We stayed two nights at the Chateau de Vouilly, with our days spent touring the Normandy landing sites and visiting Bayeux. The chateau is beautiful, as are its gardens, and has an interesting history including its use during WW2 by the US Press Corps. The owner and host, James, is a very charming gentleman who gave us a warm welcome, and upon our arrival helped us to book our tour for the following day. Our room overlooked the moat and rear gardens. Each morning, we were greeted in the dining room by James and a table laid with a traditional French breakfast of breads, jams, cheeses, and freshly-squeezed orange juice and coffee. The Chateau de Vouilly was the center piece of a great weekend away in Normandy.

My husband stayed here after having been to the Classic Le Mans and asked Mr Hamel if he could leave his camping gear with him until his return a week later. My husband collected me from Cherbourg port (I didn't want to go to the CLM as I am not keen on camping and all that goes with it!! ) After touring around Brittany for a while we both stayed at this chateau for our last night on our way back to Cherbourg and were welcomed as if we were long lost friends. Both Madame and Monsieur Hamel are the sweetest of people, very helpful and accommodating and they live in a beautiful moated chateau with a huge garden. The rooms were "quaint" and the bed was very comfortable and breakfast was served in what used to be the correspondence room during WW2.
The place is riddled with history - it was a pleasure for us to have stayed at this fabulous place with 2 of the kindest hosts we have ever met . Merci!

My husband and I and my 88 year old father-in-law (a WWII vet) stayed at Chateau Vouilly during the 65th anniversary of D-Day. The word "authentic" best describes Vouilly. The sense of centuries of history is almost palpable. Host James, inherited the Norman property from his grandmother. Vouilly had been the American press headquarters during D-Day; it is quite thrilling to eat a lovely breakfast in the same room where the likes of Walter Cronkite (RIP), Andy Rooney, Ernie Pyle, Robert Capa, et al, banged out their stories in the thick of the war and to have an apertif in the room where the censors cleared their words for print. While nicely restored the chateau has not been stripped of its character. James and Marie-Jose strike the right balance of welcoming guests as friends to their country home without ever violating guest privacy or being intrusive. Our rooms were comfortable, nice firm mattresses. After a busy day of events, we especially appreciated the extra- long, deep bath tubs. Though our rooms were exceptionally clean, Vouilly is not bound by an artificial housekeeping schedule -- we were free to nap and read in our rooms at any time during the day without interruption. Excellent dining, shops, beaches and historic sites are within a 10 to 20 minute drive from Vouilly but the immediate area is working-rural with sheep, cows, thoroughbreds, produce and dairy -- no urban sprawl. Great walks out the door. Vouilly is the perfect place for those who can appreciate the "terroir". Be sure to buy one of the Chateau Vouilly history booklets. (We have only one suggested improvement for the Hamels: Consider installing a small refrigerator where guests could keep drinks and light snacks. There were times when we would have enjoyed having a bite to eat without having to drive).

My wife and I stayed here during the D-Day celebration this year (2009). We stayed for 4 nights. Our room (Giverney) was good sized and we had a perfect view of the Orangery. The breakfast room is delightful with WWII artifacts along two walls. The breakfast was typical French fare, bread and cheese with jam and coffee or tea. James, the host was very helpful in providing information on places to eat as there is nothing in the local village. His english is pretty good too.

Location is central to the American sector if you are interested in D-Day visiting. Just about 11 kilometers south of Point du Hoc. Lots of small roads in the area, but once you drive around a little, it is really hard to get really lost.

During part of our stay, the weather turned cool and there was no heat in our room. Temp in the room was about 65 degrees, outside it was in the low to mid 50's at night and mid 60's in the daytime. It was okay, but if there was heat, we would have turned it on.

This place is out of the way, but reasonably close to services. You are really out in the countryside. Nothing will wake you but the sound of the cows or perhaps some noise from another guest, but that did not happen to us.