Hotel le Saint-James Bouliac

This hotel has a wonderful setting in a charming suburban hamlet overlooking the city centre of Bordeaux. It was designed by French ‘starchitect’ Jean Nouvel in the late 1980s. The buildings added to the complex at that time have not stood the test of time well. Their external appearance is of rusting agricultural or industrial units with interior design reminiscent of speculative offices. Nouvel seems to have been experimenting with the building type and wilfully defied many of the conventions which international travellers expect in luxury accommodation eg. low grade specification and inappropriate design of bedroom fixtures and fittings. The excessively high beds are particularly odd. We would recommend that the hotel should implement a comprehensive refit of the bedrooms to current standards. In terms of service we got a sense of detachment in our dealings with hotel management. Junior staff were more anxious to help but inexperienced. They appeared to have been inadequately briefed with limited knowledge of hotel systems and lines of communication eg. failure of reception to pass on our requirements for dinner led to awkwardness in the restaurant.

An extraordinary 4 day stay. Great place, exquisite table, friendly and professional staff. This place is really a gem amongst the Relais & Châteaux venues. It would be a crime not to book a table there during your stay.

The location is great! If you want to stay outside Bordeaux… it’s in a tiny village of Bouliac with a stunning church, town hall, park and a delicious l’esperance restaurant that is part of the hotel. Shower is powerful and beds comfortable! We could see the sunset from bed because it’s high on purpose so it was memorable. Everyone is very kind and we had a welcome glass of grape juice at our arrival… the swimming pool wasn’t heated at the time of our staying … a good reason to come back in summer !!!

Wonderful property. Very pleasant setting. Only 20 minutes from there center of Bordeaux. HOWEVER, do NOT try to drive to Bordeaux from this hotel. It took me more than one hour because of the horrible traffic, the oneway streets, the street closures, etc.. even with Gps.Likewise for returning to the hotel from the city center

Really disappointing and ordinary. Poor service. The pool was nice - but no towels. The view was nice but the food was very disappointing.

Settings great, team friendly so just sad I cannot rate it higher. Quite disappointed with a few things which let the hotel down (and we have been fortunate to stay in several Relais & Chateaux group hotels so were a bit surprised generally)… parking : access to parking not very clear, had to go in get a code and then access the parking. Bit tiring after a long drive.. rooms : the rooms are sizable but the air conditioning was broken which the team sighted but did nothing to correct so it was left faulty all night , room style is a bit dated too.. more 2003 than 2023. Breakfast : eye watering expensive for what is on offer. Regret going. Check out : the receptionist was too busy on the phone when we were checking out , didn’t even acknowledge to say will be one minute etc or make eye contact etc. Surely that’s just unprofessional? Especially as we seemed to be some of the only guests on a quiet morning! Good points - setting and view etc are great. Little town (Bouliac) it’s in is worth a visit too. Also as it was Easter they placed an Easter egg in our room. A nice touch.. overall a shame as we use the route a lot and would have liked to use it as a regular stop.

Very overpriced restaurant, no elevator to acess room, only 2 flights of steep stairs, no electrical outlet by the bed, complicated wifi access, noise from the morning traffic audible from the room.

Stayed for 4 nights at the Hotel Le Saint-James and had a wonderful experience. Located just outside of Bordeaux on a hillside overlooking the town, the hotel provided a classic great French experience. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and a shout out to the breakfast manager - Phillipe. What a wonderful gentlemen. the breakfasts were amazing. The room was a little funky - done in a modern style of the 80's or 90's. So if this isn't your thing then maybe another place would be better. We stayed in #3. It can definitely use some upgrading, but overall more than satisfactory. The funkiest thing was the shower. It is really a bath tub with a handheld.But most importantly the AC worked fine and kept the room cool during the July heatwave in Europe. As we were on a stay 3 get one free package, it was very reasonable priced. The hotel grounds are beautiful and as it was extremely hot during our stay, the pool was a real asset. After a day of touring in Bordeaux, it was very relaxing to take a swim and sit by the pool to watch the sunset. the restaurant is a 1 star Michelin and if you want a formal delicious dining experience I highly recommend dinner at the hotel. A great dinner. Not inexpensive but you get what you pay for.

Stayed one night on a journey from the Mediterranean coast to Cherbourg. Staff were excellent, their restaurant recommendation was very good (the hotel’s restaurant was closed on the Sunday evening), and overall the staff made a difference. Setting is magnificent, the pool area is simple but very welcoming. My one gripe is that the room was ‘tired’, and in general the rooms that I saw (we looked at three rooms as just arrived without a booking) all seemed dated.