Hôtel Restaurant La Roseraie

Avoid like the plague - I spent quite a bit of time emailing back and forth with this hotel to book my family (including my 5yr old daughter) and pets. I sent my credit card and received a confirmation only to show up after a very long drive to find no one in hotel management had ever bothered to actually book the room regardless of my email confirmation direct from the hotel. They found a small terrible LOUD room across the road far below the standard I had booked. Completely ruined our vacation. Did not even offer a glass of water to myself or my child on a hot day while we waited for them to sort through the mess. Absolutely unbelievable. They also asked us what time we would like to have dinner…. did not have our dinner reservations which of course… I also had an email confirmation for.

Having read other reviews about this hotel I had to double check that they were referring to the same La Roserie in Chenonceaux that we stayed in last week as they were unrecognisable as being the same hotel we resided in. We had booked a comfort room online as part of our little tour around the grand Chateaux of the Loire, and at £150 per night (once our dinner had been included £275) was the most expensive choice of the week. To say we expected considerably more would be an understatement. The entire hotel is tired, dated & in dire need of a makeover & upgrade. Rooms are a throwback to the mid-eighties with "Auntsie" floral patterned carpets & flocked, peeling wall paper. Yes the bed was large & comfortable but the en-suite bathroom had been half improved & the door squeaked so alarmingly it could've come from the set of Carry on Dracula. We dined at the restaurant only because to not have would've meant not to dine at all - there was no other place open to choose from. Our fellow guests were senior Americans who presumably had fallen for the French damask tablecloths & set menu schtick which at €47ph was way above what it should've been for what was served. The choice of food was fairly limited for non-meat eaters & wine by the glass thin pickings; the service stiff, verging on unfriendly & inattentive. In all this hotel is way overpriced both for the accomodation & dining experience offered relying on its location & past glory to justify such a high price when considered alongside other, far better decorated, more modern hotels available in the same region that we enjoyed during the same trip.

We loved our time at La Roserie. It was a great base for our group cycle tour. Lovely breakfast with all the trimmings, pool to relax around and a delicious dinner in the garden. Rooms were clean and comfortable.

The best option in Chenonceaux. The staff are lovely, the garden is shady and peaceful, and the pool is very refreshing after a hot day sightseeing. Just a couple of minutes walk from the chateau. Easy parking at the back. No regrets staying here.

The hotel is charming with a nice enclosed garden but the restaurant is to be avoided. The fish served to my wife was barely eatable (she tried but couldn’t finish it) and the desert (called « millefeuille ») a disgrace to French cuisine. As one of our friends said : « They are taking advantage of the captive audience ».

Delightful 'family run' type hotel with charming post war Italian Riveria style architectural and design elements.