Villa Margaux

The pool and jacuzzi are part of the generous, upscale facilities, and the setting feels luxurious. It’s a quiet little retreat near busy, beautiful Bordeaux, with amazing amenities. I found it better value than a five-star hotel. Feroze Bundhun (London)

The breakfast was lovely, very French, and my room was clean and comfortable. I had a wonderful stay at Villa Margaux.

This review is about the double room, not the suite. I arrived on 7 Jul to find the room far hotter than the pleasant evening outside, with no airflow. It felt easily 10-12C hotter, an absolute oven. The bathroom was even worse, and the whole place felt impossible to sleep in or even be in. Since the room has no air conditioning, I was disappointed that no one had tried to cool it beforehand. I’d spent a month in Europe and had managed fine elsewhere with open windows and a fan. But leaving the door open wasn’t an option. Stephen pointed out that Asian wasps and mosquitos were right outside. The only cooling device was a clunky, low, knee-height “refresher,” with a cooler block at the back and a small vent at the front. It didn’t oscillate, and sitting in front of it only got hot air blowing on the part of my body directly in its path. Stephen couldn’t say how long it would take to cool the room or how long the block would last. I went out for an hour, hoping it would help, but the room temperature hadn’t changed when I got back, even though outside was quite pleasant. I was visibly upset. Stephen shrugged and said, “it’s a heat wave.” It was 30C, which is warm, but not a heatwave, or une canicule in French. The other problems added to it. The thin mattress was squeaky, mushy and offered no support. The old, tired bathroom needs a good clean, has very poor water pressure, and its sink gurgles loudly when a toilet elsewhere in the connected house is flushed. The room was so small that the only place to open a suitcase was on the bed. There was a small fridge but no water in the room. Stephen did fetch a warm bottle for me. :-/ I told Stephen politely and apologetically that I couldn’t stay, explained why, and made other arrangements. I came back the next day to request a refund for the two nights I’d paid for but hadn’t used, and asked several more times. He asked why I hadn’t booked the air-conditioned suite if that mattered to me. Maybe I would have if this room had been advertised as an oven instead. ;-) I was in town for a wedding and its festivities just a few kms away, so staying at Villa Margaux would have been much easier, and the room was already paid for. But I simply couldn’t stay there. Despite my repeated requests, Stephen has refused to refund me for a room that truly was uninhabitable. I’ve never felt so duped before.

Great!