Chateau du Clos de la Ribaudiere

This is a great looking place, albeit tucked away in the back end of a village so somewhat tricky to find. It certainly has an above-average ambience, as does the food. I've never seen cheese carved before! The only thing that spoiled the experience was my room. I was shocked to find it had no windows, just a Velux roof window that you couldn't open because it was out of reach. As a result the room felt claustrophobic. The bathroom, whilst well fitted, had no ventilation at all. Forget any views. The closest you can get to fresh air in this room is a wall-mounted a/c unit, and that proved far too noisy to sleep with. I asked Reception if I could change to another room. No luck. 'You were told there was no window in the booking' she said. No I hadn't. I asked why there wasn't a pole to operate the roof window; she just shrugged. Later on I put a chair on the bed, climbed up the wobbly structure and opened the window. Fresh air at last! (There would originally have been a pole to operate the window; it got lost or broken and never replaced. For the sake of a pole and some initiative they lose two stars). Actually there was another thing, a rather rude waitress. When our main courses arrived, one of my party asked the waiter if there were vegetables (expecting a side dish as the menu mentioned vegetables). A nearby manager overheard, came across, jabbed a finger at the food and said curtly 'There are vegetables there'. Inspired by Basil Fawlty perhaps, but a rude moment in what was otherwise a very pleasant evening.

Very happy to return and make good our promise from 2018. We took a room in the main building this time, which suited us very well. The place remains as characterful as we remember, and the restaurant was almost as good as last time. Our only disappointment this time was the weather. Staff are friendly and welcoming. We would recommend, even in the face of some of the mixed reviews on here (you can't please everyone).

Before booking this hotel, read the reviews. Our bad experience isn't a one off. We were looking forward to our stay in a Château and a gormet dinner. The reality was a window less room, with tired decor, and no table in the restaurant. The staff didn't seem bothered we were bitterly disappointed. So, after a 7 hour drive to get to this isolated Château, we had to get back in the car and went looking for somewhere to eat. So, that was our experience. It's your call.