Château de Courban and Spa Nuxe

Very French

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The property is nice, comfortable and clean.

The cocktails at the pool are expensive and very poorly prepared!! The biggest disappointment was the restaurant. For a 1 Michelin star restaurant the organization was chaotic, many waiters did not speak french and it was difficult for non-english speakers to understand the dish presentation and we were served slowwwww….It was not even close to a Michelin experience. Drinks very very expensive as well. Basically we paid a little fortune for an average experience.

We returned to Château de Courban after several years because we had very fond memories of previous stays. Unfortunately this particular visit did not live up to those memories, but I think it is equally important to say that the hotel’s response afterwards was excellent. Patricia on reception was extremely kind and professional throughout, and when we wrote to management afterwards our concerns were acknowledged fully and without defensiveness. The hotel confirmed that the maintenance and service issues we raised were being reviewed and offered a very generous 50% reduction on our accommodation, together with waiving the charge for our two dogs. That is exactly how a good hotel should respond when a stay goes wrong, and we appreciated the way the matter was handled.

There were unfortunately several issues during the stay. The first Prestige Suite had a large number of flies and mosquitoes, insect marks on the walls and a faulty sink plug, so we were moved to another suite. The second room was better in that respect, but the sofa in the sitting area was so worn and collapsed that it was effectively unusable. The French doors did not lock properly, internet access was virtually non-existent and parts of the room and wider property felt tired and in need of maintenance. The decking around the grounds in particular looked worn and patchily repaired. We also specifically arranged breakfast for 7.30am because we had a Le Shuttle crossing to catch and were assured that this would be possible. Unfortunately it did not arrive until around 8.50am, which made what should have been a relaxed departure unnecessarily stressful. These were genuine issues and I hope the hotel follows through on the maintenance and service improvements they have told us are now being reviewed.

Nice place, just what you expect when selecting this “manor-style” accommodation. The decoration of our room was charming, in sweet and relaxing colors. Bedding was of high quality, really top. The bed was just perfect, not too soft, not too hard.

We regret the heating was not switched-on before our arrival and, in fact, the heating did not work. So we experienced a pretty cold room in this rather fresh end of April. When emptying the bath tub we observed some water on the floor due to a leak in the water evacuation piping. Upon arrival, the half-empty water surface in the middle of the yard was dirty so the first impression was not so positive. Dog’s excrement in the gravel in the garden is a matter of more discipline by the guests accompanied by their dog but also requires more attention by the staff. This place has a gastronomic restaurant but we found sending four reminders inviting not to forget to book a table too pushy, certainly not pleasant. And asking again when checking-in whether we REALLY do not intend to book for the dinner was superfluous.