My husband, sister and I have just returned from a very pleasant short stay at Château Tilques – our first experience here. We have previously stayed at another of the Najeti Group’s hotels, Château Clery in Hesdin L’Abbé but unfortunately they are again closed during January.

To me Château Tilques isn’t the most beautiful of châteaux but I guess the torrential rain and howling wind didn’t show it in its best light! Please be aware that this review is of our stay in January – not the most popular nor conducive months for a short break. Indeed, the hotel was very quiet but we were upgraded into a Pavilion room, as was my sister who had booked a single room. These rooms are across a little courtyard from the main Château and umbrellas are thoughtfully provided at all external doors. They are obviously more modern, a very good sized room with a double and large single beds. There are big French doors which open onto a small patio with a table and two chairs and this leads directly into the gardens. Guests with similar rooms may wander past so beware if you have your curtains open! The bathroom with excellent over-bath shower and the horrendously magnifying mirror was bright and clean with plenty of towels. The floor was cold but they do provide branded slippers and the heater worked well. A separate loo was an unusual but welcome feature. The TV showed BBC1, BBC2 and ITV plus obviously many other local channels. There was a safe in the wardrobe, together with the usual shoe cleaning, mending kit, etc. There were also additional towels for the indoor swimming pool which we only looked at and it seemed to be of a good size and very clean but just not quite appealing enough for a dip in January! The only complaint of the bedroom was the lack of light. The bedside lamps were hardly bright enough to read by and the wall lights didn't really help so it was difficult to put your face on using the wardrobe mirror doors which was the only alternative if your husband was splashing around in bathroom! We were delighted to find a kettle in a cupboard but disappointed that we were given two cardboard beakers which could only be used once before disintegrating. There were two small plastic spoons, two rather tired-looking sachets of coffee and of sugar and two tea bags - no milk at all. These offerings were really not the standard you would expect. If they couldn’t provide china cups and saucers or mugs and perhaps some UHT milk, then it may have been better not to offer the facility at all?

We went into Saint-Omer to eat on our first evening but did enjoy a drink in the hotel bar which is quite small and intimate and leads through to a similar lounge area which I guess is additionally used when there are more guests. Breakfast the next morning was in the conservatory. We were surprised not to find any croissants and when we asked we were told that they’d all gone and there was nobody in the kitchen for the next ten minutes or so. When more supplies did appear, they were warm and small. The coffee tasted lovely but could have been hotter. Usual cereals, fruit juices, yoghurts, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and bacon, bread, etc. and also batter to make your own pancakes.

On the second evening we ate in the hotel Restaurant, again across the small courtyard. A beautiful and grand room but with only about six tables being used it was not easy to create much atmosphere. However the staff were charming and attentive and the food excellent.

The following morning breakfast was in the Restaurant and consisted as the previous day - but with croissants immediately available!

Yes, we did enjoy our stay at Château Tilques. All the staff were very friendly and, as we prefer, we conversed in French though I’m sure their English would have been much better than our French! Would be return? For what we wanted and at this time of year, probably not. That’s nothing to do with the hotel but more to do with its location and how we like to spend our time. We would, however, recommend it to others purely on its own merit. Other than Saint-Omer we had to drive a considerable distance to find any town. I’m sure it’s completely different in the warmer months and when more local attractions and amenities are open. In any event, we had a relaxing few days and have returned replete and considerably larger than when we left!