Chateau d'Ayres - Hôtel & Spa

Desperate to escape the August heat in Uzès we booked a room here for the weekend. A careful what you wish for: we woke the next day to 13C, but the region is so beautiful it took nothing away from our pleasure of being here. The chateau is quirky, don’t come expecting the uniformity and perfection of a 4 star hotel run by a chain. But there lies it’s charm; every room is different with old furniture - in our room was a little table formerly used by a glove maker! The bathrooms are a little old fashioned but everything you need is there. The reception rooms are very nice and there is a magnificent staircase. With the owner actively present we felt more like we were staying at a house party. The gardens are lovely with beautiful mature trees, pool, tennis, table tennis… and space for everyone in the grounds. Perfectly quiet. We ate on the terrace in front of the chateau. A wonderful setting. The food is a little pricy for the quality. Considering the wonderful setting I would have preferred a better cuisine. But for the setting and service it was nice to stay here to eat. The staff are lovely, very polite and friendly, with the exception of the waitress who appeared unhappy to have found herself buried in the country. I think her summer job was not what she was expecting! But she made us laugh . Well we enjoyed our stay so much we came back 10 days later and stayed longer. There is glorious countryside all around I cannot imagine tiring of this place.

Chateau experience Can highly recommend pool, ambience, reception, courtesy of staff. Breakfast needs a little updating to be in line with dinner standard. However I would return despite the enjoyable but pricey evening meal.

The town of Meyrueis is a hard place to reach, having visited some of the Causses et Cezennes beforehand. Some of the roads up are narrow, requiring careful driving. The chateau is a nice reward for your endurance, set not unexpectedly high above the town. I liked the interior more than the exterior. There are no elevators, the rooms a floor [or two] above. There are a half dozen rooms you can explore to the right of reception, the first one tending to double as the bar. The staff were excellent, from the lady at reception to the maitre d’ at dinner. The room was large. It was quite warm so I did not have to sweat again under another duvet. There were quality toiletries. I suspect most people that stay here dine here as well. It was fine dining in a room opposite reception, a crackling fire going. The meal was very good. Parking was on site, behind the chateau. There is a pool, tennis court and table tennis. The breakfast was in the same room. It was very good, including hot items. The fireplace was still crackling. There were several things I did not like. Short of spraying water everywhere, you are almost forced to have a bath, the room equipped with just a bathtub and a partial shower door. Flies were annoying, especially the one that landed in the bottom of my not quite empty wine glass. There were no coffee and tea making facilities I would associate with a 4* property. Lower graded places would also offer complimentary water. Worst of all was the wifi. I could not get it to connect in the room, requiring me to attend the reception area to deal with a host of matters. Even there I could not upload photographs, a real irritation. The cumulative effect of the small things and the major disappointment re wifi issues necessitate a star less than this place probably normally gets.