40 Reviews
Hôtel Château de Verrières & Spa Saumur
Saumur|0.53km from Médiathèque de Saumur, l'imagin'R, réseau des bibliothèques de l'agglomération Saumur Val de Loire
We spend 2 nights at the Chateau in August as part of a cycling holiday. It was the only 5 star hotel we stayed in that week and we were slightly disappointed by it. The town is beautiful, the chateau itself incredibly impressive but the thing we felt let it down was the attitude of the owner. We arrived before check in and whilst we understand that rooms (especially during Covid) can't necessarily be ready early, he really didn't make us feel welcome. He showed us where to put our bikes and somewhere to change, but we weren't offered a toilet or water or anything! He suggested a couple of places we could try for lunch which was helpful, but it would have been really great if he could have suggested (given there was no one around) that we came back when we were ready and could perhaps have spent time by the pool or sitting in the garden until our rooms were ready. That just didn't happen. The receptionist and the owner's wife were both incredibly helpful and friendly, and she showed us a lovely album of photos of the chateau through the years, but it really felt like he didn't want to have guests there! Our rooms were clean and decorated but I'm afraid the air conditioning units just weren't powerful enough to combat the August heat this year. I appreciate that they are high ceilinged rooms and it is an old building, but we really needed additional fans. We all found it uncomfortably hot. And I see from other reviews that this is a common theme. Perhaps just big free standing fans to offer during very hot periods in addition to the air conditioning? And perhaps putting the air conditioning on full before guests arrive to cool down the rooms, whereas our rooms were pretty boiling when we arrived. The pool area and communal areas of the hotel are again lovely and we appreciated staying in them. It felt like a really historical experience, especially having chatted to the owner's wife and understood the history of the house and the family that built it. It was fascinating! My final piece of advice is to watch out for additional drinks on your bill. We were presented with a bill for 170 euros (with no itemisation) on departure after two nights, and whilst that may well have been correct, when we queried it with the owner and said 'that seems high, is it definitely right' his response was simply 'yes' rather than saying anything like 'yes it is, would you like to see it itemised'? So we left with a slightly disappointed feeling that we might have been overcharged. As I say, this may not have been the case but he didn't offer to explain it in any way. So would I recommend the hotel. Yes I would for the building, the location, the facilities and the majority of people you will meet there (as long as it isn't too hot!). But do not expect a great welcome from the owner, and was it a 5 star welcome? No, certainly not.
