We hired Le Prieure for exclusive use over three days to celebrate our Civil Partnership and my 50th Birthday Party. 120 of our friends and family members flew in from all around the world to participate in the celebrations. The Prieure and its entire team put on an amazing show which even attracted very high praise from the most seasoned and difficult travellers amongst our guests. Due to capacity constraints, half of our guests stayed at Le Prieure whilst the rest slept in other hotels across the area. Our guests were lavishly looked after with an army of staff constantly on duty. Nothing was too much to ask and there was a solution to every problem. From the General Manager down to the chambermaids, everyone was on duty almost for 24 hours a day during 3 days and it made for an unforgettable experience. The main events were held on the Saturday where Le Prieure served a truly world class, gastronomic feast for lunch over 5 dishes and this for 120 people in one seating. The room had been tastefully decorated and laid out. The service, the execution, the presentation and quality of the dishes were of the same standard if not higher than any gourmet restaurant in Paris serving 4 guests. Before the lunch, we had an amazing cocktail party during which superb local sparkling wines and tentalizing canappes were served on the terraces of the chateau as weather allowed it. The highlight of the lunch was the arrival of the wedding cake or piece montee made of thousands of choux buns in the shape of a medieval castle. It blew away many of our guests and the cameras were flashing for a long time as if it was an Oscar ceremony ! After a 3 hours break, some of the male members of the party joined the Head Sommelier and the two of us for an exclusive wine tasting event taking place in the hotel XIth century caveau before rejoining the rest of the party for a magnificent dinner dance served in the transformed dining room with dance floor. The Chef (Benoit, a young talent to keep an eye on as he is certainly facing a promising future) put on a buffet extravangaza spread out over 20 meters and he surprised our guests with an abundance of seafood, local dishes and specialities all accompanied with another incredible selection of fine local wines. My birthday cake was actually five spectacular cakes, one more delicious than the other. We partied until 3'Oclock in the morning. The event came to an end with a farewell brunch served on the Sunday morning during which more delicacies and regular brunch fare were offered in addition to superb oysters, more sparking wine exquisite pastries. " months later we continue to receive thanks from our guests who are still under the spell of the Le Prieure's atmosphere, the lavishness of the treatment they received but more importantly, the amazing quality of everything they ate, drank or enjoyed during their stay.

I could not recommend this hotel enough. This is traditional, "old money" French hotellerie where understated elegance and efficient service are being given priority over air conditionning, IPod station and other gimmicks that upscale hotels tend to spend money on forgetting very often high standards of food and service. Together with Le Prieure events management team, we spent one year planning this event, and it turned out not only as planned but even better than planned. Our warmest thanks and deep appreciation go to all involved. We shall return with great pleasure