Subject: Rude and Obnoxious!
My wife and I have traveled to France a number of times, but this past experience in September 2009 was tarnished by the nightmare we faced at the Manoir de Restigne Chateau. We initially decided to stay at this chateau after reading a raving review about this magical château in the Food & Wine magazine. We trusted such a reputable publication and decided to book our stay at the Manoir de Restigne Chateau in the Loire Valley through booking.com. Needless to stay the magical, fairy tale-like chateau turned out to be an absolute disaster. Lots of events transpired to make us feel unwanted.
We had booked to stay at the chateau for four nights. We called the hotel in advance before leaving our initial destination and told them that there would be a late arrival because we were planning to do some wine tasting along the way. In response to that request, the owner of the chateau rudely communicated to us that late arrivals were not permitted after 6:30pm and if we arrived after 6:30pm our rooms would be lost. So we changed our plans and arrived at 2pm and asked to check-in, however, the owner would not allow us to check-in until 2:30pm and didn’t offer to bring our suitcases inside the hotel. After we had checked-in, we were not satisfied with the quality of the two rooms and politely asked the owner if it would be possible to see other rooms. In response to that request, the owner pointed toward the door and barked, “If you don’t like my rooms, then there’s the door and get out! …and by the way I HATE AMERICANS!” I honestly did not know how to respond to this. I have never been treated this way at a hotel. I simply decided we had to leave. I asked for a refund (since we were being deported from the chateau), since we had already paid a 30% down payment. Instead the owner shoved the cancellation policy at me in a very rude way. I tried to explain to the owner that the cancellation policy should not be applicable since he was kicking us out of his hotel. He refused to refund our deposit so we ended up staying one night (since we were already paying for it). And the next day upon our departure the owner charged us for the rooms and 4 breakfasts, which we never even had! We ended up leaving Manoir de Restigne Chateau having a very negative and tainted view on this part of France. We had never been treated so poorly at any accommodation and it is really a shame that many other Food & Wine followers are going to possibly experience such horrific service at this chateau.
In the end, we are still battling with booking.com to get our refund. They have not been successful in negotiating with the chateau because the owner has stopped answering their inquiries! The lack of service, respect and hospitality made this stay the worst we had ever experienced in our 40 years of travel. We wanted to document this episode for all American travelers who are considering traveling to this region of France to avoid staying at the Manoir de Restigne Chateau in the Loire Valley.
I am happy to provide further details to those who are interested in learning more about this place. Please feel free to email me at mmusayev@aol.com.

Regards,
Mark Musayev

We can sympathise both with the recent "Worst experience ever" review and with the glowing ones! The design - of both the public areas and the rooms - is extraordinarily tasteful: the proprietor has an incredible eye. The pictures on the web don't do the place justice. Dinner was beautifully presented and tasty. The area is great for walking, cycling and signtseeing. But the experience was not terribly relaxing.

The hotel is really not suitable for young children, and it would probably be better for all concerned if it just made this clear. The proprietor tried to be accommodating - including a free upgrade to a large room - but the decor is too precious and we were constantly worried about our son putting his sticky fingers on things! There are notices everywhere forbidding things - taking photographs of the decor, eating one's own food in the rooms (but room service was not available), arriving after 6pm, doing almost anything near the pool. There seemed to be an assumption in the restaurant, particularly on the first evening, that as English we were ignorant about food and wine and needed tutoring.

All this sounds like condemnation - yet we would probably return for a night, as a couple. If one can take the place on its own terms - accept that the formality goes with the style of the place and laugh at the notices - one can enjoy excellent food, a quiet location and some amazing design. It would be better though if the proprietor relaxed a little and asked a native English speaker to rewrite his notices!

We stayed at this hotel for only one night on our way back to the UK from holiday in the Dordogne. Without going into great detail about the specifics of our stay, we found the gentleman on reception to be the rudest and most offhand person we have encountered in a hotel. Paying almost 300 Euros per night, one would expect to receive a first class service and to feel a little pampered. Quite the opposite here, we were made to feel as though we were 2nd class citizens who should have been grateful to be allowed to stay here.

The restaurant was closed when we arrived and there was no minibar or tea/ coffee in the room. There was no offer to even make a sandwich or bring some fruit or drinks (luckily we had some with us, and had them in the room, despite notices everywhere saying it was forbidden to bring your own food/ drink), and we had to carry all our own bags up the stairs, with a 4 year old child in tow. As soon as we arrived, we were told that the front door was about to be locked and the gate to the car park was to be locked.

Our room was lovely and very large, and the public areas of the hotel are beautifully decorated. Breakfast was completely OTT, and one was made to feel as though in a library, people talking in hushed voices and the stroppy man from reception sweeping through every now and again to peer superciliously at us over the top of his glasses.

The hotel is totally unsuitable for children. All in all, we couldn't wait to pack our bags and leave.