Château Brachet

We were wowed when we drove up the hill to the château by the gorgeous flowers bordering the driveway. Virginie, the front office manager, and Alice were very welcoming (and helped bring in all of our luggage). Actually, all of the staff were kind, professional, and friendly. Brigit, one of the housekeepers, even bought Dimitri mango juice at the store. Our room had been personalized, and we were brought complimentary fruit and flowers. The Swiss owner, Jean-Michel Belin, had painstakingly restored the château during a 10-year period; he did a good job. Our Signature Suite (561.42€ per night with breakfast) was a tribute to Queen Victoria (who visited Aix-les-Bain). It was one of our most idiosyncratic rooms in all of our years of travel. At 55 m², it was also tight for us for a week. There was a nice entry with a portmanteau for our jackets and backpacks. Off of it was a large terrace overlooking the gardens in the back of the property. Unfortunately, we never used it in October—too cold. Across from the front door was a minibar with drawers and storage for our snacks. There was a Nespresso machine with lots of coffee pods and lots of bottled water. From there, a narrow hallway led to the bedroom, and off of it was one of the world’s smallest toilet rooms (with a tiny sink). It had an unusually heavy door that was difficult to open (and keep open) and that slammed shut--really fast. We didn’t think an obese person could get in and use that toilet. Also off of that hallway was the bathroom with a huge, old-fashioned, painted bathtub, a large shower (with 2 shower heads) that did not produce water that was hot enough (but a plumber was called to fix it). We learned that we had to push in the control to change the water temperature. There was a small Victorian-looking vanity with 2 sinks and almost no counter space. Instead of counter space, there was a piece of furniture for people’s stuff and, off of the bathroom, was a sauna that proved useful as a storage room for us. The bedroom had a desk and room for a table for Audre’s laptop. There was a large chest of drawers and a very small closet. There was a divan instead of a sofa and a poorly placed TV on the wall. There was a very unique high-backed chair with a domed canopy of sorts, maybe called a balloon chair. Somehow, we both unpacked and put our suitcases in the sauna room. So, the carefully decorated, vintage room looked good. The large windows looked out on the property and flowers. The vintage fixtures on for the window latches were quirky and we had to call for help to close them. M. Belin came and voilà, he closed the window. The heating system was unique and sometimes we could not get the room cool enough; sometimes we could not get the room warm enough. The breakfast was à la carte and we could order porridge made the way we like it or eggs benedict or other breakfast items. It was a treat to have French toast also made the way we like it. There was freshly squeezed orange juice

Very disappointing. Initial welcome reception was arrogant; offered no help to lug two heavy suitcases up two flights of stairs; did not explain codes to manage entry into building, so when we had to go back and ask, treated their new guests as thick - and all should have been clear. Wondered whether this staff attitude was a one off but at breakfast following two day, service went from bad to worse - forgetting orders, not appreciated being told that things were missing after waiting 30 min; claiming they were never ordered, and then recalling they were - no apology. Everything clients fault. Returning at midnight, no exterior lighting to park so you stumble around. Beautiful setting but service lets the whole place down - maybe no wonder that hotel has won no awards. Definitely not 4 / 5 star standards