Domaine du Val

The breakfast could be better, but the welcome was warm and the place has loads of character. It's a charming, special XIXth century Mansion, with spacious rooms, a nice garden, and a swimming pool. Great experience!

The restaurant serves amazing food, and the staff are very nice. The chateau is beautiful too. It's only a ten-minute walk to the sea, though that doesn't mean there's a beach. The tide changes quickly, so keep near the path. I nearly got stuck between the mussels ;)

The castle was beautiful, and our room for two was clean, with a good bed even for someone over two metres tall. It felt chique in an old-frensh way, and the bathroom was clean and big enough. The shower was excellent, with a bath and a strong flow of water. You can wander around the property and walk through the woods to the sea in about eight minutes. Behind the castle, take the right path. The left one also works, but it's more adventurous and ends at a dead end, so you have to cross the river. We managed on the stepping stones, but older people may do better with the left path! At the sea, you can collect beautiful Saint Jacob shells, and there's a very good mussel restaurant. People working on the property were friendly, but only one person spoke English, the younger man with a brown beard. When we wanted dinner at the Chateau, the staff did everything they could to make us happy. Breakfast was amazing: fresh, luxurious baguettes, croissants and pain du chocolate, plus orange juice, water, coffee or tea, and spreads for the bread. There was also yoghurt, walnuts, oats, dried fruit, and more. Dinner was a four-course meal. It was quite chique, which wasn't always to our taste. If you don't like things such as foie gras and gastronomical desserts, another restaurant may suit you better. It wasn't for us. They only offer a four- or five-course dinner, for 40 or 50€.

The stay could have ended on a lovely note, but one staff member was extremely rude. We found the hotel through Groupon. A brown-haired man welcomed us, checked us in, and helped with our luggage. Since the website mentioned a spa, I asked whether we could use it. He said it was included in our voucher, and we booked a morning slot. At checkout the next day, a woman at reception said spa use cost €20. We explained that nobody had told us, and that we wouldn't have used it if we had known. She blamed us and said we knew exactly what we were doing. She also said we shouldn't have used a Groupon voucher in French when we don't speak French, even though the voucher said nothing about whether spa access was included or excluded. That's why I had asked the day before. I apologized and said the man might have made a mistake, but she insisted it wasn't their fault and stayed extremely angry. We didn't end up paying, but her rudeness made for a very disappointing end to what would have been a lovely stay.