Château de la Motte Beaumanoir — Hotel in Saint-Malo

The first thing to prize about Le Chateau de la Motte Beaumanoir is its location. Pleugueneuc is a very small but still pleasant village located between the Ille-et-Vilaine department and very near to the Côte d'Amour. An ideal location to explore this charming and interesting part of Bretagne. Wonderfully preserved examples of medieval architecture (from the amazing Mt. St. Michel to the splendind half-timbered houses of Dinan), natural landscapes such as the endless corn and wheat fields, the glorious pink sand of the Côte de Granit Rose or the extrahordinary experience of the rising tides of St. Malo and Dinard and cultural activities are all at a stone's throw of Pleugueneuc. The village has a mini-market and a couple of decent crêperies. And in a ratio of 20 km larger villages such as Dinan and Comburg offer lovely day trips. excellent restaurants and all kinds of stores. All of these ideal when you travel with three young children.||||The location of the Castle is also privileged. Nested in a small woodland, away from the town, the road or any source of noise, the castle has a small lake which offer wodreful views and a relaxing atmosphere. The nerby weath fields offered endless fun for the children and the woods and sorroundings of the lake an idilic place to have a picknic. Our son enjoyed practicing trumpet at the small jetty in the lake.||||The castle itself is beautiful. Small and in need of some mantainace work, but still magnificently preserved and well appointed. We had a enormous family suite, with a small foyer, three bedrooms (the children's room with lovely details, such as a wooden horse and an old school desk) and a large bathroom with a bath tub. With an impressive view to the lake. The sunsets were a delight. The common areas are well appointed and comfortable, with two sitting rooms and a match pool room, which is great fun for both, children and gown ups. The arrangements are low key, but still far more than a smiple Chambre d'Hotel. On rainy days or days when we wanted just to relax, the Chateau provided the ideal interior and exterior spaces to spend a good time. Other guests were barely noticed so we had great peace and relaxation.||||The managers, Mickaël and his wife Liza, go out of he way to make our stay pleasant andsatisfy all our wishes. We learnt that they have only managed the Chateau for three months and, for such a short time, they do an outsanding work. Although there are still a few details to tune, the couple is so commited to give their guests a remarkable experience that I am sure that, with time there will be no room for complain.||||The only negative points: the Wi-fi, as it has been mentioned, doesn't work with the exception of the reception area. Although this is not a major problem. The breakfast was repetitive (we stayed for 10 days, so the last days we could not see a piece of Brie anymore!) and limited. But Mickaël, being an experienced and exceptional chef, can think about workable solutions to improve it -we enjoyed his dinner one evening and everything was absolutely lovely!-. The rooms (and hotel managers) would beneffit with an electric kettle and tea facilities in the room. And, although the bathroom was large and the beds really confortable, the daily cleaning of the rooms and the state of the bath and bed linnens must be improved. Those are all little details, easy to overlook against all the possitive things about this lovingly ran Chambres d'hôtes.||||We wish much luck to Liza and Mickaël and we thank them for their hospitality and kindness. We look forward to return to such a peaceful castle that makes the guests...

We stayed here for one night on our journey from Cherbourg. It is set in lovely grounds with a lake next to it. We were offered complimentary drinks on our arrival which was very welcoming. The room had stunning views across the lake. I understand from the owners that they have only bought this property a few months ago and I'm sure over the course of time they will make this an excellent place to stay. Breakfast was wonderful, it was in a beautiful room and the food and drink was plentiful. The rooms inside the castle are stunning, with large fireplaces and beautiful decor. The owners are very friendly and helpful.||For us, there were a few negatives: the stairs to the rooms is a winding concrete staircase with a rail on one side and a rope hanging down the middle like in the old days which is very authentic but was not very practical for my elderly mother or my young children and I found it awkward carrying the suitcases up. The rooms are very basic, there are no blackout curtains and no tea making facilities. There was a large rug in the middle of the room which kept sliding on the wooden floors when you walked on it and my mother tripped up a few times and my children fell over a few times because of this. Lastly the pool which was the main attraction for us when we booked turned out to be freezing and the water very cloudy. The owners said it was the pollen from the trees apparently but it didn't look clean to me so none of us used it which was a great disappointment. There was a small portable filtering machine to the side of the pool but I don't think it was very effective. Also the area surrounding the pool was untidy with broken wooden chairs, it could be made look so much nicer.||But I would return probably just with my husband for a romantic...

Last year we spent 10 wonderful days at Chateau de la Motte Beaumanoir. As mentioned, as a small family room business, it has many flaws. Yet, the location is well worth the faults. And its friendly owners, Michelle and wife, who have children the age of ours.||||We were so happy at the place, which was a great base to explore Bretagne that we told the hosts we would certainly come back. To which they enthusiastically replied that they would be happy to host us again.||||However, to our bitter disappointment, when trying to book a room for two weeks again, we discovered that Chateau de la Motte Beaumanoir has become a child-unfriendly place. That is not only a shame, as the site is ideal for children. But also a weird decision, considering that the owners have young children as well.||||Chateau de la Motte Beaumanoir is not a 5 star hotel (it's not even a hotel); is not a leisure SPA or a meditation retreat. The property is huge, so it is rare to find other guests during your stay; let alone interfering with theirs. And the rooms are quite isolated from each other so there is no way that noise comes through the walls or floors. I have never been in a more quiet place and the time we were there there were several children.||||Furthermore, their territorial, aggressive and extremely loud goose is worst than some of the most annoying kids I have encountered in hotels. ||||The decision to ban children seems out of character and highly arrogant.||||Our children are literally crying with disappointment. Shame on this place...