Château de Villiers-le-Mahieu — Hotel in Rambouillet

What a splendid idea to convert a castle 🏰 and its lush grounds into an all-inclusive resort! I loved the space, you can trully breathe here, especially post-covid.

There are several buildings on the territory : Le Chateau, La Ferme, La Grange, Le Cottage, Le Spa, all containing rooms (around 100 in total) and salons 🛋 (we counted at least 5!), where guests can enjoy some refreshments in the spaceous and tastefully decorated area (bravo to the architects! every material and little detail is of high quality).

The 48-hour package we booked comprised of 2 nights in a standard room (we stayed in the left wing of the castle, overlooking the moat, it was original hearing the fish 🐟 jumping out and seeing myocastors 🐹 assembling on the lawn in the evening!). But we didn't sleep well, as the matress 🛏 was too soft.

The package included 6 meals 🍽 (choice of 2 entrées and 2 dishes of good quality), 2 goûters, an open bar 🍷, and all activities (indoor 14m and outdoor ~20m swimming pools 🏊‍♂️, snooker🎱, golf⛳, bicycles 🚴‍♀️, ping pong 🏓, yoga🧘‍♀️, etc) all reopened post covid, just before our arrival (pure luck, as we booked the place in May, when travel was still limited to 100km from your residence, no swimming pools allowed, no restaurants opened).

Due to the sanitary precautions, to avoid overcrowding, some activities had to be reserved and the tables in La Ferme and the garden were set far away from each other 📏, which we appreciated a great deal! This is a true advantage post-covid, when you have space, you don't sit on each others heads!!

There was also a requirement to wear a mask 😷 and regularly clean hands with rubbing alcohol 🤲 (all provided by hotel) at the reception and the restaurant buffet. I found the staff strict, rigid, but this is the norm in France.

What we didn't understand was the sanitary measure for the dishes, instead of serving on ceramic plates and washing them at 60°, all was served in bamboo dishes, with bamboo forks🥣, and plastic cups.. felt like an airplane kit. And all these kits were thrown away together with glass bottles, etc. I felt guilty every time.

Near the resort are the beautiful wheat 🌾 and corn fields🌽, you can take a ride on the bicycle provided to the zoo 🦁 (2km away) or an old town. We didn't have time to check everything out in only 48 hours! And unfortunately you can't extend your stay, this hotel is reserved for seminars...

The place was special for us as we got married there in 2008. Since last year, we came back 3 times, once as a couple and twice with our two kids. The last stay in July 2022 maked our decision to never return. I have the impression that the place was bought by private equity and the focus was focused on profitability instead of hospitality and services. Every attention or service will be given if you pay extra money. For example, if your room is not ready before the check-in time, if you pay 50€ then the room will be ready shortly. There is no longer traditional sense of service such as " let me find if there is a room which is ready..." by the reception which a normal 4 star hotel would propose. Besides the breakfast is very basic, not worth a 4 star standing and finishes at 10 am even during the weekends, which is not in sync with the relaxing atmosphere they're trying to build. ||The room in the farmside has been rebuilt more recently than the rooms in the château but no fridge in the room for a 4 star hotel is shocking. No normal guest kits in bathroom. ||I've invited a long dated friend over for lunch whilst not staying for the night, she had to pay the day package (80€) instead of the bruch price (45€) to spend the afternoon with us as it was explained by the hotel manager that it is a private domain and for guest who doesn't have a room in the hotel, she had to pay the full price which included all sports activities even if my friend will not use the facilities.||The last draw is that there was a fire alarm at 3am in the rooms of the farmside and it was proven to be a mistaken alert due to the heat/hot weather. All in all, the new buyer of the hotel is taking advantage of the charm of the place and turning it to a cash machine, obsessed by how to make more money instead of focusing on services! They've definitely lost us as a loyal customer which is a shame ! The all inclusive packages are good alternatives for families not far from Paris, but super expensive for the kind of services / activities they propose. The staff seemed depressed and pressured. I would encourage the hotel to rethink about their strategy, aiming at caring their customers first and the profitability will come. And the hotel manager needs basic training of customer servicing and hospitality, not in par with...

The place was special for us as we got married there in 2008. Since last year, we came back 3 times, once as a couple and twice with our two kids. The last stay in July 2022 maked our decision to never return. I have the impression that the place was bought by private equity and the focus was focused on profitability instead of hospitality and services. Every attention or service will be given if you pay extra money. For example, if your room is not ready before the check-in time, if you pay 50€ then the room will be ready shortly. There is no longer traditional sense of service such as " let me find if there is a room which is ready..." by the reception which a normal 4 star hotel would propose. Besides the breakfast is very basic, not worth a 4 star standing and finishes at 10 am even during the weekends, which is not in sync with the relaxing atmosphere they're trying to build. ||The room in the farmside has been rebuilt more recently than the rooms in the château but no fridge in the room for a 4 star hotel is shocking. No normal guest kits in bathroom. ||I've invited a long dated friend over for lunch whilst not staying for the night, she had to pay the day package (80€) instead of the bruch price (45€) to spend the afternoon with us as it was explained by the hotel manager that it is a private domain and for guest who doesn't have a room in the hotel, she had to pay the full price which included all sports activities even if my friend will not use the facilities.||The last draw is that there was a fire alarm at 3am in the rooms of the farmside and it was proven to be a mistaken alert due to the heat/hot weather. All in all, the new buyer of the hotel is taking advantage of the charm of the place and turning it to a cash machine, obsessed by how to make more money instead of focusing on services! They've definitely lost us as a loyal customer which is a shame ! The all inclusive packages are good alternatives for families not far from Paris, but super expensive for the kind of services / activities they propose. The staff seemed depressed and pressured. I would encourage the hotel to rethink about their strategy, aiming at caring their customers first and the profitability will come. And the hotel manager needs basic training of customer servicing and hospitality, not in par with...