Château de Candie

This chateau is actually a mansion build on remnants of a very old fortress, enlarged, reformed and refurbished. The owner must be an antique fan because the hotel is full of antique and old pieces of furniture and decorative items, all very nice. The experience has to be understood as in a 4 star hotel. Basically service and maintenance could be better if they could afford more personnel. Our room was usually very late serviced, the bathroom had details which lacked proper cleaning, the sofa had stains, the pool solarium had weeds growing between the pavement. Everything I mentioned can be improved. We had a Prestige type of room. They all differ very much in size and furnishings. The first we were assigned had no king bed so we asked for a change. In France it is common to encounter beds of 170 and 180 cm wide. The second one was very large with an oversized nice bathroom, a sofa, large writing desk and king bed 200 cm. They serve a buffet breakfast where nothing is missing. Fresh baguettes and croissants, plus eggs, etc etc. The restaurant is pretty, the menu is OK and the quality of food is average, and so are the prices ( very reasonable ). The pool is nice but not heated. A detail I did not like are cats roaming around the public areas with their feeding dishes at sight. The hotel is on a hill inside a huge park and overlooking a residential area, in the suburbs of Chambery. A car is mandatory.

32°c and humid. Our room had no A/C and opening the windows and a fan just didn't help. A sleepless night for a very 4* price. No apologies from a young and inexperienced staff. In summer stay somewhere else. Dinner on the patio was fine, but they were short staffed and patience was needed.

Positive: Great pool, nice park area and good parking. Impressive building and decor. Negative: Too loud music everywhere and all the time... In the pool area, reception, bar etc. We prefer the natural sounds of birds and cicadas. The receptionist was not polite or welcoming when we 10:00 pm (July 9th) asked him to lower the music level in the bar as we could hear it loud and clear in our room (room 105 above the bar). He denied this, even though there was no one in the bar - and he wouldn't do it later either (e.g. 11:00 pm) - "My manager has told me I'll be fired if I turn the music down", he said. I asked to speak to the manager but was told he would not be at the hotel for the next few days. I think it is strange management when the employees are afraid of being fired if they want to meet the needs of their guests. Bad breakfast experience: When we came for breakfast at 9.30 am there were only a few things left at the breakfast buffet (no bread, croissants, juice or plates). Bad dining experience: The restaurant served average food at high prices, there were flies everywhere and bad service... we were asked to go down to the bar to pay but there was no staff at the bar and we had to wait there until 5- 10 minutes. Why couldn't we just pay at the table or someone could bring us the bill?

A sublime *****setting. Beautiful landscapes and outbuildings yet there is an air of ‘good times long gone’. The rooms need a facelift, internet is spotty, the staff snooty, hot water takes forever etc, the breakfast is dull. The pool is unheated. We skipped the restaurant as their menu appeared standard and the prices are high. We paid €160/night for a “luxe room” which is fairly adequate but definitely not worth more.