Château de la Ballue

The house and room are not as advertised. There are cobwebs and dust in the room, it has an unpleasant odor and is overall, not well maintained. The paint is old, dirty and unpleasant to look at. The website looks amazing and lovely. Sadly, the house has not been maintained and the website does not reflect the condition of the property. The glass in the large mirror was mostly distorted and unpleasant to look at. The whole room is in need of a complete makeover. The office / reception desk had an overwhelmingly strong odor of cigarette smoke. The location is 20 minutes to the closest restaurant. I am very sorry to tell you that we were very disappointed.

We felt a bit like we had landed in Downton Abbey, however on a much smaller scale, but the interior of the several living rooms (and our bedroom) plus the setting for breakfast was certainly "grand". The house is decorated with taste, has lots of well maintained period furniture, an impressive amount of silver (from nick-nacks to table ware), china, chandeliers and candles, this certainly felt like visiting a noble family's country estate. Very comfortable bed in a huge room with windows overlooking the gardens in the back (we had the Chambre Perse). Very dark and quiet at night! The bathroom is simple with a single sink, low toilet and a bath with hand-held shower (no curtain). Fast hot water, huge towels and make-up mirrors. Breakfast is almost the best part with beautiful silverware, fine china, candelabras and a side-buffet with an extensive Continental breakfast. Staff will ask for coffee or tea and how you like your eggs (we had excellent cheese omelettes all 3 mornings we were there) and delicious warm crepes. All guests sit around a long table in the dining room, which also encourages conversation. The only negative I have to mention is that you have to drive at least 1/2 hour to get dinner. No restaurant on the premises. But there is an "honor-bar". And in the former stables next to the Chateau now is a gift shop that also sells snacks and homemade cakes for lunch or (as we did after an extensive lunch out), a light dinner, with wine by the bottle or the glass. The (very impressive) gardens are a treat for a morning walk and they're open to non-guest visitors as well. This was a wonderful stay to experience country living in a real Chateau in France. We recommend it and hope to return. The owners are a delightful French couple assisted by their sons. My wife and I traveled two weeks through Normandy and Brittany and this was one of our favorite stays.

This is a very special place. Comfortable rooms, pleasant breezes, excellent host and hostess. It's remote, so you need to plan your days carefully, but in August the sun doesn't really set till after 9 PM so you can drive the narrow roads to arrive at the castle without too much difficulty. You do need to plan dinners outside the castle, and the closest options aren't as interesting as St. Malo, which takes planning. My only tiny optimization to suggest would be to vary the breakfast variety. Thank you for letting me live my fantasy!

There are almost no words to describe how wonderful this is. Beautiful, obviously, but also entirely and exceptionally maintained and loved, the chateau (castle), gardens, grounds, everything. It feels like a home, and is. We were warmly greeted by Marie-Francoise and her sons, Theo and Alexandre, and their delightful Chesapeake Bay retrievers. Anticipation felt a bit intimidating (I've never been the guest of a chateau before), but no pretentions or arrogance here, just genuine love for the place and pleasure in sharing it. We relaxed by the large pool (there was shade, which I appreciated), had cocktails and breakfasts in the chateau parlors, and took morning and evening walks through the fascinating gardens. In June, the sun sets around 10 p.m. My husband, adult daughter, and I stayed in the Suite de France, and it was spacious, with comfy beds and fine linens, two bedrooms, a sitting room, and the beautiful view. The rural landscape is lovely. We explored surrounding villages, and all the restaurants were good. Events are occasionally held on site, and we experienced one. It was well managed, not overwhelming, and we were welcomed to join the festivities. A brief heatwave struck during our stay (temps in the 90s) but it remained remarkably cool inside the chateau's stone walls. We were provided a fan, and with the windows open at night slept well.

We were two couples who stayed for 4 nights at the castle and all of us absolutely loved our experience there. The building itself is beautiful, and the owners have taken exceptional care to make the interiors not only aesthetically charming, but also warm and welcoming. The gardens are simply stunning - anyone interested in gardening should definitely make a trip here to see the Italian, French & English sections of the huge garden. We particularly enjoyed the chance to go to a sauna in the garden, with a hot tub right next to it. The breakfast is wonderful, and we were also impressed by the well-stocked honour bar in the salon. The cherry on top of the cake is the family and staff who run the place - always friendly, professional and accommodating. We had a simply perfect stay in one of the most beautiful places we frequent travelers have ever been to - highly recommended! Merci!!