Au Bord Du Lac

There’s potential here, but the owner seemed uninterested in giving guests a good experience. The restaurant was average, and service from the owner was very poor. We waited to pay while she took a long cigarette break with friends. The room was dusty and poorly looked after, with a bed cover that didn’t fit and a few broken bits. Dirty laundry bags by the entrance, just before the stairs, weren’t a nice first sight. The breakfast room felt unwelcoming, wasn’t set up, and was entirely self-service. A few slices of cheese and salami wrapped in plastic hardly make a continental breakfast. At least the croissant and pain au chocolat were decent, even if cold.

We brought the extended family together here, and it worked quite well. The breakfast and lake surroundings deserve five stars, while the rooms get four. With no lobby and the bar closed on weekends, rainy nights leave you stuck in your room, so I took off a star. In summer, the attic rooms are hot and the basement rooms are cool.

The nights are completely quiet except for animals in the woods nearby, and the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing, with a touch of luxury. It’s a lovely spot for a seminar in the heart of Vallee de Chevreuse, southeast of Paris. The charming setting makes it feel much farther from the city than it really is.

The bedroom had lovely French-style decor and a great view of lac Beauséjour, and we had incredible spring sunshine. But the stay wasn’t what I expected. At night there was so much noise, maybe from the boiler, and we could hear everything, which made it hard to sleep. The bathroom could’ve been cleaner, with marks left behind, and the restaurant closes too early. There’s no real security at night, with everyone gone and the lights switched off. The man was very nice, but the cold blonde lady came across as worrying and could be much warmer with clients.