Château de Behen

The host was excellent, we had a wonderful time

Nothing

Excellent chateau with lovely grand rooms.

Perhaps more selection at breakfast but everything else really was great.

A very personal and special experience - we were all made to feel so at ease in this grand house which yet feels like a comfortable family home. Our suite was enormous and delighted the children (and dog) running in loops though the circuit of doors. We used it as a stop over on the way back before the tunnel and rather than being a functional stay just of the A28 (which it also is) it extended the fun of our holiday. Very friendly hosts and lovely breakfast.

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!