Château de Berne

After you see the sign off the D10, it’s a 15 minute anticipatory drive toward the grand entrance. You will not be disappointed, the grounds are breathtaking. If you arrive after sunset, go slowly as the directional signs are not lit and they are small. When you come to a fork in the road, stay right. Methi in Reception provided a warm welcome, offering a gel for my sisters’s sore back. We benefited from her attentive hospitality and missed her on her days off. Our six day stay was magical, enhanced by the most wonderful staff. They brought my sister a large heavy plastic sealed bag of ice for her sore back. Three days in, Rhazi, from room service, brought her another without her asking. Kevin in Engineering showed us how to operate the tv and returned to change batteries in our room phone. Nightly, Rhazi and others from Room Service, brought a wine bucket full of ice for our room, as Americans, we love ice, even in bottled water. Our Junior Suite with terrace with seating for six was perfect, providing the extra room we needed for an extended stay. The setting was extremely quiet, even over the busy weekend. We appreciated the little touches - bottled water for our car each morning, bottled water for the room every night along with a little sweet which changed nightly. The buffet breakfast offerings were endless: order eggs cooked to your liking, pancakes, French toast, smoked salmon, a large cheese selection, cereals and granolas, homemade bread and endless breakfast pastries. You’ll take your breakfast in the stunning Le Jardin Michelin star restaurant. We ordered Room Service three nights, tired from a day of touring the area and preferring not to go out. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Even on the night when the kitchen was closed, a staff member brought us a modified menu. Try the artichoke barigoule with bacon and onion, it was a nice surprise, more like a light vegetable soup. Treat yourself with an extended stay, you will not be disappointed.

We visited as a group of 9 girls and had an amazing time. Easy to find something for everybody - the hikes are easy but picturesque, the SPA is great, and the property itself is so beautiful. The sporty part of our group went to Gorge Du Verdon for rafting, and the other part chose to drive to Les Arcs to explore the medieval old town - both were enjoyable. We loved the rooms, too - classic doubles all seem to have balconies which is a nice feature. A bit of a wrinkle is that our room had a bit of a stale odour but it was gone once we opened the balcony door. Kept it open overnight which felt nice, no mosquitoes. Breakfast was great in terms of food quality; service a tad slow. The staff were nice and helpful throughout. Swimming in the heated pool was very comfortable in early May.

We didn’t stay here at the Chateau but had a visit to the winery and around the grounds. It’s beautiful and well worth a visit. The vineyard and gardens are extremely well kept and it was lovely to be able to enjoy the outdoor space and walk around at our leisure. There is a lot to explore away from the main area of the hotel, although the hotel is lovely from what we seen inside it was nice to see the surrounding gardens. Take your time to look around the shop too, as well as the wine and the souvenirs there are some lovely food items, sweet and savoury to purchase.