Castle of La Rivière — Hotel in Libourne

We had such a wonderful time this summer at this château. The grounds, the tour with Sarah, and for the most part, our Marquis room at the bed and breakfast was great. However, one event occurred that will most likely shy us away from spending the night again. Our first 2 nights were pleasant, sure it was warm but the fan helped and sleeping outside of the heavy comforter helped as well. But after a day of rain, that evening we had an infestation of mosquitos in the Marquis room. I am talking dozens of them. We woke up at 3 am to a ton of bites and no idea how they got in because all the windows were closed except for the bathroom window which has a screen with no tears, perfectly intact. I let the B&B host (Nathalie) know of the issue after we left, because we didn't get any sleep and got blood on the comforter from killing mosquitos in bed. The room was too big and ceilings too high to find them all and we accepted that we wouldn't sleep that night because the only protection from mosquitos was to hide under the winter comforter, which made us sweat like crazy only further attracting the mosquitos. I told the host that I believe there is standing water somewhere outside the room, maybe on the roof or chimney because we didn't see 1 mosquito on the property, much less inside the room, for 2 full days beforehand. After waiting weeks for a response, I was told that a citronella candle will be provided in the room next time. I responded that this issue far surpasses the use of a citronella candle and I wanted to advise her of the severity of the infestation because it signals a deeper issue and I wouldn't be able to recommend this room because of this experience. I didn't receive a response after that. So we are disappointed to say the least because we really did enjoy ourselves before the last night. I recommend the B&B install portable air conditioners in the rooms, fix the ripped screens in the bedroom windows (most were ripped which is why we didn't open the windows which made the room sweltering in the summer), offer summer sheets instead of a winter heavy comforter for the bed, and a thorough investigation of how a swarm of mosquitos appeared in the...

Beautiful castle with a spectacular view. Unfortunately we were not able to experience the castle to the full extent...

We visited Bordeaux for six days to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday, and wanted to do something special on his big day. I was recommended this castle and it looked perfect! I sent an e-mail where I wanted to book the Gourmet Tour, where you get the tour of the castle and then a lunch. I saw that there was a minimum of 4 persons to book this tour, so I was not that surprised when I got a response from Marie Rollet that we could only do the wine tasting tour (and not the lunch). This was not relevant for us since the drive from Bordeaux takes 40 minutes each way, and we wanted to have lunch as well. I kindly asked if it was possible to make an exception since we were celebrating my dad's birthday. Marie didn't even bother to respond to me! I was surprised that she didn't propose paying for four persons even though we were three, which I would have said yes to. I believe that Marie was rude for not taking the time to respond at all.

It is such a shame that this beautiful place does not have more customer friendly staff as the place is stunning! I also find it weird that they only do the gourmet tour for 4 people as it excludes couples who want to have a romantic lunch.

There are many castles in the area, so I would suggest that you spend your money...

My wife wanted to stay in a stereotypical French Chateau in our travels around France and this one near Libourne, is an absolute stunner and did not disappoint ! (and cannot be classed as stereotypical !!)|The photos online do not even come close, to doing this property justice as it is beautiful in every way and the location and views are superb ! |The room we had was huge, extremely high roofed and had all the amenities of a high class hotel, along with half a bottle of complimentary wine from the Chateau itself. |The wine tour is well worth the experience and also a chance to visit the 8 hectares or so of caverns they have and get out of the heat we were experiencing in France at the time as it was 37degrees outside and a cool 13degrees in the caverns.|The Chateau does not offer any evening meals but provides a comprehensive list of local restaurants, so we booked Chez Carles à St Germain La Rivière (5min), 05 57 84 44 50 which was a lovely meal and literally 5 minutes away (by car, that is !)|The breakfast on the upper terrace overlooking the vinyards will long be remembered and once again, I am stating in a review, that this is well worth the...