The exterior is exactly what you could hope for in a chateau design, grand and with sloping roofs, with a large moat and well kempt gardens. It’s Beauty & The Beast reincarnate, and it’s easy to see why couples choose to have it as the location of their wedding as it’s a fantastic backdrop for photos.After the refurbishment, the rooms were originally designed as separate apartments, meaning that you have all the facilities of a self catering apartment for your use. The kitchen is fully fitted, and with a Super U supermarket nearby (but not within sight don’t worry) if you wanted to cook a meal and dine in your room while admiring the window views it would be very comfortable.
All the rooms have different layouts and designs, whilst still keeping a theme throughout. The room interiors are fairly modern with a hint of old school grandeur, including leather sofas, chesterfields, candelabras and chandeliers. There are some great unsual features including a double bath bathroom in the bridal suite. Side by side and facing each other they are ideal to relax in with your partner whilst sipping on some local sparkling wine. Equally the delightful clock tower with it’s four floors and splendid views of the chateau, has a giant in room hot tub. It’s large and luxurious, next to fully opening windows and surrounded by candles, an extremely decadent way to bathe with a view. The clock tower is a wonderful choice to stay in if you’re visiting with other couples or as a family. 3 separate bedrooms, 2 kitchen areas and a suave living area with a grand dining table and classic fireplace/heater makes it very homely, and every window gives great views back onto the main building.
If you’re wanting to stay on the grounds for lunch times, it’s possible to arrange picnics and there is a picturesque dedicated picnic area in the woodland area just past the moat. I was served a selection of French cheeses and cold cuts, with pickles, olives and onion chutney, with baskets of fresh baguettes of course. The red checkered table cloths made for a picture perfect picnic and I was delighted to see they had sent over a bottle of Ackerman sparkling rosé. It’s a popular local wine, sweet and fruity, and one of the rooms inside the chateau is named after the wine maker himself so that probably hints at how tasty it is.
Breakfast is also a lovely affair. You can opt to eat inside one of the main dining rooms, or as I did on both mornings, out on the ground floor terrace overlooking the clock tower. Freshly baked crossiants and other buttery pastries are served of course, with local preserves and fresh juices, as well as coffees, eggs and brioche toast. The sun hits the terrace in the morning so you couldn’t really ask for a nicer place to enjoy your breakfast.
There is a large pool with multicoloured sun loungers at the very bottom of the gardens. The area keeps the sun until the late evening meaning you can soak up the rays until dinner time if you’re feeling in need of some relaxation. For those wishing to be a bit more active, there is a boules area, and I enjoyed playing a few games in the early evening. There are also bikes to hire and wine tours can be arranged, even the nearest village, is only a 15 minute walk and with it’s two steeple churches it is quite a pretty sight. If you’re wanting to explore the chateau and grounds a little more, there’s a pretty little chapel that weddings can take place in, and interestingly a number of caves near the front moat area.
With it being in such easy reach of the UK it’s a smart choice for those wanting a little taste of the finer things in life, with great weather and a beautiful backdrop to boot.
