Les Chambres du Champagne Collery

The welcome drink was a lovely touch, and we slept well. Breakfast was good too. The place is right in the village center, with restaurants and champagne houses an easy walk away. We only stayed one night. Check-in and check-out felt a little slow and unprofessional, though it didn't cause us any trouble.

We loved every moment here. The breakfast room and the breakfast itself were incredible, and the champagne was wonderful. The place is gorgeous and so elegantly decorated, and we were blown away by the hospitality and the way we were treated.

We’re already planning another trip, even though this was our third stop at this amazing champagne house. The beds are very comfortable, the breakfast has a huge range of choices, and the fixtures and fittings are high quality. The staff are so friendly and helpful, and the champagne is a lovely bonus. It’s in a lovely location with some great restaurants nearby. We can’t wait to return.

During our Bentley car Rallye, we booked two rooms at the "Collery". Across five hotels in England and France over one week, this was the worst experience. The house looks nice from the outside and is a little tucked away in Ay, but the service was miserable, with just one girl apparently running the hotel. She seemed overwhelmed, perhaps a waitress or temporary help, and likely had no hotel experience. Her manner came across as awkward at times and intrusive at others. We arrived around 7.30 p.m. and were immediately charged extra fees. Before getting our room keys, we also had to pay in advance and leave a separate deposit for each room. As frequent travellers, we have never been asked for a per-room security deposit, not even at luxury hotels like the Ritz, Byblos or Hotel de Paris. It made us wonder whether thieves or hooligans were common guests here. We hoped to try the house champagne when we arrived. Instead, we were told curtly that there was a bottle in the room, as though it were complimentary. It was there, but cost more and would be charged as well. At a champagne house supposedly dating from 1893, we might have expected a welcome glass, as we have elsewhere. We also lost interest in trying Collery champagne very early on. There are plenty of TOP champagne houses in the 16 Grand Cru communities outside of Ay, with better prices and much friendlier welcomes. The staff kindly booked us a restaurant, but be careful: 50% of restaurants around Epernay are now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Their suggestion turned out to be a "pizzeria". We spotted that and managed to rearrange things. Pizza in Champagne…?! Our rooms were clean and stylish, but we felt uncomfortable, like unwanted guests in a museum or prison. There were at least three prohibition signs in the room, with rules about towel theft, using make-up remover and operating the curtains. Milk, laundry soap and shoehorns were missing from our rooms. Hopefully nobody had stolen them before we arrived... After paying a deposit before receiving the keys, we wanted confirmation at checkout that morning at 9.30 a.m. that we hadn't caused trouble or taken anything, and had left the room as we found it on arrival 14 hours earlier. Instead, we could only get that confirmation after a "room walkthrough" with staff. We had stayed just one night. The whole place was clean, but everything else was in enormous contrast to that. It seems the property and tasting room were recently renovated and now rooms have to be rented out to amortize ... !? Maybe the establishment or staff simply have little experience in hospitality. In any case, we felt like disturbing, uninvited guests. In 40 years "en voyage", we have never had anything so strangely unpleasant. For individual travellers, note the hours: checkout until 10 h, and check-in only between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. !!