Château de Berne

Our 30th wedding anniversary so we decamped from the villa about an hour away for a special night. Oh boy, what an experience! Our room was upgraded to room 2 - “Avignon”. A truly wonderful hotel room with a superbly comfy bed, huge bathroom (with possibly the best shower I’ve ever had) and a large terrace outside with loungers. All the staff were superb. We had lunch in the Bistro and dinner at Le Jardin. Spent the afternoon by the big pool. All in all, just outstanding. Mind you, suitably enormous bill! Easily into my top 5 hotel of all time. Go!

After you see the sign off the D10, it’s a 15 minute anticipatory drive toward the grand entrance. You will not be disappointed, the grounds are breathtaking. If you arrive after sunset, go slowly as the directional signs are not lit and they are small. When you come to a fork in the road, stay right. Methi in Reception provided a warm welcome, offering a gel for my sisters’s sore back. We benefited from her attentive hospitality and missed her on her days off. Our six day stay was magical, enhanced by the most wonderful staff. They brought my sister a large heavy plastic sealed bag of ice for her sore back. Three days in, Rhazi, from room service, brought her another without her asking. Kevin in Engineering showed us how to operate the tv and returned to change batteries in our room phone. Nightly, Rhazi and others from Room Service, brought a wine bucket full of ice for our room, as Americans, we love ice, even in bottled water. Our Junior Suite with terrace with seating for six was perfect, providing the extra room we needed for an extended stay. The setting was extremely quiet, even over the busy weekend. We appreciated the little touches - bottled water for our car each morning, bottled water for the room every night along with a little sweet which changed nightly. The buffet breakfast offerings were endless: order eggs cooked to your liking, pancakes, French toast, smoked salmon, a large cheese selection, cereals and granolas, homemade bread and endless breakfast pastries. You’ll take your breakfast in the stunning Le Jardin Michelin star restaurant. We ordered Room Service three nights, tired from a day of touring the area and preferring not to go out. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Even on the night when the kitchen was closed, a staff member brought us a modified menu. Try the artichoke barigoule with bacon and onion, it was a nice surprise, more like a light vegetable soup. Treat yourself with an extended stay, you will not be disappointed.

Stayed for a few days in July. We did not like our stay so much and for sure will not return. Positives: The hotel grouds are nice as it is located in a vineyard. The room was large and well appointed. The main pool is nice. Staff is very nice/kind. Breakfast is nice. Negatives: The hotel is very isolated. There is nothing much to do or see around. It is located in a vineyard that produces "cheap" wine (sold in supermarkets in Switzerland where we live) and attracts lots of tourists. One of the restaurants is located close to the shop and exhibition hall for wines (right outside the hotel). This is the kind of restaurant you could find on a highway. Super noisy with bad food. We had booked there the first night but decided to leave after 5mn to go to the gastronomic restaurant. We saw several couples do the same thing. We returned for lunch once; food was a let down even for a simple lunch. The first night we had dinner at the gastronomic restaurant, food was excellent and service was very good. Second night we went to Bruno de Lorgues, which is a local institution (we highly recommend). Third night back to the gastronomic restaurant. Food was horrible. It turns out they have only one set menu and if you go back either you can either have the same menu or they can prepare something else but horrible. Food was so bad we decided not to have dessert and to leave the hotel one night early. Service was also very bad on this second dinner with people waiting for 1h30mn to be able to order food. The hotel manager offered the dinner which was a nice gesture. But I do not go to a gastronomic restaurant to eat badly and get my dinner offered. In the end, this was clearly not as nice as we had expected.

What we were sold and what we experinced was way different. Information provided when we booked regarding the villa was misleading. Niot being in the hotel and on the hotel grounds, no proper access to hotel services.

If visiting, stay MAXIMUM 1-2 nights. The property is extremely hard to get to. You have the option of two very dangerous "roads" to access it. If you're a nervous driver, maybe hirer a taxi. Once there, you basically feel trapped, with nowhere to go. The property and grounds are beautiful, I will give them that. Stay in the castle, because the inn attached to the restaurants smells like food. They pump a scent into the sleeping rooms to disguise the odor. The rooms are outdated, and could use a renovation especially the bathrooms. We had just come from Chateau de la Goede, which was a 10/10 so this property was a let down.