Cottages De La Bretesche

Pros +

• Its a cute cottage, definitely not more than 3 stars. Given the limited facilities (no Wi-Fi, access to the pool, etc) its very expensive. There is not much there to do, other than golf. Limited villages to visit in the surrounding area. I wouldnt stay there for more than 1-2 nights.
• The friendly waiters in the brasserie. The swimming pool.

Cons -

• Its not part of the main chateau. Its on the grounds of it but you cant use any of the facilities in the same way hotel guests would. Chateau has got its own villas but thats not it!
• This is a flawed property. It is meant to be part of a Relais & Chateaux property which usually denotes a high level of comfort and luxury. On arrival at the hotel reception however you are directed to a separate golf club reception to pick up a key to your cottage and it quickly becomes clear that there are two levels of service - cottages and hotel with the former being very second class. The cottage was shabby and in need of renovation such that after one night we upgraded into the main hotel. This was better although our room had one of the smallest hotel bathrooms I have every experienced. The hotel breakfast was limited - I do not consider a fruit salad comprising mainly apple plus a couple of pieces of melon to be sufficient as the breakfast fruit choice. The hotel had two restraurants but the main restaurant which is meant to be fine dining we could never get into so I cannot comment on its food. Surely the hotel should have advised its guests to book early if it was going to be so busy. The brasserie restaurant had a limited menu but at least had good and friendly service. Finally the level of housekeeping at the hotel was sub-standard. Finding cleaning materials left in our room, running out of toilet paper and not being left bath towels are all indicative of poor management. This hotel is not up to the Relaix & Chateau standard by a wide margin.