Les Sources de Caudalie — Hotel in Bordeaux

When we researched Les Sources de Caudalie, we were unaware of what they call their “guest house”, Chateau Le Thil. When our travel agent made our reservation, the only available room was in Chateau Le Thil, and we were told that it was 1.5km from the main cluster of buildings. What we were not told, was that it would be a 2nd class experience compared to the rest of the hotel. Because no other rooms were available, we were unaware that rooms in Chateau Le Thil were less expensive than the other parts of the hotel. Chateau Le Thil was a complete disappointment because:||• The room had a cracked window pane that appeared ready to completely break if the window was opened, and leave shattered glass in the room. |• There was peeling paint in several areas on the ceiling and in the bathroom. |• There was mold on the bathroom floor and around the base of the shower where the shower overflows.|• The bathroom didn’t have counters or a space for any toiletries. |• The shower didn't have a shelf; so shampoo, razors all had to be placed on the shower floor. Because the shower itself was so small, this was very awkward.|• The shower was pitched in a way that resulted in water escaping onto the wood floor, that we then had to clean up after requesting more towels. |• The breakfast at Chateau Le Thil had fewer items than the breakfast in the main | building (and no hot items). Furthermore, basic items such as granola were not replenished during our stay.|• When the reservation was made we knew that Chateau Thil was 1.5km from the main house and it was recommended to have a car. However, it wasn't until we received an email a few days before check-in that we were informed that it was unsafe and dangerous to walk at night between the main building and Chateau Thil. We should have been informed of this at the time of reservation, not days before our arrival. Due to the lack of communication from hotel staff to us we had to pay an unexpected 600 euros to rent a car in order to drive back and forth between the main hotel and Chateau Le Thil during our 5 day stay. While I don’t know for sure, I am guessing that had we been given time to research rental cars we probably could have found a better price. ||Lastly, when we informed the hotel about all the above issues, they did not disagree, nor did they seem surprised, with any of our points. And, to make amends they suggested that we come back to the hotel and they would give us a non-specific upgrade. This, of course, would require us to spend thousands of dollars/euros in airfare as well as to the hotel, just to receive an upgrade. We felt this “make good” was both insulting and demonstrated that even they consider guests who stay at Chateau Le Thil as 2nd class customers. After returning home, and taking the time to read all the hotel reviews, we learned that many other customers who stayed in Chateau Le Thil had similar feelings. Bottom line…do not stay at rooms in Chateau Le Thil, and be cautious about a hotel which is not upfront about how they describe all...

The hotel and Chateau were in stunning settings and we were extremely excited when we got to the hotel. We were expecting a nice, romantic, relaxed break as a couple. However we were extremely disappointed from day two. The vibe of the hotel changed dramatically, it sells itself as a small luxury hotel. However, a large wedding party took over and had about 80% of the occupancy. When we booked through email, we were not informed of this large party, and we would have expected to, like we have had with other luxury hotels we have stayed at. We have no issue with the hotel hosting a wedding, but don’t ignore the other guests and make them feel neglected.

Le Table Du Lavoir the first night was delightful,, but the second night we ate there, there was a table of 52 that took over, and we were completely ignored, we had to ask after half an hour for the menus, as well as for someone to take an order for our drinks and food.

Other restaurants were closed during our stay for the wedding party and we weren’t informed of this. If we were informed we could have made other plans. Rather than eat at the same restaurant or go to a two star Michelin restaurant twice.

We also had to chase for drinks at French Paradox before dinner meaning we had to rush them.

When we were trying relax by the pool, the wedding party took over and were extremely noisy, making it hard to unwind.

When we complained to the management about the above on the final night they response was to leave a dessert sharing platter in our room while we were at La Grand Vigne were we had already pre-booked the seven course menu, so clearly no room for anymore food. It really came across as poor attention to detail compared to other luxury hotels. The manager also informed us that they had the same issue the week before about a wedding party, it’s a shame that they didn’t learn from the mistakes the week earlier.

The hotel has the potential to be wonderful, with the stunning food at La Grand Vigne, a great spa, a beautiful and interesting Chateau and the surrounding Vineyards. However, the service was really not up to luxury resort level and we would definitely suggest you think twice about booking. We would recommend asking the hotel before booking if there are a wedding parties there, as it is the most disappointing hotel experience we have had in the seven years of...

The property is beautiful. The service was miserable. We arrived on Sunday and the spa was only open until 13pm , afterwards there is no access to the spa facilities. We wanted to have massages but were told that on Sunday we have to book half day visit with minimum 3 treatments per person. That did not work for us. We then went to sauna (situated in a separate from the spa building), as we were told by the front desk, that it’s available until the late evening. Only to discover that it was switched off. We then mentioned it to other front desk employees, who told us that it’s Sunday and the sauna is most likely to be not turned on this day. Our room was only ready at 4pm. We then wanted to visit the hotel winery, but were informed that it works until 5pm. We still went and discovered that it’s actually open until 6pm. We asked for a quick degustation and had a long conversation with the lady there, who told us that it’s 17:20 and she can only pour us wine if we drink it fast. Alternatively she offered us to go to Rouge bar at the hotel, but it was closed for the private event from 18:00. We were also kicked out of the sightseeing platform and were told that we need to book a tour, which we asked for, but were rejected as it was Sunday and they only do tours earlier in the day. When asked for a key to go to their Forest Walk, we were told that there are no more keys from the gate. We still went and have not seen any people on our way, so the keys must be lost somewhere? We had a dinner reservation at the La Table and mentioned that we have a birthday celebration. The service did not in any way noted our special request. We were waiting for 20 minutes for someone to pour us drinks and offer the menu. The rest of the evening we were mainly sitting with the empty plates and glasses. We (and some other guests) left the dinner as we have realized that nobody will come to offer us desserts. When complained , we were told that they did not expect the restaurant to be full and plus it’s Sunday. When leaving the hotel nobody asked if we enjoyed our stay, if we need some water for the way, we were not even told “Au revoir”. Long story short- apparently Sunday is not a good day to be at this property. Shame, because the...