When we were at the chateau, we stayed at a comfortable room in an annex, but had easy access to the hotel, the restaurant and the terasse, We had excellent diners, with knowledgable staff, good cook and a great panorama from the terasse. Between meals we were in the nice pool or made some promenades. The place was really quiet and there was no need to leave the premisses. when we need some rest,and good French cooking, we will certainly return.

Me and my partner had a standard room - which it was, nothing extraordinary but with all the comforts you would expect from a standard room; comfortable bed, small en-suite shower, no AC, but fan, which was sufficient, clean.
Service very friendly and polite.
The coup-de-coeur of this place is first the location in the beautiful Bourbonnais farmland landscape with rolling hills, groves of trees, and fields surrounded by hedges - obviously modern farming techniques have not been allowed to ruin the character of this part of France. Secondly, this place has very good food. Both dinner and breakfast served on the terrace, very nicely set tables.

We stopped here on our way to the south of France, to relax and do a little horseback riding.
The room was nice, with a very nice bathroom (no airconditioning). The hotel is beautiful, especially the terrace & the view over the countryside.
The restaurant was nice, as was the fact that they had two menus - "brasserie" and the formal restaurant.

After staying at the Chateau in 2007 (see our review below), we vowed to return, and did so for three nights in June 2009. We were not disappointed. This time we had room 16, looking out over the valley. It was small but very nice, with a beautiful and spacious bathroom (see photos) and separate toilet room.

Although there were two less-costly menus available (and one higher), we decided to splurge on demi-pension options for each of our three dinners (at euros 50 per person, this is a very costly demi-pension), but we are glad we did so, and now are all the more impressed by the cooking of chef David Martin.

Each night before dinner we enjoyed a special aperitif that we had here two years ago and which, we’ve since learned, can be found only in this area: “Pelou.” It’s a splash of Liquor de Châtaignes (chestnuts) in dry local sparking (or still) wine. Very distinctive, and we love it.

The service had a few glitches, reflecting something that we’ve seen at other restaurants in France at this time of year (early June): training of new staff, or summer interns, who are students at various restaurant schools throughout the country. It was amusing, and sometimes a bit painful, to watch these earnest youngsters go about their tasks, under the supervision of course. But, we figured, everyone has to have a first experience with real customers, and it did not bother us that we were part of their learning process.

During our stay we walked the beautiful grounds; chatted with M. Tissier and played with his Weimaraners; rode horses (and took a lesson) at the nearby stable (arranged through the hotel); visited the Chateau d’Ainay-Le-Vieil (aka “Petit Carcassone”) and toured its amazing interiors and gardens; visited Abbaye de Noirlac (a well-preserved Cistercian Abbey dating from 1150); and visited the Forrest of Tronçais. For lunch dining, we enjoyed, and recommend, Auberge de l’Abbaye de Noirlac and Le Tronçais -- each was “tres agreeable.”

We never did jump into the chateau’s pool -- apparently, that’s for the next trip.

--Jake (http://parisandbeyondinfrance.blogspot.com/ )