Hôtel La Métairie

The pleasant welcome was the one good part of the stay. The pool was really cold, and breakfast was nothing special. Our room and the hotel itself didn't meet my expectations. Don't be misled by the website photos: the "little castle" section is only used for receptions, and the hotel is very basic. The bathroom felt like a hospital bathroom, uncomfortable and not very clean. There was no hand soap, and small insects came out of the drain. The rooms are poorly soundproofed too, and our neighbor's alarm woke us at 7 a.m. For the price, I was disappointed with the service overall.

Housekeeping was adequate and breakfast satisfactory, but the manager and receptionist was an unpleasant, rude person. He speaks rudely, ignores requests or only half deals with them, and runs off to his room when something bothers him. His partner is hardly any nicer. I have experience in this profession and can't understand how someone like that is allowed to run a hotel. No wonder it's often three-quarters empty. He and his partner are seriously damaging the hotel's image and operation. Some sources advertise this as a 3-star hotel, but I don't think it deserves more than two. The bathroom is tiny, with the toilet inside, and the shower is squeezed beside the sink. Its flimsy curtain does nothing to stop water flooding the room after each shower. The ventilation is broken, the hand soap dispenser is left unfilled by staff to save a few pennies, and a coat hook behind the door is broken. The room phone for reception is also out of order, apparently deliberately, so guests have to use their personal phones. If you don't have one, or you've run out of credit, you have to go find someone, even though reception is almost always empty. Outrageous.

The only bright spot was the receptionist, who was smiling and polite. The owner was unpleasant and rude, never saying hello or anything except to complain. The hotel was poor quality too: hallway wallpaper peeling, water dripping from the windows onto the floor, hair from previous guests on the shower curtains, and lots of mold in the bathrooms. The website lists a room for €50, but on Airbnb it was €170 with pool and jacuzzi access. Even at that price the offering was clearly subpar, and the hotel's quality deplorable. It's a shame to find this kind of place in such a beautiful town as Cordes.

The evening ended on a bitter note, and €25 felt like a real rip-off, before even adding the €20 bottle of Gaillac wine. At the 2nd Edition Raclette Evening at Château Hôtel La Maiterie (Cordes-sur-Ciel), the food was a letdown. The foie gras panna cotta had no taste at all, with not even a hint of foie gras, and the salmon verrine was oily and of questionable quality. Their "all-you-can-eat" raclette came with knackwurst sausages, nothing like proper raclette. The chocolate fondant seemed supermarket-bought, with neither flavor nor freshness. To top it off, the red fruit panna cotta was exactly the same as the aperitif one. Very disappointing.