Le Pigonnet - Esprit de France

Service Quality: The staff is frequently praised for being exceptionally attentive and helpful, contributing to a high-quality service experience. Many guests highlight the staff's kindness and attention to detail, ensuring a memorable stay.

I feel bad that I'm leaving such a bad review but this felt like a big scam and I'm very unhappy that we paid this amount of money for a hotel that is in reality a 2-star at best. - The corridors of the hotel were very shabby and tired, our room very disappointing. Very basic, old (but not charming) furniture, worn walls and doors, badly lit. A place you don't want to spend time in, so we tried to be out as much as possible. - The WC didn't have a functioning light and despite telling staff 3 times during our stay, nobody bothered to even come and investigate. We were using our phone torches whenever we had to go to the toilet.. - The bathroom was moudly, old, in desperate need of renovation, the door even had a big visible hole which no one had bothered to even cover. See photos taken. - Amenities in the room: none. A mini bar with only water and nothing else. - Lighting of the room was very poor and in the entrance it was practically non-existent. - Worst of all: my husband took one of the clean rolled towels after a shower and it had blood on it! Not just gross but a health hazard. See photo. - Staff were at a loss every time we asked for the simplest thing. Although some were friendly and tried what they could, it was clear that they don't receive adequate training and that the management is grossly lacking. We kept hearing the phrase "c'est pas possible" for whatever we asked, staff don't communicate among them (when we told one of the housekeeping people about the WC light not working, she said we should tell the front desk. Another example: when we asked the front desk if they could book us into the spa, as the spa therapist was engaged at the time, they said no and we had to go directly to the spa and wait). Most times there was no one at the front desk when we entered or exited the hotel, instead they hung out in the side room. There were other little things too but it's not even worth me mentioning them as the hotel failed us in every way. I have stayed in 3-star hotels that were better. In fact last year I stayed at the small Cezanne hotel for a couple of days and it was far better and its price reflected what I was getting. What infuriates me with Le Pigonnet is that the price they charge is too far off from what it is and also the fact that they have 5 stars. Very deceptive! I will certainly write to the bodies that award the stars as this is a rip-off that shouldn't be happening. Some positive things among our ruined holidays: - some staff try what they can (some don't). - grounds are full of charm and the hotel has a lot of potential if given the right investment and management. - the spa and gym were the only areas that were actually renovated and were very nice. - I had a fabulous massage with one of the massage therapists.

Friendly staff. Nice breakfast and grounds. This is not a 5 star hotel. Rooms are small with substandard furnishings similar to 2 and 3 star hotels. Hotel is tired. Handicap parking not near entrance. Location is a long walk to the Aix center. The hotel is not a Relais &Chateau hotel brand which has higher standards.