Chambres d’hôtes began as a way for farmers to supplement their income by letting out a spare room or two, and allowing the guest to join the family for an evening meal. It has come a long way since then, and many of the most beautiful and special places to stay in France are chambres d’hôtes. Although the closest equivalent in English terms is a Bed & Breakfast, you will see that this label really does not fit.

The legacy of its beginnings is the idea of guests being invited into the hosts’ home, and eating at their table rather than the formal nature of a hotel.  In a chambres d’hôtes generally the guests are not expected to be in the house during the day, but return for their evening meal, if they require one.  However, because we encourage the use of our grounds, and enjoy having guests with young children, we do not expect this, although there will occasionally be times when the Chateau will be closed during the day. We do not have staff, so please do let us know if you will be around during the day, or give us a ring if you expect to arrive or need access to the house early in the day, but we will always let you know in advance if this happens.

Our normal check-in time is 5.00pm (but please ask if you need to arrive earlier), and our check-out time is 11.00am, but again, if you would like to extend this, then please ask, and we will always try to accommodate you.

A chambres d’hôtes does not provide the 24-hour service that some hotels do, but we are nearly always on site should a guest require assistance. For the 2006 season we are providing a tea room with fridge, kettle, bottle warmer, steriliser, for guests’ use. An iron and trouser press are also available. Although we do not have a washing machine for guests, we are happy to do a wash, on request. We are also happy to provide wine or tea and coffee on arrival and in the afternoon/evening. We have an excellent wine list available for guests.

A corkage fee of €10 per bottle is payable for wine consumed but not purchased from the Chateau, a similar charge applies for other alcoholic drinks.

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Tables d’hôtes means that we provide an evening meal. We are not allowed to serve lunch. The evening meal must be a set menu (ours changes daily) and can only be served at one sitting. Hosts and guests are expected to eat together. We are obliged to serve local produce and produce grown on our land where possible. Luckily, the Limousin has a fantastic gourmet tradition, and the kitchen garden at the chateau is large and rich enough to produce a great deal of our own fruit and vegetables. All our fruit and vegetables are produced without the use of chemicals.

Tables d’hôtes is one of the most enjoyable experiences at the chateau. We are lucky enough to have always had a good mix of guests, whose conversation has been stimulating, interesting and funny, and we hope this will always be the case. The style of cooking at the chateau is both sophisticated and unfussy, since we prefer to let the quality of our ingredients shine though. As well as serving local specialities, we also sometimes serve Portuguese and South African food, drawing on our own traditions.

A typical meal consists of appetisers and aperitifs (a nominal charge of €4) and then five courses, followed by coffee/tea/tisanes and includes wine.  We also provide a full bar service for those eating at the chateau, and has included since the 2005 season an excellent wine list. We do not offer Table d'hôtes evening meals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There are however many local restaurants that we would be more then happy to advise you upon.

Please let us know in advance if you are vegetarian or have any food allergies.