Château de Camperos Vignes & Spa — Hotel in Langon

Thanks to Paul and Brigitte, Chateau de Camperos (“C de C”) was an elegant and welcome refuge at the beginning of my and my husband’s recent month-long SW France holiday escape. Delayed one hour leaving LAX, we (and others) missed our connecting flight to Bordeaux but (rather miraculously?) I was able to reach C de C’s proprietors by phone from Paris’s international airport and was relieved by Brigitte’s calm and her promise to pick us up at either the Barsac train station or the airport if the rental car office at the Bordeaux airport was closed upon our arrival. “Standing by” in CDG’s domestic terminal worked again somewhat miraculously — and more in our favor than in one other person’s who also was standing by and hoping for a spot on the flight that arrived before the flight on which all three of us automatically were rebooked by our airline while in flight from Los Angeles, and while relieved not to have to impose on Brigitte our first night, it was C de C’s “news” that we might not have to forfeit any night of my carefully-selected and pre-reserved C de C stay (even with a Bordeaux arrival around 11 p.m.) that we “seniors” welcomed.

We stayed six delightful nights at C de C and are grateful for the amazing hospitality of the two proprietors of this “Gironde Department” former wine chateau and their son, who the first morning helped direct us to C de C’s sunshine-filled breakfast room and later gave us useful travel information. We dined only twice at C de C because several nights ended up eating in spots like Pyla sur Mer, Bayonne, Cadillac with my husband’s niece and partner who flew in from Luxembourg City for an end-of-summer weekend of “southern sun,” but definitely would recommend making reservations to eat at least one dinner at this chateau as Brigitte’s cooking is fabulous and the “C de C aperitif” of billiard-room conversation with Paul while drinking “gifted” glasses of Paul’s favorite sauternes delightful.

At our request Paul arranged for us a tour of the art-filled Barsac winery that supplies him with his drinking wine. Our personal tour by the co-owner proved a most-enjoyable outing on one drizzly afternoon when we did not feel like swimming in C de C’s lovely heated pool and otherwise might have been inclined to cocoon while awaiting the arrival of the sunshine that never seems far away in this part of France. The sun broke through just in time for some late-afternoon conversation with four friendly folk who were “honeymooning” at C de C after days spent biking along a path that runs along a canal adjacent to the Garonne River that is near Barsac. We encountered these four Americans on C de C’s back terrace, the general intimacy at the tranquil C de C conducive to meeting and engaging substantively with other guests (who during our stay seemed to mostly be residents of Europe). Barsac/C de C proved for us a perfect base for (1) experiencing the upstream surge-wave (“Mascaret”) that occurs on the Garonne with some regularity, (2) visiting a wall of fossilized oyster shells that now extends along a high, vine-covered hill south of Barsac/Cadillac, (3) taking in one nearby family chateau-turned-museum and French “beaux villages,” and (4) driving to — and then walking and biking in — the coastal town of Arcachon near Europe’s most-famous sand dune, the base of which one can reach easily by wheeled transport but the 336’ “top” only by walking — or being carried? — up the wooden staircase on the dune’s eastern side. For those interested in visiting the charming town of Saint Emilion and/or its nearby wineries, this spot is about a one-hour drive north of C de C by car, a bit more by bike (or by bus or train from Bordeaux’s...

We were fortunate to stay with Paul and Brigitte for two nights. We were amazed by the chateau, which largely features original decor including intricate tilework, carved fireplaces, beautifully painted ceilings, etc. The common areas including a French billiards room / library were such a pleasure to explore and spend time in, and our room (Angel room) was huge and very comfortable. Paul was very patient with my halting French, and was also happy to switch to English when my French capability occasionally reached its limit. ||||The property is beautiful with lots of huge trees and shade. We enjoyed breakfast as well, which was typical of what we found throughout France -- yogurt bread, charcuterie, cheese, juice, coffee, tea, and eggs if one desired. ||||The location was perfect for exploring Sauternes and Barsac, with all of our planned destinations (chateaux in Sauternes, etc) within a 10 minute drive. Google Maps navigated us there from the Bordeaux airport with no problems.||||Highly...

My wife and I stayed for three nights and had a fantastic visit. The house is absolutely beautiful. The house has been updated only very moderately since it was built around 1870, which makes for a very genuine experience. We found it a good base to explore Sauternes and Saint Emilion. We also drove down to the beach one day. This was a slightly longer drive but still no problem, and very much worth the drive. (Traffic can apparently be very bad during peak high season, though.) We had an excellent dinner at the chateau, and were very well taken care of by the hosts. The place is slightly worn, but more than makes up for it in charm. The pool was a plus for us. We walked to La Table du Boucher in the neighbouring village one night and recommend...