CHAMBRE D'HOTE DE CHAMPENDU - 3 épis Gîte de France — Hotel in Nevers

We had booked this hotel for one night, a Monday night, and had a little difficulty finding it, it is on a rural road. Right before you get to it is a working farm, so we were not sure that we were at the right place. Just before our stay, France had had the terrible rains and floods, so the access road to the house was not the best. The owners had laid down some big shale to cover the muddy track to the house, but this was sharp and potentially would do damage to the car tyres, so we parked at the start of the drive/ parking. This meant walking with the suitcases across the sharp uneven shale, with heavy luggage. Something I am sure would not have been necessary under normal circumstances. The Chateau itself is in a wonderful location with beautiful views, but seems very run-down. It is supposed to have been renovated, with all rooms being inspired by a different composer, but it seems that work should still be ongoing. The owner, Natalie, is a very nice and friendly lady, but had to rush out to collect her child from the school bus, just as we arrived (we arrived exactly at the mentioned check-in time on the booking form), and we were left standing in the garden. It was not for long, but it does not give much confidence. The room we were given was spacious, and looked out over the front garden, the decoration was lovely and of the period, but the mattress must have been from the same period as the house, it was rock-hard, and we did not manage any sleep at all. The owner mentioned that her and her husband had to travel the next morning very early, so would not be able to serve us breakfast or say goodbye to us, but her mother would take care of that. When we asked about dinner, as we had read that dinner was also possible at the hotel, we were told that she did not provide this, but that she could recommend a restaurant in the nearest town (15 min. drive). She made the reservation for us (not really necessary as it turned out, and not the best meal we could have had), and we settled into our room. When we came back from dinner in town quite early, we would have liked to relax and watch some tv in the communal area, but the TV was also from the 19th century and did not work. We therefore decided to have an early night, as we had a long journey ahead of us the next day. As mentioned though, the mattress was rock-hard and we did not get any sleep, we heard the owner leave for her trip in the early morning, and decided that an early get away was advisable. We came down for breakfast, which looked like it had been laid out the night before. The 2 croissants were of the sort you buy in pre-packed supermarket packages, and the 4 bits of baguette were stale. The hot water for the tea came in an antiquated hot-water flask, and only after asking did we get some orange juice (the best part of the breakfast). The overall cleanliness of the Chateau also seemed to have been from the 19th century, with spiders that must have lived there since then. Every window we looked at had spiderwebs, with local wildlife in it. Flies were everywhere, with no effort to stop them coming in (fly-screens would go a long way). I am sure that the owners mean very well, but unfortunately we will not...

Au coeur d'une region magnifique, Champendu est un tres bel endroit pour une etape ou quelques jours de vacances. Apres une gerance qui s'est mal passee, la proprietaire de Champendu a pu reprendre sa maison en main, pour le plus grand plaisir de ses hôtes: le manoir, tout en charme, est decore avec goût, les chambres sont jolies et confortables et Mme Nogues est une hôtesse dans l'âme.Elle vous accueille avec beaucoup de gentillesse et de simplicite, toujours souriante et soucieuse de votre bien-être.Cela se traduit en table d'hôte par des repas soignes et copieux, dignes d'un tres bon restaurant car en plus la cuisiniere est tres douee (ah! la tarte au citron et la bombe glacee fruits rouges et meringue...).Les petits-dejeuners ne sont pas en reste.||Nous avons ete ravis de notre sejour a Champendu et comptons bien y revenir lorsque nous repasserons dans la region. || ...

A 10 km de la N7, près du circuit Magny Court, à 15 km d' Apremont sur Allier, un de plus beau village de France, à mi-chemin entre le nord et le sud de la France, se trouve le manoir Champendu, une demeure ancienne, rénovée en respectant le lieu et décorée avec goût.|| Tout était parfait, l'accueil chaleureux, la chambre (mobilier ancien, comme la maison, très propre, le matelas confortable, une belle vue sur la campagne), le petit déjeuner délicieux, avec confitures maison et fruits de saison. Tout cela pour un prix plus que raisonnable.||C'était notre première expérience en chambre d'hôtes et depuis nous ne réservons plus ailleurs.||Merci à Madame la Châtelaine. Nous reviendrons.||Iwona et Jean-Claude...