La Borderie du Go — Hotel in La Rochelle

We stayed at the Borderie du Gô for one night on our way back home from a visit to friends in the Loire Valley.||When we arrived, it was already quite late, and we were tired, as we'd travelled all day. I'm nearly 80 and my partner is 86, and we were both looking forward to a good night's sleep. ||However, as I drew the curtains in our room, I saw that there had been an invasion of stinkbugs nesting in the top of the curtains. These large insects are 12mm – 17mm in size, dark in colour, and they sound like a helicopter when they fly. They're normally found in the garden, not in the home. They are not harmful to humans in the sense that they don't bite or sting you, but they emit an unpleasant odour as a defense mechanism if disturbed or attacked in any way.||My partner was terrified. She refused to sleep in the room until the bugs were removed, so I started to try to remove them (manually, using toilet paper!). This was difficult because there were a lot of them, and I had no means of climbing high enough safely to deal with the infestation at the top of the curtains. After several ineffective efforts on my part, we called the owner to ask him to help.||When the owner arrived, he said simply that we were in the countryside, as though this was an explanation for the invasion. He then informed us, in a very direct and confrontational way, that we were not obliged to stay, and that we could look for other accommodation if we liked ! ||It was already far too late to start looking for alternative accommodation, so I asked our host once again, politely, to get rid of the bugs. He said « Well I'm here, aren't I ? What do you want me to do ? »  ||I asked if he had a vacuum-cleaner, as this is the recommended way of dealing with an invasion of these large and unpleasant insects. He didn't answer the question, but just kept saying « I'm here, what do you want me to do ?  I'm not responsible for the insects ! »|| I told our host that I found his attitude unhelpful, and said that I was going to take my shower, to which he replied, « Yeah right, go take your shower ! » (« Oui, c'est le mieux !»). As I left to go to the bathroom, which was next door, he shouted after me « You shouldn't have switched the light on in the corridor, that's what attracts them » (« Vous auriez mieux fait de ne pas allumer dans le couloir, c'est ce qui les attire »). He seemed to be trying to make us believe the insects had come into the house just that evening, rather than colonising the room for several days, as was obviously the case. If he had inspected the room carefully before our arrival, including the curtains, he could not have failed to see them.||My partner stayed in the room while I went to take my shower, and eventually our host set about clearing the invasion. When I got back to our room, he had got rid of most of the insects that had been clinging to the top of the curtains. He found one or two more in various places around the room, which he picked up and threw out of the window. We thanked him, and he left. ||The following morning at breakfast he made no mention of the incident: no discussion of the incident, no apology for his reaction, no acknowledgement that anything at all had happened the previous evening. ||I am not complaining about the house, which was pleasant, but our enduring memory of La Borderie will not be a memory of the house: it will be a lasting memory of our host's reaction to the problem of the stinkbugs. It was rude, inappropriate, and hostile. It...

An interesting and difficult review to do. The hotel only has two rooms and is generally decorated in a style that is in keeping with the age of the property.||Philippe was very helpful, with regard to nearby restaurants, parking in La Rochelle, what to see on Ile De Re and providing maps etc. He even called a restaurant to ensure we had a good table and an aperitif.||The driveway is very difficult to navigate unless you have a small car – all of the warning lights on my car were flashing red and it was difficult to know whether this was the result of nearby flowers or something more damaging. Exiting into the road was also tricky.||Our room had a private bathroom, but the listing did not make it clear that it was private, but not en suite and involved venturing out of the room onto the landing. Our room was also quite warm, although I appreciate that the temperature is outside of anyone’s control. The room was a double room, but was small with not much room for cases. There was a wardrobe, but this only had 2 hangers in it.||When we arrived, we were told we could use the terrace area, but were not told anything about an executive lounge. There was a room between the kitchen and the breakfast room, but this seemed to be the owner’s room.||When we stayed, both guest rooms were being used, so there were 4 guests and breakfast involved some bread (with home made jams), 4 pieces of brioche, 4 slices of 2 different cakes. When one of the guests asked if there was more brioche, there wasn’t. The subsequent days had a similar breakfast without any brioche, but by the last day, we felt that some of the cakes were getting a little old. It would have been nice to have pastries or croissants.||It was OK, but I would probably look for somewhere else if I visited...

Philippe, it is places like yours which leaves memories that last a lifetime. It is so beautifully & tastefully decorated, I'm so amazed at how you turned this place into your little oasis and your willingness to share its beauty with us and so many others. Thank you for being so attentive, no request has gone unanswered. You're as beautiful as the La Borderie house you build, thank you for making our stay so beautiful...