La Chartreuse du Val Saint Esprit

Have stayed at the Chartreuse over the last 15 years as the first stop on our forays through France and Spain. It used to be wonderful, with high quality rooms, friendly staff and all overseen by the Directeur who was omnipresent and had a good sense of humour. Sadly, this hotel is now a moey making shadow of the previous self, with poor staff, cost cutting and lack of investment into maintenance. The receptionist was unhelpful and poor at accommodating requests. We saw one tradition room which was dark and dire, before being shown the room type we wanted from previous times but seemed unavailable. The Luxe room we got was spacious with a comfortable bed but run down, especially the bathroom which was dreary. There were no toiletries and only one robe, and the decor was uninspiring. There's a lack of power sockets in the room and one of them didn't work. The main corridor lights were off at night and the car park was also in darkness making it interesting over the cobbles! Sadly, faded glory and shabby rather than shabby chic don't add up. I will be looking for an alternative next trip.

A VERY disappointing stay....tumbleweed! I have complained, using the same email address for making our reservations to the hotel Manager about several areas of concern but have received no response from anybody as of yet....................

Roasting hot, tired room, ripped curtain. Had to order two fans, which two old loud things arrived, the room was depressing, and clearly had no love. The bathroom as really lovely! Bright and fresh, parking was ample, the lady working was just lovely, and for that reason alone 2*, grounds beautiful, common areas interesting and historic, the room was just not good enough.

What a bloody shambles, confirmed by email the room required, (limited mobility) didn’t get it, went without a shower and struggled like mad. Only one member of staff on who was running around between the bar and reception like Manuel, huffing and puffing and making sure we all knew how busy he was. drinks were obviously late and thrown at the table. Restaurant was ok but nothing to write home about and we were overcharged as they said they included breakfast when we didn’t ask for it and they said nothing, all in all a bloody shambles and we will not be visiting again, suggest you don’t too.

Lovely hotel with excellent restaurant. All the staff were friendly and professional. Comfortable well equipped rooms with view over the gardens. Secure parking. As we were a large group of over 50 people we had a set menu with paired wines. Everyone enjoyed the food and service. Extensive breakfast. Highly recommended 5*

Our second time here and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It is so well placed being close to Calais and we arrived in time for a walk with our dog in the fabulous grounds, a pre—dinner - love the bar- drink and a wonderful meal in The Distillerie. The breakfast this time was not as good as last year as it was fairly limited choice—wise however what was there, was lovely. The staff here are so professional and accommodating. Our dog was treated excellently. I just know that we will return and return.

This was (we think) our 12th stay. As a long standing member of Small Luxury Hotels it has always been nice to receive the benefits of the membership ie room upgrades, free breakfasts. We always head here for our last night as just an hour from Calais. Hotel & breakfast all the same but our dining experience in the Robert II restaurant was so disappointing after all our other visits. The menu is reduced from the magnificent selection it always had, the costs have increased & the food is not as good as it was by along way. Which ever dish you ordered always seemed to have a similar garnish to the course before. One of our main courses arrived that was unable to be eaten so it was removed from the bill. Another couple had the similar problem & left without waiting for main courses to the be recooked as they had already waited for a very long time. There was a wedding also being catered for but as there was only 9 people in the restaurant I do not think that should have caused such problems & waits. The kitchen garden which was a pleasure to walk around is now unkept & unloved. In a discussion with a member of staff we were informed that there were new owners, hence the changes. We will try the restaurant again & hope it was just a one off experience. Some changes are not always for the best.

I drive from London to Switzerland 3/4 times per year. I think I have realistic requirements but it is harder to find the perfect place that I expected. This hotel might be the perfect find (after testing about 20) - Historic French character. But too many other hotels are either i) limited service (meaning they want you to check in before 9 and out after 8) which doesn't work for a stop over or ii) "Relais and Chateaux' types which just aren't worth the money for a flying visit - Near the motorway. Amazing how something which looks close to the autoroute on the map can be 40 mins drive in the dark from the nearest exit. - Car charging. Getting easier but still difficult. I once went somewhere which advertised car charging and was offered a domestic socket with a laptop asaptop. My car estimated 30 hours to charge... - Accept dog (actually the easiest condition) - Offer breakfast before 7.30am (surprisingly hard) - Have a chance to have steak frites and a glass of red wine if I can arrive in time (not be required to be dressed for a menu gatronomique by 7pm) - Be in a suitable location to break the journey. - Nice staff would be good - Bonus points for freshly squeezed orange juice and decent croissant And wow. This place gets the full points. - It's well situated for leaving the UK. If you head for Eurotunnel before London rush hour, you'll arrive in time for dinner. There were 2 restaurants still fully operating at 9pm (they advertise open until 10.30) Plenty of customers so you don't feel like you are keeping them up. Getting to Reims (where there are lots o options) normally means leaving by lunchtime if you want to eat dinner. - So close to the Autoroute (5 mins). Not sure I would use for returning to the UK because you are almost at Calais - but sometimes it could make sense with the timing. - Delicious breakfast quality (not massive range) with fresh OJ. Opens at 6.30! - Reception seems to be open late and was friendly and kind - Car charging was excellent and reliable. 6 well placed chargers which were clearly marked to ensure noone just blocked the slots (always a worry when arriving late) - the room had lovely character without being fusty. Not modern, but in good condition. And everything was perfect value. This seems to be a conference venue (which is what helps keep it humming and open even midweek in Feb). But that means room rates are reasonable, but extras are fuller. I paid Eur100 for the room which was a stunning bargain. But 2 courses and some wine was Eur 50, breakfast Eur20, car charging Eur 15. None of the extras are more than 'acceptable price' but the whole package was more than acceptably priced. Fully recommend.

Our third stay here, but not for quite a few years. Still has the wow factor as you drive in especially at night. Excellent meal at the Vasco. However, really abysmal breakfast. We arrived at 8.30am. Four types of cereal, but no cornflakes. All hotels have cornflakes, coffee at best was medium warm. Ordered scrambled eggs. Not possible, apparently no one in kitchen to cook them! Does one need a degree to cook scramble eggs in France I wonder……… So we had one (small) boiled egg each! At 9 am we were offered scrambled eggs, by which time we had had enough. Toaster almost annihilated the bread. Orange juice was v.g. Bedroom was very comfortable, really nice a quiet. Beautiful soft towels. Shower door was challenging once you knew what to do to make it open. No expense spared on furnishings everywhere you went. Walked round the grounds. Very interesting. The area where fruit, veg and flowers are grown needs a great deal of TLC and one wonders whether it is financially beneficial to even have that set up in these times. Needs at least three gardeners to get it back to what it was and to retain it. Pity the booklet they have at reception explaining all about the history of the Chateau is only in French. Bearing in mind most of the people we met during our short stay were English, I think this is a bit short sighted. It would have meant a great deal of dictionary input. Shame because it was only 5 euros and good quality. We shall make a return visit because the proximity to the Shuttle when you are doing a long car journey is ideal.