Stayed here for three nights as part of a trip around Bordeaux. The chateau itself is impressive with great views as it sits on top of a hill with a cliff face down to the river. We had a suite with a separate room for our six year old son that was in a turret...he loved that. Rooms were large, perhaps a little tired but no major complaints. The main facility is the outdoor pool (plus paddling pool for kids)...great views and quiet as there are not many guests. So far so good...

Where this place falls down (or should I say collapses) is on a combination of service and recognising the amenities they should offer given their remote location. Taking the food first, the quality is high and we enjoyed both the buffet breakfast and more formal dinners (actually there isn't an informal option), but there is no proper lunch menu. Given the nearest village doesn't even have a restaurant and is a long walk away this seemed a very strange omission...we saw other guests bringing back baguettes and making their own! The pool is the central attraction during the day, but service there is sporadic...a waiter came once with a tray with some cans of drink on sale, but was not willing to take an order for something other than the carbonated selection he had brought. Service generally is haphazard...when we ordered one day from the snacks available for lunch we had to repeatedly chase the order. The clearest example of just how bad their attitude is came in the saga we suffered over laundry. Having been travelling for several days including a week boating we arrived having planned the longer stay here to get that done. We were surprised to find the fastest service they offered was 48 hours measured from 10 in the morning...ie that could be up to a 71 hour turnaround. We phoned reception to say we had laundry to go, they said no problem, leave it in the room and they would collect it shortly. On our return it ha not been collected as promised, so we took it down to reception ourselves. Although they had lost a day as a result, the laundry still should have been ready on the last day before our departure. We phoned down on the morning and were told it would be with us in half an hour. After a while my wife phoned down to check progress...this time they put the phone down on her. There was a sinking feeling based on the poor service we had already experienced and we went down to reception to find out what was going on. Raising the issue there, the two staff on the front desk instead of talking to us went into the back office (where they were still in sight through a half ajar door), and proceeded to argue before emerging with the original bag containing our untouched laundry. As I began to complain, bizarrely one of them took the bag away back to their office, apparently thinking that hiding it would make the problem go away. By now our transport had arrived, but I was now struggling to retrieve even the unwashed laundry so I asked them to fetch the manager. All I can say to him is I now know why insouciance is a French word...no sense at all that their failure over the laundry was poor, but more than that having staff put the phone down on guests and bicker in front of them once there was a problem simply doesn't cut it. I reluctantly paid the four figure bill (no offer of any form of compensation by the way), but promised him I would do my best to forewarn others. Bottom line, this place is trading entirely on the building/views, but the service is a million miles away from where it should be for the prices they charge. We were better looked after everywhere else we went, ranging from three star boutique hotels to the truly fantastic Hostellerie de Plaisance in St Emilion, which is where we went next...same sort of price bracket, but that is about the only thing they had in common!

[One exception on the service...the sommelier came to the table each day knowing what we had previously ordered (without notes) and tailored his recommendations based on our comments about what we had already tried...he was spot on and they should put him in charge of more than the wine!]

We stayed at Chateau de Mercues for 3 nights in mid-July. We had an exceptional experience. The chateau sits atop a mountain with incredible views. The rooms are grand with modern updated bathrooms. The huge pool was a big hit with our children. The staff could not have been nicer and more accomodating. We were very sad to leave!

The location is superb, so is the garden and the centuries of history attached to the place make it interesting. Amenities are good, service is perfect and unobtrusive, dinner was delicious. The room, though huge, needed refurbishing in my opinion: it looked dated. It is possible to have a massive four poster bed and some more modern touches, which are only found at the bar.

Having been there, i can now understand why the Americans are critical, lack of air conditioning, and rooms that are not really modern or hi-tech. However, being European and a lover of history, this chateau is great. The rooms are furnished with furniture in keeping with the style of the chateau and are immaculate. The staff were friendly and eager to please, nothing was too much trouble. When they discovered we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, they brought free champagne at the end of our meal.
The swimming pool is secluded and glorious, all in all fit for a princess, which is how they make you feel!