Château de Behen

It was authentic chateau hosted by a wonderful gentleman and we had a fabulous one night stay here

There was nothing to not like at all. It was perfect and the host genuinely cared about us having a wonderful stay

We have stayed at Chateau De Behen several times and we love it. The owner is always very welcoming and helpful. The rooms are always clean and comfortable and it is in a lovely setting. We will definitely be back again soon.

A lovely old Chateau with lot of charm. . The host was very welcoming and communication was very good. There was a delicious continental breakfast with croissants, cheese, ham bread etc and good coffee.

The building exterior remains undeniably handsome. The grounds are now home to various farm animals, including a cow and its calf, a 3 day old foal, 2 alpaca, geese and a cat. This added new levels of quirkiness, and some excitement when the calf escaped from its field and started running around the grounds! Breakfast was ok, with croissants and bread from a local bakery.

There should be a universally accepted term to describe run-down Chateaux used as hotels. Not shabby chic. Shabby-yes, chic-no. Faded-Chateau? Once inside, the hotel felt like staying at an elderly relative’s dilapidated house. Charming, I think, is the obligatory word to use. The decor looked like it was last updated in the 1980s (peeling wallpaper, mismatched new floorboards etc). The place would obviously require significant investment to bring up to boutique hotel standards, and it’s difficult to see it getting the footfall to repay such a cost. At £300 a night, I expect this was a scant contribution to the running costs, but at the same time, you are left wondering what the fee gets you, apart from a dusty room. Like many similar places, you are left wondering what it was like in its heyday, and at what point the decline started. Which brings me back to my first point - setting expectations. Chateaux photograph generously, and reviews are subject to experience and expectations of similar destinations. Judging by the visitor book, many people find the chateau endearing and enjoy their visit. We would probably opt for a cleaner, spruced-up hotel in future. This kind of detail is concealed by standard descriptions and reviews, so maybe a tag of “faded-Chateau” should be added to aid future hotel searches!