The hotel is located on the upper levels overlooking the lake, and the views are the principal selling point of the hotel. We booked into one of the suites, which was very pleasant but not worth the extra money - booking one of the standard lake view rooms would give you the same advantage. The suite was nicely furnished, with a highly polished wooden floor, and extremely spacious. The bed was the usual French slatted base with a relatively hard mattress, with nice linen. The wardrobe was too small for the room, being hemmed into a tiny part of the corridor between the main bedroom area and the bath/toilet area. The height of the wardrobe precluded hanging anything other than shirts or blouses in full length, so trousers and dresses were scuffing the floor. The bath was an antique lion's claw porcelain one, with a fill and drain system that Isambard Brunel would have delighted in: unfortunately, the proprietor had seen fit to ignore the delights of this, and had included taps at the opposite end to the waste and overflow fittings, with the result that it was impossible to actually lean against the porcelain without impaling oneself on some metallic component or other. The bathroom was fitted with twin washbasins, but with no effective shelving, so toothbrushes were balanced on the surrounds, and other accoutrements commuted from the main room.
The food was a complete rip-off. We stayed for two nights to break up a long journey: on the first night there was one other couple, and the second night we were the only guests. The proprietor was obviously intent on maximising his income from the food and drink - notwithstanding that we had chosen one of the dearest rooms in the hotel. The table d'hote comprised an entree, main, cheese and a dessert, for E30. The first night we balked at the entree, and mugs that we were, agreed to his suggestion of foie gras. We found out the following night that this was E20 a slice! The main was a scrawny bit of perch or similar fish, with overcooked veg. Pudding was a E1.50 tartelette which tasted stale. Breakfast was tolerable, but nowhere near justified the E20. The second night, we had scrag end of lamb stewed long enough to be tender, but stil very fatty, which while tasty again didn't come anywhere near quality food.
Again, the entree and dessert were cheap and poor grade. If I had been asked to contribute what I thought a fair price, I would have been pressed to be able to say it was E20 worth.
While the proprietor seemed to be trying to be amenable, there was an air about him that didn't reassure one. My French is based on a failed O level as well as being very rusty, but I think we would have had serious communication problems if what I did learn was as little as my esteemed French mistress routinely, and very vocally, considered my attainments had or could ever reach.
As mentioned by another reviewer, the public areas of the hotel were nicely laid out, and the knick-knacks were interesting [as well as being for sale]. The pool was a good size, heated and with a good supply of nice clean towels, as well as a sauna.
The gardens were well kept, and the hotel was obviously looked after. The walk into town was reasonable, and while not being of any great note, the town itself was interesting, in a rural way.
We stopped in Gerardmer because of its siting halfway along our trail - I am glad we saw it, but would have no regrets if I never saw it again: I certainly would not choose Manoir au Lac if I did have the duty to return.