Name: Chateau Lardier
Address: 1 Lardier, 33350 Ruch, France, Ruch, Ruch, Ruch, 33350, France
Rating: 8

Location

Roumanieres Airport

Bordeaux Botanical Garden

Pont de Pierre

National Museum of Customs

Grosse Cloche

Place de la Bourse

Vinet Square

Bordeaux Wine and Trade Museum

Quinconces Square

Aquitaine Museum

Grand Theater of Bordeaux

Place des Quinconces

Notre Dame Church

National Centre Jean Moulin

Cathedrale St. Andre

Les Grands Hommes

Decoratives Arts Museum

Jardin Public

Place Gambetta

Natural History Museum

Musee des Beaux-Arts

Bordeaux–Merignac Airport

Chateau Lardier

Ruch

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

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6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

If you are looking for a warm welcome to the Bordeaux region we cannot recommend Chateau Lardier as a place to stay. 

We stayed here because we were attending a wedding in the area and this was the venue for one of the events so it was convenient for us as we were traveling with a two-month old baby. The 4 star rating on a TripAdvisor lead us to believe  that this would be pleasant accommodation, but we were disappointed on a daily basis. It seems clear that the owners are not incentivized to make any effort at all, and that good service is not something they aspire to.

The building and room we stayed in were fine. But here are some of the things that put a damper on our experience:

1) the only flight available from Norway landed quite late, so we arrived at Lardier at around 22.00. When we emailed in advance to hear if it would be possible to have some food (something easy like cheese and bread) available when we arrived (since restaurants and shops would be closed then) we were bluntly told to "eat on the plane".

2) The breakfast is typically French: one croissant, a baguette, jam and honey, and a yoghurt each. If you enjoy the luxury of a more diverse breakfast when holidaying (eggs, bacon, fresh fruit etc) then this is not the place for you.

3) We bought some cheese and bread to snack on between various wedding events (having a tiny baby is not always conducive to restaurants and standard mealtimes) and when we asked the owners of Lardier if we could borrow a knife to cut the cheese we were told "no eating in the rooms, this is the rule, and no drinking either!"

This is the first time we have stayed in a hotel that doesn't allow one to eat in one's room (in fact most hotels have room service - which we would have welcomed if this was available here), so we found this to be quite strange. What was stranger however was how unwilling the owners were to help us with a solution - if they were worried about food in the room attracting animals (we had the pleasure of finding a snake on the stairwell during our stay so perhaps the owners are wary of letting people eat in the rooms because more snakes will be attracted to the house?) then why not let us have our little snack in the dining area where we had breakfast? Absolutely no attempt was made to help us whatsoever - by this point they were treating us like an inconvenience.

4) The estate also rents out a cottage, which is where another group of guests attending the same wedding as us were staying. We were therefore told that our final two breakfasts would be "served" in the cottage (in order to save the owners the apparently huge inconvenience of setting a table for two people in the main house). 
We arrived at the cottage at around 08.30 (as one is generally awake early with a 2 month old baby) to find a tray had been left in the passage with croissants and baguettes and nothing else. The occupants of the cottage (who we were not acquainted with and are in a very different life phase to us) were still fast asleep after a late night and we didn't feel comfortable waking them up by sitting in their kitchen whilst eating breakfast with our child (who doesn't know how to whisper yet).  Since eating in our room was "against the rules" we then just had to eat a croissant each while walking back to the main house. 

On the second morning of the "cottage breakfast" arrangement we asked if we could please sit in the main house and were met with a flat refusal and made to feel like scolded children for daring to ask. Again there was zero interest in trying to accommodate us, which was surprising as this is not a cheap backpacker hostel and the request we were making hardly seemed unreasonable or excessive.

5) Other small things like the fact that during our 5 night stay we never received a new set of towels, our bed was not made (let alone room cleaned) every day, and the toiletries available were 2 shower caps and a hand wash that "can be used as shampoo and shower gel" made the experience of Lardier as a low-level BnB complete. 

I recognize that this is the home of the owners (their house, their rules) but for the price one pays to stay here one would expect better service, and if you are looking for a great holiday experience at a hospitable, welcoming place in the winelands I would recommend staying anywhere else but Lardier. We will certainly not be back, but I'm sure the owners couldn't care less ;)

Pretty, but...

We stayed with our little daughter for four days in August. The house and the place are wonderful. The owners have splendidly restored the old chateau, everything has been done with charm and taste. The attention to guests is excellent. The house is located in a beautiful area (surrounded by vineyards), the park is lovely and there is also an enjoyable pool. Breakfast every day was very good. Absolutely recommended.

Superb!

My wife and I fell in love with this fabulous oasis of peace near Saint Emilion. The owners have infused this marvelous Chateau Bordelais with a delicate and divine soul best symbolized by the Rose Fragonard whose scent is subtle yet lasting . The owner was once the head of the villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in St Jean Cap Ferrat so we had the feeling of being in the heart of Bordeaux region with a touch of floral flavours  of the Côte d'Azur . A perfect romantic escape and also ,as we discovered , a perfect place to host a wedding weekend. 

Absolutely charming , warm and delicious welcome

The perfect place to spend a long weekend, or a week. The owners are taking care of their hosts greatfully. It is a very good bargain, and I would recommend it to my family and friends. The garden is very pleasant and the swimming pool is awesome.

Chateau Lardier

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