Domaine de Rochevilaine

We stayed for two nights in the room ‘Manoir de la Mine d’Or, which is actually more like a private house without kitchen facilities. The room was excellent, with fabulous views and great privacy. Both nights we ate in the restaurant, the lobster menu being very enjoyable. The bar is also a great place for a drink before a meal. I have stayed before, several years ago, and would happily return.

I am fortunate enough to have stayed in very exclusive 5* hotels all over the world, but this one is disappointing. The building is old and characterful, the sea views spectacular, but our room, although large and clean, was dull and gloomy. I did not want to spend any more time in it than I had to The staff are well trained to be polite and 'friendly', but there is no real soul here. The restaurant is a very serious affair, serving ridiculously over styled food - every dish seemed to have several purees or emulsions, and all the ingredients were rolled, filleted or sculpted and transformed into miniscule decorations. Beautiful to look at, but just too many flavours, and in the end, not very satisfying to eat. I began to wonder how many hands had touched these intricate works of art. Each dish required such a lengthy verbal explanation of provenance and method of preparation, that in the end, I just had to laugh at the pretentiousness of it all. And don't get me started on the breakfast! Well OK ... I see from other reviews that we could have had eggs prepared to our own taste, but that wasn't mentioned the night before, when we were (quite firmly) asked to order one of the set breakfast menus after our supper. We were a party of eight (four couples) and didn't all arrive at the breakfast table together, but nothing could be served until we were all present - not even coffee. Finally it all arrived, but it was theatre again! A soft boiled egg 'en gelee' looked cold and slippery (and apparently was). An unmemorable 'eel flan' would have fitted into an egg cup (a quail's egg cup). But the coffee was excellent. I feel for the chef and waiting staff who clearly work very hard to provide creative dishes and impeccable service. But it's all a bit too orchestrated and formal. As one of our party said: "we are paying for an experience", but I wasn't sure it was one I truly enjoyed. Perhaps I missed the point.