We stayed at Domaine d'Auriac earlier this month - what a wonderful experience! It's located just 5 minutes from the walled city of Carcassonne and has convenient autoroute access for trips elsewhere in the Languedoc.

Our room was in the main house (there are also guest rooms in annexes elsewhere on the property) facing the front, and I would recommend that you request a room facing this direction. The hotel grounds are like an oasis, with a lovely pond in front surrounded by roses and other flowers, which allows you to forget that the hotel is located just off a main road. Our room was totally quiet and peaceful, but we noticed on strolls around the grounds that there is a lot of road noise in the back of the hotel. The room was large, with a double bed and a small sofa near the TV and lots of closet space. The view out the front was beautiful. The room was decorated in traditional French style in blues and whites - nothing ostentatious, but tasteful. The bathroom was not quite as luxurious as I would expect for a Relais & Chateau hotel, but it was good-sized and accented with marble. Keep in mind that this is an older building and is not going to seem as spiffy and brand new as a modern high-rise hotel, but everything is clean and well-maintained.

We were very happy with the accomodations, and then were truly blown away by the restaurant. The dining room is gorgeous - very traditionally and elegantly decorated, with a beautiful terrace where dinner is served when the weather is good. The food and service merit its MIchelin star and then some. The extensive menu features all sorts of local dishes served in a style fitting of a gastronomic restaurant (the anchovy appetizer, local pork served 5 ways and cassoulet are some examples, but we loved everything we ate there). We had every intention to try out other area restaurants during our stay, but we found the restaurant so phenomenal that we ate there every night of our three night stay. The sommeliers also steered us towards different - and fantastic - local wines every night. Finally, the salon upstairs was the perfect, relaxing place to have an Armagnac or a cigar after dinner before heading to the room.

One of the reasons I love traveling in Southwest France is because the people are unfailingly friendly and kind. The staff at the Domaine d'Auriac is no exception. Service everywhere in the hotel was prompt and professional. We also appreciated that before we left to go off sightseeing every day they confirmed our dinner reservation at the restaurant so we didn't have to think to do it ourselves.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Domaine d'Auriac to anyone looking for first-class accomodations in the Languedoc. And don't miss out on the restaurant!

Stayed at Domaine d'Auriac in August 2005. Very nice hotel. Food in the restaurant was excellent. Very convienient location, near to La Cite and very accessible from the autoroute, but peaceful location and grounds. Staff were friendly, service efficient.

Our own fault, we didn't check our reservation properly and so were annoyed with ourselves on checking in that we'd booked one of the rooms in the grounds of the hotel at Euro420 a night. However, had the room in any way warranted this price tag we wouldn't have minded but it resembled a provincial gite rather than a luxury hotel room with annoyances such as a very weak shower. Our reservation was for 7 nights but when we asked to cut our stay short we were told that we would be invoiced for the full week. The general impression was very unhelpful. Rooms in the main hotel may be cheaper and nicer - we didn't get the chance to find out, but paying nearly £300 per night for a distinctly unluxurious room rather spoiled our holiday.

Domaine D'Auriac was an exceptional place to stay while visiting Carcassonne and the surrounding area.

We were traveling with our 8-year-old daughter, so we took full advantage of the property's outdoor amenities: swimming in the pool, running on the rolling green lawns, watching the ducks on the river that runs behind the lawns, visiting the the large fishpond, and lounging on the private deck adjoining our room.

The property contains a wonderful restaurant, with service available either indoors or on a terrace overlooking the grounds and the river. Families should note that the restaurant is very welcoming to children. Our waiter immediately proposed a simpler, smaller selection of courses that--while still elegant--was perfectly in sync with a child's palate.

From Domaine D'Auriac, it is just a five- to 10-minute drive to the Carcassonne parking lot. We enjoyed our time in Carcassonne, but appreciated being able to unwind in the serenity of Domaine D'Auriac.