C-Hotel & Spa

As a Lifetime Platinum Bonvoy member with 999 nights in Marriott properties around the world, I intuitively knew from the moment I checked in after a LONG day of travel that I had in fact entered a Zen Zone, but in hindsight that was only foreshadowing for what was an incredible stay. C | Hotel & Spa is genuinely a full service private boutique family run hotel and spa with an incredible attention to detail and deliverables. With Maurizio I felt like I was checking into a private villa with my personalized concierge. Upon entering the quiet and clean rooms with premium amenities with a personalized hand written greeting note from one of the family members with some artesian treats from their in-house Bakery Cafe which is great for a mid afternoon cappuccino. The pastries are amazing, which are also part of the hotel restaurant where they serve an amazing gourmet breakfast with personalized service, but after my long day of travel on arrival day I dined in and Max “The Maestro” delivered a dining experience that made me feel he was my own private butler. A definite must. In fact it was so good I dined more than once during my stay which was fitting as the energy of the property is so calming, rejuvenating and revitalizing which brings me to my last incredibly memorable experience. C | Hotel and Spa has a really nice fully equipped private gym with premium fitness equipment and a comfortable garden views that is open 24/7, but with so much history with Marriott properties, as an adjunct but completely separate space they have a private spa that offers a Turkish Bath, a Hydrotherapy Plunge, and a cool and revitalized Kniepp water feature outdoors, and a most unexpected tray with complimentary bottled mineral water, fresh squeezed juice, a bowl of fruit, and or course a soothing tea. Wow! Private because you can book the spa as a private zen zone that is exclusively for the use of you (and your partner). An incredible setting that can easily rekindle one’s spirit and soul. Although it was a little on the cool side, being the time of year but they also have a roof top pool / lounge area that looks onto the mountains in the distance. All in all a great retreat to relax, breathe and grow….just book it and go. An incredible experience!

Let's start with the pros: - front desk staff are super friendly and do anything they can - Restaurant is delicious and server/manager is terrific - my meal was exceptional! And now the cons: - construction on the roof - this was not noted anywhere before arrival. I was given a room RIGHT under the drilling/hammering. I asked to move rooms after 5 minutes in the room - the sound was unbearable. I was told there were no free rooms on the second floor and all other rooms on the third floor would sound the same. Why would they rent rooms directly under the construction??? And why not inform people before hand??? Their solution was that I could go to the spa earlier than my reservation and could stay longer, until the noise stopped. That worked for that day, but I again heard the noise at 7am each morning, until 4-6pm each afternoon. -the "spa" - it is a warm little wading pool with jets, and a steam room. The steam room wasn't hot enough to be effective. There's also an outdoor water feature that was apparently for 'cooling off' from the steam room - no necessary, as per above, and it was weirdly visible from the gardens. -the owner's rules - I was leaving for a few hours and leaving my dog in the room (he's very good, and has done this at hotels around the world many, many times). I was stopped at reception and told the owner will not allow pets unattended. This was nowhere on the website or at check in. The front desk was very understanding, but was forced to follow the owner's rules. He called the owner, and the owner finally agreed to let me put down an extra 500 EUR deposit, as I was threatening to check out immediately. - room quality - the room is starting to show it's age. It was clearly designed and built by a 'fan of hotels' not a 'hotel professional'. The lighting panel is confusing, the square toilet is awkward, the bed was worn out and uncomfortable (don't get me started on the two twin mattresses masquerading as a king), and the windows from my particular room were directly visible to anyone coming from the parking lot = zero privacy. TL;DR: I went for a relaxing experience. It was not. But the restaurant was delicious. I will never stay there again.