Chateau de la Bourdaisiere

A genuine chateau in acres of beautiful parkland with a market garden attached. The latter produces mainly tomatoes and these feature prominently on the menu! The rooms are very individualistic but well appointed and very comfortable. We were in the Pavillion where the rooms are a the top of steep staircase so may not be suitable for everyone. The evening meal is a fixed menu and gets booked up quickly. Excellent breakfasts.

We paid premium price for Chateau rooms (2), but we got the cheapest rooms (one of them doesn’t even have shower) in return. We talked to the manager and he was rude and didn’t have any respect towards us. Nothing was resolved and no compensation and apologies was given. Don’t go there!!

On our last day during our Loire Valley trip, we came across this castle and we allocated around 2 hours visiting it and walking around it. As we were there out of season, there were no crowds around, it was extremely serene. The gardens were enchanting, with some art installations and music. Each castle in the area is known for something special and this caste's speciality is tomatoes. There is a castle shop where everything about tomatoes is sold here from tomato paste to tomato seeds or tomato patterned clothing. Inside of the castle is a bit sombre but it fits the spirit of a castle. We were sorry we have not stayed here during our visit. Maybe next time.

We recently chose the Bar a Tomates for our wedding lunch. While the ambiance of the venue was lovely and the food satisfactory, we encountered some challenges with the service. On a rainy day, our guests were directed to park at the park entrance, which required them to walk a considerable distance in the rain, even though there was an available parking lot closer to the restaurant, which we later found out was reserved for hotel guests. It was disappointing to see restaurant golf carts passing by our drenched guests without offering assistance or umbrellas, even to the bride. Upon our arrival, it seemed the staff-to-guest ratio was off balance, with 3 waiters attending to 30 guests, making it a bit difficult for them to cater to our needs efficiently. There were also some oversights like not offering drinks or assistance in rearranging the tables, and our request for towels for our wet guests was not accommodated. We reached out to the management with our concerns, but unfortunately, did not receive the response we hoped for. If considering this venue for special event, it might be helpful to set clear expectations upfront.

We knew we were staying in the stable block as the chateau was full. Perhaps some guests would be less disappointed if the hotel called it “the stables” rather than “the pavilion”. Our room was huge but the mattress felt old and uncomfortable. “The tomato bar” is very basic and no substitute for an actual restaurant. Our set 3 course meal (with a laminated drinks list that had a choice of one red or white wine- unforgivable in The Loire Valley) was served with neither love nor flavour and we feel that the chateau needs an a la carte restaurant and guest bar. We didn’t feel that asking reception for a pre or post dinner drink was a good guest experience so we did without. As for breakfast, we were told we had to order it in advance and it was “sweet” therefore any savouries such as cheese, ham or eggs were “supplementary” but no cost was given so we cancelled breakfast. The grounds are a real asset to the property but we just didn’t “get” the children’s story theme. We found zero reference to the history of the building and we had to Google it. Why spend so much time and money on a children’s theme park in the garden and nothing for adults? We stay in a lot of chateaux in France and despite the friendly reception staff, probably won’t return. It has so much potential but feels currently underwhelming.

I would have given more but the aircon in our room was totally inadequate and so we did not get a lot of sleep Breakfast was nice and simple and pleasant breakfast room We would stay again but in a different room Pleasant location with restaurants nearby