that's where we spent our money: wonderful food and outrageously good wine!  Well, the 'gainfully employed' part may be a thing of the past but the desire to indulge in good food and wine isn't.  And since no self-respecting European (particularly the French) would suffer a bad meal whilst on holiday (any more than they would pay $30.00 for a main course) we simply needed to learn to travel like the natives. 
First thing I learned is: when booking a hotel always ask what the half/board (demi-pension) rate is.  This rate is per person and includes the room, breakfast and dinner (without beverages).  This lets the hotel know that you are planning on dining in their restaurant (you might get a nicer room) and is usually a much better rate than if you booked the room and paid for breakfast and dinner.
Second thing I learned is: always order the menu – or one of them.  In Europe the 'menu' is a 3, 4 or 5 course meal with a set price.  The large document with several pages of food and prices on it is the 'carte' or some version of that word depending on what country you are in.  A typical '3' course menu will often offer a choice of 2 or 3 first courses, 2 or 3 main courses and 3 or 4 desserts.  A '4' course menu offers the same with the addition of cheese – served after the main course (before the dessert everywhere but the U. K. where it is after the dessert – don't ask!).  A '5' course menu would offer a fish course.  Coffee is a separate course at the very end.  A '3' course menu will be less expensive than ordering just a first and main course from the 'carte'.  The half board rate assumes you will eat a 'menu', normally the least expensive one – but they'll be happy to upgrade you for the price difference or even offer substitutions at no charge! (sometimes!)
To me, the best things about ordering a menu are that one gets the appropriate amount of food (the chef knows how much you are planning on eating and wants you to enjoy all of it) and the best efforts of the chef.  The menus are normally changed frequently if not daily and it's the area that allows the chef to show off his/her skills with the available seasonal foods.  What more could a dedicated foodie ask for?  A recommendation for a local wine of course – goes well with the food for a fraction of the cost of an import, say, from Bordeaux…..
Two of my favorite organizations (currently) for finding hotels is http://www.chateauxhotels.com and . If you would like any further information or assistance feel free to contact me – I love planning trips!

Katie Zeller on Google+