Château de Crazannes — Attraction in Saintes

We booked here having enjoyed our stay before. Booking.com's details looked the same when we booked. This is a detailed and accurate review of our experience. We were told there was a Halloween party and the pool wasn't available two days before our reservation when it was too late to cancel. On arrival, staff told us to park in a field because the private car park was for the owner's use, not guests. The room was across a muddy lawn and through a dark side door at the tower's base. The room had a double bed, not a twin as booked. The room had no kettle, hairdryer, and tea/coffee. There were two plug sockets in the room, and both were used by lights; there was nowhere to charge a phone. We asked reception about the lack of facilities, and the owner said the tea/coffee facilities are available at breakfast and that we wanted "an expensive room very cheaply". He wouldn't accept that we wanted the room we booked. He said we hadn't booked a hotel room and that we didn't understand. He said if we didn't like it, we could cancel and find an alternative in Saintes, some 20km away, at 6pm on a public holiday. He blamed us because we hadn't checked his website's photographs and Booking.com for inaccurate details. He was the only person without any responsibility for the situation. After travelling 800 miles, the shower had no hot water. The water remained cold until the following morning. The free wifi was non-existent, and the room was not heated throughout our stay. The staircase to the room was dark when we went out for food. We had to turn on the lights at the stairwell base to safely make our way out. The Halloween party continued until 11pm. The light at the bottom of the stairwell stopped working when we returned. The darkness made entering the building and the stairway unsafe for paying guests. The light outside our room was removed, so there was no lighting. The party had repetitive music on the lawn in front of the room. Groups trekked up the stairs past our room to the room above where we were trying to sleep. There, they rang a bell. The breakfast was provided by someone who disappeared when guests arrived, but the buffet was adequate. No one was around to complete a check-out or explain what to do with the room key. The reception was deserted, so we left the key in the room door and hoped someone would find it. We didn't get a receipt, and no care or hospitality was provided. We accept this is a historic building and thought we knew what to expect. We made allowances for its limitations because the facilities would be at the standard for a room costing €132 off-season. Our experience didn't meet expectations for even a third of this price. It failed to provide the advertised facilities, including a twin room, terrace, socket near the bed, soundproofing, private entrance, coffee machine, tea/coffee maker, heating, hairdryer, private pool, free private parking, and wifi. It just provided a bed and a toilet. You had to wait until morning to drink or shower. It was a genuinely medieval experience with equivalent facilities. It will be hard to forget being told we "don't understand what [the owner] is trying to do" and we hadn't booked a hotel room. Understanding customer expectations and professional maturity in delivering those needs are required when running hospitality; this business lacks experience and needs a professional manager to take control of the...

We stayed here for one night on Monday 31 October which is Haloween night. The room was via booking .com. The room had zero facilities (TV/tea and coffee making/private parking/initially no hot water/no heating/no pool availability). All these were meant to be provided according to the advert for the room. We challenged the owner who said tea/coffee was only at breakfast and "we didn't understand!!!". We thought the room was a twin but it had a double bed (although in retrospect I see the booking did state this). However I asked why and was told "I wanted a dear room for a cheap price" and I could cancel over the phone with booking.com and find a room in nearby Saintes at a hotel - on a bank holiday. The young owner is super confrontational and rude. Being Haloween, we knew that the Chateau was being used that evening for a party for outside people continued until 11pm (we had been prewarned) - but not prewarned that they intended to play loud sound effects repetitively in the coutyard or ring a bell on top of the accomodation tower around every 20 mins + run walking tours for groups up the spiral staircase directly outside the rooms - making a lot of noise. In the morning the breakfast was in the lower floor of the main chateau and this was OK except nobody around to help or speak to. Also the external reception was locked up so zero reception, no place to leave key (we left it in the door lock to the room), no receipt and even the side gate we entered the property into the day before was locked. Luckily the main gate was not. The owner has aparently taken the private courtyard parking for himself so our car had to go in an adjacent muddy field with c 30 other cars for the haloween party - not secure in any way. To cap it all the owner told me at the height of his ranting that "it was not a hotel" so why advertise it as such and why take 120 Euros/night from unsuspecting guests. I stayed in this Chateau in 2016 when it was under different ownership (current owner since 2019) and it was an excellent experience with full run of the chateau. Now you are only allowed access to the building through a tiny door at the base of the accomidation tower and no access beyond except for the lower section for breakfast. What a disgrace. DO NOT...

We stayed here for one night on Monday 31 October which is Haloween night. The room was via booking .com. The room had zero facilities (TV/tea and coffee making/private parking/initially no hot water/no heating/no pool availability). All these were meant to be provided according to the advert for the room. We challenged the owner who said tea/coffee was only at breakfast and "we didn't understand!!!". We thought the room was a twin but it had a double bed (although in retrospect I see the booking did state this). However I asked why and was told "I wanted a dear room for a cheap price" and I could cancel over the phone with booking.com and find a room in nearby Saintes at a hotel - on a bank holiday. The young owner is super confrontational and rude. Being Haloween, we knew that the Chateau was being used that evening for a party for outside people continued until 11pm (we had been prewarned) - but not prewarned that they intended to play loud sound effects repetitively in the coutyard or ring a bell on top of the accomodation tower around every 20 mins + run walking tours for groups up the spiral staircase directly outside the rooms - making a lot of noise. In the morning the breakfast was in the lower floor of the main chateau and this was OK except nobody around to help or speak to. Also the external reception was locked up so zero reception, no place to leave key (we left it in the door lock to the room), no receipt and even the side gate we entered the property into the day before was locked. Luckily the main gate was not. The owner has aparently taken the private courtyard parking for himself so our car had to go in an adjacent muddy field with c 30 other cars for the haloween party - not secure in any way. To cap it all the owner told me at the height of his ranting that "it was not a hotel" so why advertise it as such and why take 120 Euros/night from unsuspecting guests. I stayed in this Chateau in 2016 when it was under different ownership (current owner since 2019) and it was an excellent experience with full run of the chateau. Now you are only allowed access to the building through a tiny door at the base of the accomidation tower and no access beyond except for the lower section for breakfast. What a disgrace. DO NOT...