Chateau de Varenne

The main staff seem to be the owners, and the place has the feel of staying in someone's home rather than a hotel. In my opinion, calling this a 4-star hotel is misleading. It's a B&B, though it charges like a hotel. At 300 euros a night, it cost the same as Villa porta by Lake Maggiore, where we'd just stayed, and the two are impossible to compare. Our room felt cramped, with tiny windows and a 30 cm TV. The walls are very thin. There's no lift or porter, and without a proper entrance, getting luggage upstairs is a lot of work. In the bathroom there's no shower curtain or overflow outlet on the bath. There was no coffee machine, tea, or fridge in the room. There's no restaurant, and the nearby food choices are extremely poor. I was surprised that earlier reviews, apart from one Google review from three years ago, didn't seem to reflect this. We felt misled and duped. The quality might be acceptable at 150-180 euros per night at most, if it were honestly marketed as a B&B or chambre d’hôte. As it is, it's among the region's most expensive places to stay, and the offering doesn't match the price.

We had a great stay. The team seemed to anticipate what we might need, and I haven't experienced service this good in a long time. So much has been thought through, from the L’Occitane bathroom products to the hand-picked local breakfast items. The hotel itself is truly beautiful.

We got to enjoy the pool and sit outside in the evening, and breakfast was such a peaceful start to the day. Emma and Paul gave us a warm welcome to this beautiful place. We only stayed one night and wished we'd had longer. It's well placed for visiting wineries and the small villages of Provence. I hope to come back for a longer visit. Merci!

The pool was a lovely way to cool off on the hot days, and the room had loads of character, like the rest of the hotel. We had comfortable queen beds for two, a big bathroom, a separate toilet room, chairs and a lounger. The A/C worked extremely well day and night, even with daytime temperatures over 100°F. Breakfast cost a little more, but the range of options and the atmosphere made it worth it. We'd definitely like to visit again. We did have a yellow jacket issue during breakfast on two days. They swarmed around the table, and one of us was stung one morning. After the second day, the hotel hired someone to deal with it. It would also be helpful to have a grocery store within walking distance, or more places in town for lunch and dinner.