Mr & MRS Smith HÔTEL Chais Monnet

This is a very special place in the heart of Cognac. You are walking distance to the main Cognac houses but you feel like you are in a very sophisticated resort. Everything is stunning, the gardens , the rooms, the spa & pool, the restaurant and the bar. It is a real gem! The service is impeccable and the activities offered by the hotel are fun such as the vintage car that you can take to have a picnic in the vineyards.

Hotel Chais Monnet, Cognac Our Five Star, nine night, holiday stay at Hotel Chais Monnet in Cognac turned into a disaster when the hotel erroneously withdrew €2,277:65 from our bank account after we left. It was only when checking our bank account on our return to the UK that we noticed the £1956:50 + £58:50 bank transaction fee had been taken from our account. Our accommodation had all been pre-paid prior to our arrival and all bills including bar and food were paid for as we went along (other items totalling €112, including hotel transport, local taxes and a hotel Tote bag were all paid on departure) so we were due the hotel nothing. When contacting the hotel by phone and by email, staff were less than helpful and even an email to their Directeur General did not bring this matter to a conclusion, not even a direct reply. It was only after we contacted our bank card-holder (M&S) and almost a month later that some of the money was refunded but we are still out of pocket with the currency exchange rates not going in our favour, phone calls to the hotel and postage costs (recorded delivery) to our bank. This issue has been extremely time consuming and worrying for us and we note from Trip Advisor (6th November 2019) that we are not the first customer for this to happen to! As far as the actual hotel stay is concerned, we were surprised when we first arrived at the hotel that we were asked to put a deposit down of €2,700:00, which seemed excessive but we went ahead. We really enjoyed our visit to this outstanding hotel, the staff were, on the whole excellent, the room cleaning staff deserve a special mention. Our eating experience in the restaurant left a lot to be desired. The food was excellent - the service was terrible! We sat down at 7:35pm for dinner and the complimentary dish was served very quickly. We were not halfway through the complimentary dish when our starter was squeezed on to the table - then a long wait, a long, long wait. We finally got our main course at 9:25pm when we were about to cancel our order. When asked “Why the delay?”, the waiter answered “The kitchen is not working”. Following Trip Advisor reviews about poor breakfast service and the excessive cost of €35:00 per person we decided not to use this service. We have asked the hotel to supply details of where the erroneous figures came from, why were we not advised about these charges, why there is a delay in repayment and also to receive an apology with some compensation. To date we are still out of pocket. I suggest that if you have ever stayed at this hotel that you should look back at your bank account records to make sure everything is in order. Regards, Pamela Anne & George Wilson