Chateau Brachet — Hotel in Chambéry

Our recent stay at the Chateau Brachet was a complete delight. I understand the renovation of this magnificent property was recently completed and the owners of this luxurious Boutique Hotel are to be congratulated. Every detail is perfect - from the perfectly appointed rooms, which are all completely unique, to the excellent service. We can't say enough about how much we enjoyed our stay. The rooms are truly a masterpiece. Each one is uniquely decorated with a theme and the furniture and bedding were of the highest quality. We even had a housemade chocolate made to look like the owners classic car, left on our pillow each night!

We had the opportunity to eat in the restaurant for dinner and the meal was both innovative and delicious, and the service attentive and friendly. My husband and I got up early to be able to enjoy the terrific breakfast which included house made croissants, granola, and bread and the most perfectly cooked omelet I have ever eaten. Their dining room is located partially in a sun room that overlooks their garden and grounds and the spring flowers were already planted and blooming and offered such a pretty backdrop to the hotel. Breakfast was such a treat in this lovely space. Our adult aged children loved the executive golf course and playing paddle tennis on the grounds. It was a perfect place to stay to visit nearby Aix Les Bains and Lac Bourget, which merit another wonderful review, and we even popped over to Annecy, which is a lovely lac side town with views of the French Alps. We were very sad to leave, but we will definitely be back...

A bit of a mixed experience. The hotel itself is very impressive — beautifully designed, spotlessly clean, with impeccable décor that truly feels 5-star.

Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to the setting. The head waiter was excellent and really seemed to be holding the service together, but the rest of the team felt unpolished. For example, one waitress served us red wine with a fish course, and when corrected, simply poured white into the red wine glasses. Not the end of the world, but at €100 per person plus drinks, it’s not what you’d expect compared with other French restaurants at this level.

The atmosphere was also very strange — only three couples were staying during our visit, and the quietness made it feel a bit empty. At breakfast (9:30am) we walked into a completely unset dining room with 30 empty tables and thought we had missed service. On top of that, no food or snacks are available at all between the end of breakfast (10am) and dinner (7:30pm), and with no proper bar, even getting a drink or water was just plain awkward.

The grounds and facilities are beautiful, though signs of lack of upkeep are starting to show.

Overall, this feels like a venue with huge potential — perhaps better suited to weddings and events — but as a hotel stay, the experience fell short of...

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. We stayed at the hotel last week. 8 hours after checking out and settling our bill we were charged 350 euros to our bank card by the hotel, a charge that was not authorised. When I called to query the charge I was told it was because of ‘the broken glass’ in our bathroom. I confirmed that there was nothing broken in our bathroom at the time of checkout. The hotel sent me a picture of a mirror (could have been any mirror) with a crack in the corner. I told them this damage was not caused by us, and also noted that the photo could have been from any mirror in the hotel. I asked for a refund and for the hotel manager to contact me via phone to discuss and resolve the matter. The hotel have gone on to completely ignore my emails and requests, despite me emailing them 6 times to follow up. I asked for them to confirm receipt of my emails and they merely replied saying that the manager was having a ‘mailbox problem’. Seems clear now that they are running some sort of scam operation and I have had to contact my bank to raise a dispute regarding the authorised payment. Absolutely shocking customer service. Avoid at all costs and wish we had...