Bruce Castle — Hotel in Cherbourg

If you're going to Normandy, I cannot recommend the Bruce Castle highly enough. Brix is a small, beautiful Norman town, which looks like it was lifted straight from a fairy tale. The historic connection to the Bruce family is still strong--the main square is called Place Robert Bruce--and it's home to the Bruce Castle: both ancient ruins of an 11th century fortress and a modern B&B in the style of an 18th century manor house. ||||The castle itself is gorgeous. The bedrooms are done in the authentic 18th century style, and the entire manor is decorated with beautiful, classic European art. What blew me away most of all is the incredible library that doubles as the sitting room. There you can find shelves upon shelves of old, beautiful books (in French, of course), Catholic art and iconography, and a wonderful view of the front garden. I don't know what it feels like to be nobility, but I'd bet the Bruce Castle is as close as anyone can get without obtaining land and titles. ||||The Fontanets, who operate the B&B, are truly wonderful hosts and will do anything to make your stay amazing. And when I say anything, I mean it. As soon as we got in, they brought us tea with delicious cookies and sweets. They gave us a lot of help on where we could find food, a local pub, and even the closest restaurant (though unfortunately we didn't have a car to drive there). My wife and I pray a nightly rosary, and when we couldn't get into the town church to pray there, M. Fontanet, who happens to be a deacon, let us pray in his personal chapel. That was one of the best rosaries of my life. Finally, when we we're having trouble getting a taxi to the train station, M. Fontanet drove us himself. I truly can't believe how kind and generous the Fontanets are--they're certainly the best hosts my wife and I had anywhere in Europe on our honeymoon.||||Mme. Fontanet speaks good English, but I still wish I spoke more French. I really would have liked to have a longer conversation with both of them, learn how they acquired the property, and what brought them to Brix. ||||M. and Mme. Fontanet: if you are reading this, thank you so much for taking such good care of Ashley and I. Thank you for letting us pray in your chapel. We will always remember your kindness to us. ||||My only regrets are first, that I didn't have more French to chat with the Fontanets and the townspeople, and second, that we could only stay for one night. ||||God Bless the Fontanets and all of...

What a find! We wanted to stay in the vicinity of Cherbourg for a night during a long weekend break, found this on the Internet and thought it would be a novel stopover. Finding the actual establishment was not so easy.....my fault entirely....make sure you obtain detailed directions when booking.||||On arrival we were given a warm welcomed by the hosts and shown up the sweeping marble staircase to our traditionally furnished room on the first floor. The room had a comfortable bed, was spotless and overlooked the rear of the property. The bathroom was modern and so clean it looked like we were the first to use it. Lots of little extra touches like fresh roses on the table.||||There are no restaurants in Brix so we drove to Valognes for our evening meal, about a 15 minute drive away.||||I went down to breakfast early the next day and sat in the library surrounded by antiques, sadly reading a Kindle and not a 'proper' book, until my wife came down. Breakfast was wonderful with tea and coffee served in silver pots, home made tarte Normandie, raspberries, fresh squeezed orange juice etc.||||The whole stay was very informal and we were made to feel welcome from the moment we arrived until we left. My wife was given a rose from the garden 'for the journey' as we left. I wish we had booked here for the whole of our short stay in France and will do next time I am in Manche.||||In summary, a great place to stay, outstanding hosts and excellent...

The Chateau is amazing. Built in 1793, that's 223 years old. It's like a museum inside with antiques, knickknacks all throughout the residence. Everywhere you look there is something else that catches your eye, vases, statues, figurines, a tiger's head, beautiful chandeliers, books, furniture, it's all quite amazing.||||Our room was very large as was the bathroom. The towels in the bathroom were luxurious, so large and soft. The bed was comfortable, pillows comfortable. Best of all it was so quiet. There is no air conditioning, telephone, clock or TV in the rooms which makes for a very peaceful, idyllic rest.||||The owners/ hosts were so friendly and nice, just wish we could have stayed longer than one night. We slept like babies and then had a delicious continental breakfast the next morning.||||Lastly the grounds of the Chateau are stunning, lush and green. I think that the owners have turned what must be their labour of love into an amazing getaway.||||We truly would not hesitate to return here if the...