Terres de France - Résidence de la Cabre d'Or — Hotel in Aix-en-Provence

I had the misfortune of visiting this "property" with my family as a stop along our vacation in France, and it was unfortunately not only the absolute worst part of our trip, but the worst accommodation experience I've had in my entire life.

I would like to begin by saying I have worked full-time in hotel management for over a decade, and am very well-versed in and empathetic regarding the challenges presented by maintaining consistent cleanliness and upkeep, and I'm also very familiar with hearing, responding to, and addressing complaints regarding this area. While I'm typically willing to give the benefit of the doubt, this stay was a complete fail on all fronts.

It was already off-putting to have to pay extra to receive linens for your unit (who travels with linens?), but as this is a published policy, is forgivable. It is less forgivable in 2023 to not have readily available wifi access and forcing guests to walk over to the reception area to use this basic necessity, especially as this location also has very poor cellular reception.

What's COMPLETELY unforgivable though is walking into a unit as a guest staying for 3 nights and encountering spider webs in every corner of the place, mold on a light fixture, visible cigarette burns on a mattress cover, and a couch that looks so filthy and stained even a sleazy motel would've thrown it in the garbage. Further, the "patio" that looks so beautiful and inviting on their website is small, unkempt (it was covered in seeds or droppings of some sort and had clearly not been swept in WEEKS at least), and featured a single BROKEN chair.

My family and I quickly determined that the accommodations were unacceptable and unsuitable for a stay of our duration, but as it was late in the day and we weren't able to make any last-minute changes, spent the night and made alternate plans to move to an AirBNB the following day.

We had pre-paid our 3 nights in advance and were fully aware we were outside the free cancellation window. As mentioned, as someone who works in this industry, I understand how these policies work and am personally familiar with having to enforce them, even when guests don't take the news well. My family accepted the fact we'd have to pay for the night we stayed, but given the circumstances, felt fairly positive the on-site staff would be amenable to at least refund the final two nights we wouldn't be staying, which from a service perspective is expected in the hospitality industry if guests are leaving due to irrefutable issues with their accommodations. Two members of our party went to the front desk to advise the receptionist we would be leaving early and recounted our concerns, at which time she went to the back to retrieve the on-site manager. This gentleman, who may be one of the least professional people I've ever heard of in this industry, proceeded to emerge from the back office, raised his voice, actively scoffed at the concerns (apparently a unit being full of spiders is no big deal), and even attempted to say that because they're "not a fancy place" that one should apparently just accept staying in broken down squalor. He was aggressive, unwilling to allow them to speak, and actively refused to issue any sort of refund for compensation for the concerns brought forward, even for the two nights we weren't staying. No empathy, no willingness to listen, no basic service. An absolutely appalling lack of professionalism on display here and the immediate defensiveness makes me think these sorts of issues are brought forward often and he's tired of hearing about them. He later proceeded to walk around the property shirtless (again, very professional - especially when you're as portly as he is) and glare at us repeatedly as we were waiting for a cab.

When bringing these concerns to Terres de France, they responded with an insulting canned response offering a borderline offensive 15% discount off a future stay. Embarrassing. Stay far, far away from this property and...

Une étoile car je suis obligé pour validé mon avis A FUIR A TOUT JAMAIS !!!!!!!!! À notre arrivée, nous avons immédiatement constaté plusieurs problèmes majeurs, incompatibles avec les prestations attendues d’un établissement classé 3 étoiles :

• Des déchets accumulés à l’entrée de la résidence • Un accueil non professionnel, tenue inappropriée (t-shirt taché et troué), attitude irrespectueuse (fume dans l’accueil) remarques déplacées. • Des locaux d’accueil sales (linge au sol, serviettes propres entreposées de manière inadaptée). • Témoignages d’autres clients quittant leur logement dès leur arrivée, invoquant un état déplorable des appartements.

Malgré ces signaux alarmants, nous avons accepté les clés et réglé la taxe de séjour (environ 68 €). Or, le logement qui nous a été attribué s’est révélé dans un état inacceptable :

• Moisissures (sèche-serviettes, congélateur, murs de terrasse), • Literie tachée (matelas, housses, oreillers), • Électroménager très sale (micro-ondes graisseux, frigo hors d’usage), • Propreté générale indigne d’un hébergement de cette catégorie.

L’état des infrastructures extérieures était également préoccupant (piscine sale, présence de déchets flottants, doutes sérieux sur l’entretien et les contrôles sanitaires).

Lorsque nous avons signalé ces problèmes à l’accueil, nous avons été reçus avec mépris et agressivité :

• Remises en cause de notre bonne foi en nous traitant de menteur et que notre logement n’était pas le pire • Propos discriminatoires concernant la clientèle de l’établissement, quand nous avons demandé si beaucoup de leur client partait pour les mêmes raisons que nous car nous avons été interpelés de voir sur le comptoir l’adresse Mail réclamations. La personne de l’accueil nous a dit je cite « ah bah non ! ce ne sont que des VACAF » nous avons donc demandé ce que c’était les VACAF et elle nous a répondu je cite « Les cassos, eux ils s’en foutent car c’est gratuit » • Refus de toute solution immédiate, nous avons demandé à voir un responsable et il nous a répondu je cite « Le patron lui est à PARIS il s’en fou de nous il roule en Ferrari » • Menace d’appeler la police pour nous faire partir.

Face à cette situation intenable, nous avons pris la décision de quitter immédiatement la résidence. Nous n’avons donc pas pu séjourner une seule nuit, malgré un trajet de 8 heures, des frais de péage et de carburant engagés, et un règlement de 1408 € pour la location + 68 € de taxe de séjour. Nous avons économisé toute l’année pour pouvoir nous offrir ces vacances que vous avez anéanti par cette escroquerie soutenu par des photo trompeuse ne reflétant en aucun...

Quaint and charming from the outside Rickety and rough on the inside One of the sliding closet doors came off in my hand, hole in the window of the terrace door, shaky unstable toilet seat(!)

My colleague slept on the fold out couch in the kitchen but did not get the correct bedding and slept cold for two nights.

No wifi, which is a standard in most hotels. We were in a black hole with 4G-5G access. Had to walk along the main road for a connection. Finally given wifi but only near the pool. I give them the one star for that

Communication was not the best with the reception. Not recommended for working a trip. Perfect for a getaway with the cheating girlfriend. No one would ever know where you are, ever. A hot...