Château de Maudetour — Hotel in Pontoise

Having just stayed at an actual chateau, filled to the brim with family heirlooms and antiques, this "chateau" was a disappointment. It has the look of buildings from the late 18th and early 19th century with new builds going on, but inside was more of a 3 star hotel with the informality of a B&B. There were no antiques to speak of inside any of the guests areas. There was a long corridor on one side of the building that was too small for anything but a walkway but they insisted on filling it with tables anyway which reduced your passage to a one (narrow) person clearance. This we found was made even more treacherous at night if you had to leave your room because the hallway had no lights on. When we arrived, we were not greeted by the owners of the B&B but by one of their caretakers who did not speak any English and who had with her a child which was rather noisy at times. We were also greeted by two well behaved dogs - a Rhodesian ridgeback and a small terrier, which never barked while we were there (wish I could say the same about the child). When we entered the building, I was immediately assailed by the overpowering stench of dog downstairs and when we went upstairs it changed to an overpowering mustiness. I noticed that there were no windows opened anywhere to air it out. I immediately opened our windows in the bedroom and kept them opened the entire time. While our room was very prettily done with fabric covered walls and matching curtains, it was furnished and decorated with all new, 21st century antique style furniture and new wood flooring. The bathroom though had old clay tiles put in that were unfinished and dirty looking and had grout coming away in places. Looking around the bathroom I could also see that it hadn't been cleaned around the base of the walls and behind the toilet. The bed was firm but I slept okay on it. Breakfast could have been a big disappointment, when we first sat down as there were only packaged breads and waffles but then the caretaker brought in fresh croissants and baked bread. Also the saucisson and cheese served was very good, so I was happy. One major flaw with this place are the cobbles which have come up from frost heaves and maybe from use of carriages long ago. The undercarriage of any car was in danger of being scraped using the only driveway they have open and the large cobbles are also very hard on tyres. We met one of the owners briefly (I recognised him later from the website) when he came over to us after returning from dinner and without any introduction told us to make sure we closed our windows if it rains as he is concerned with the new oak floors getting wet. This may explain why the windows are always kept closed everywhere. So, If you are looking for an authentic chateau experience with decorum, keep looking....

We arrived at the Chateau rather weary having cycled from the centre of Paris along the Avenue Verte and our hearts sank when we found the way into the grounds barred by large locked gates. However the entry phone did the trick, despite our limited French, and within five minutes a lady accompanied by a girl and a dog had appeared to let us in. From then on we enjoyed ourselves, savouring the past.||||The short drive up to the Chateau is not vehicle-friendly, being made of large cobbles, and the place itself must be a nightmare to heat (we were there in May and were offered an extra electric radiator, which we declined). But then we were staying in a house that reminded us of a National Trust property.||||One caveat is that dinner isn't available at the Chateau, just breakfast. The nearest restaurant is 3-4km away, which is fine if you're in a car but less so if you've been cycling all day. Moreover it's called the Fish and Frog...||||The pluses? We were made very welcome and got by with our limited French; we slept like logs; and the full continental breakfast was excellent. We can definitely recommend the Chateau for a...

|C’est avec beaucoup d’émotion que nous sommes revenus sur ce lieu sublime où nous avons célébré notre mariage, il y a un an.|Le choix de ce domaine est un coup de cœur , une visite unique et l’endroit était choisi.|Fabiola, propriétaire des lieux, très patiente, active et compréhensive pour faire face à notre stress et répondre à nos attentes pour les détails de ce jour unique, a été au top et la plus arrangeante possible pour nous apaiser et nous laisser préparer cette journée.|Je ne peux que vous inviter à vous rendre sur place pour visiter le site et vous serez conquis , nous avons pu y organiser notre cérémonie laïque , puis notre cocktail et enfin notre soirée de mariage.|Le partenariat avec Erisay permet également d’être paisible car le traiteur est en terrain connu et c’est un poids en moins.|Enfin c’est idem pour le brunch du lendemain (pour ceux qui veulent faire les prolongations ...) |Les propriétaires sont présents pour répondre à nos attentes mais tout aussi discrets pour vous laisser « chez vous » , dans le respect des règles mises en place dès le départ.|Ils vous proposent également des nounous pour s’occuper des petits de vos invités et un accès sur le site de Maudetour où vous pourrez faire les plus belles photos souvenir de ce jour.|Nous avons célébré notre mariage à Maudetour , puis nous y sommes retournés en chambre d’hôtes pour nous remémorer ces moments, le personnel sur place a été très accueillant .|Nous entendons encore parler nos convives de ce merveilleux endroit, notamment pour ceux qui ont eu la chance de dormir sur place dans des chambres décorées avec goût, et de la qualité du traiteur dont ils gardent comme nous un très bon souvenir.|Un grand merci , j’ai l’impression que c’était hier et si c’était à recommencer nous recommencerons demain sans...