Relais & Chateaux Hotels in Gargas

We stayed on Saturday and Sunday nights at the hotel. 1. Location and views are absolutely stunning especially on a sunny day. 2. One of the Hotel’s restaurant turned us away at 8 pm on Saturday night saying they were fully booked. Every hotel of this calibre always retains tables for hotel guests hence this was bad service. Plus at check in on the same morning the receptionist did not say that it was advisable to book the restaurants in advance. It was clear that there were empty tables in the restaurant at the time plus numerous non-resident guests. We bumped into the hotel manager and gave our feedback. We ended up eating at the bar. The food was ok. 3. We had lunch at Cipressa restaurant next to the pool which is so lovely. Pity that this restaurant only opens from 12-3pm! Many guests with families would prefer to dine here in the evening in summer months. This is by far the best restaurant in the hotel. 4. The outdoor pool which is the biggest draw of this hotel was closed on Sunday due to rain. We were out and as the rain stopped around 4 pm and sun came out we rushed back to the hotel to enjoy the evening by the pool. Sadly the hotel didn’t bother to open up the pool and bar and the facilities were locked. We saw a few people rushing out of their rooms in costumes to the pool only to be disappointed. There was no staff present to explain why the hotel didn’t bother to open up the outdoor pool. Again disappointing service for a hotel of this level. 5. We hired a smart car from the hotel and this was useful. The hotel is literally in the middle of nowhere and quoted €50 for a ride to a restaurant which was 5 minutes by road. Hence hire your own car! 6. We used the spa and booked massages. Massages were good. Indoor pool was barely used as no one wanted to be indoors in the basement. 7. We had a disappointing incident whereby housekeeping left a dirty towel which we discovered as we opened it before a shower ( photo below). We showed the photo on check-out and staff did apologise but that’s about it. 8. Some staff were good but some quite surly and stiff like the spa receptionist. 9. There is a real contrast to the ambience on Saturday night when place was buzzing due to non resident guests compared to Sunday night when the place was literally dead. A few guests were walking around on Sunday evening trying to find some atmosphere. We ended up going out for dinner to a lovely local restaurant. 10. Worth knowing for families that there isn’t a door between the bedroom and bathroom. Maybe some rooms do offer it but ours didn’t. Overall a mixed experience and a bit deflating considering it is part of Relais & Chateax. There is so much potential in this place which needs to be tapped into.