Domaine Le Prieuré Hôtel Restaurant Événementiel — Restaurant in Ambert

Located deep in the countryside and well of the beaten track, this place is hard to find. When we arrived for an overnight stay we thought it had been worth the trouble to navigate through the narrow rural roads to get there. By the time we left the following morning we had certainly changed our minds.||The hotel is a converted priory and externally it has kept much of its original architectural integrity. Internally, the conversion has not been so sympathetic. Above all, the room we had was decorated in the strangest colours: deep purple, vivid lime and lurid plum! Not exactly restful. We could have lived with it for one night but the food we were served in the restaurant that evening tipped the balance. The first two courses were at best mediocre but we ate them without complaint. We could not let the dessert (tart tartin) pass without comment. It was inedible: acrid apples, wet and soggy pastry. We sent it back and having lost our appetite did not want a replacement. It did not occur to me that we settled our bill that we would be charged for the soggy dessert. But that is exactly what happened and our protests were met with the response that no one else had complained and that we had to pay. I was astounded by the arrogance and intransigence displayed for the sake of a few euros but I eventually paid just to get away.||I do not like to categorise a place as poor but the fact that there is really no where else to eat once you reach this hotel and the surly attitude of the staff towards complaint compels me to warn others about...

Located deep in the countryside and well of the beaten track, this place is hard to find. When we arrived for an overnight stay we thought it had been worth the trouble to navigate through the narrow rural roads to get there. By the time we left the following morning we had certainly changed our minds.||The hotel is a converted priory and externally it has kept much of its original architectural integrity. Internally, the conversion has not been so sympathetic. Above all, the room we had was decorated in the strangest colours: deep purple, vivid lime and lurid plum! Not exactly restful. We could have lived with it for one night but the food we were served in the restaurant that evening tipped the balance. The first two courses were at best mediocre but we ate them without complaint. We could not let the dessert (tart tartin) pass without comment. It was inedible: acrid apples, wet and soggy pastry. We sent it back and having lost our appetite did not want a replacement. It did not occur to me that we settled our bill that we would be charged for the soggy dessert. But that is exactly what happened and our protests were met with the response that no one else had complained and that we had to pay. I was astounded by the arrogance and intransigence displayed for the sake of a few euros but I eventually paid just to get away.||I do not like to categorise a place as poor but the fact that there is really no where else to eat once you reach this hotel and the surly attitude of the staff towards complaint compels me to warn others about...

We booked this place as we wanted to stay near our friends who live nearby and was glad that they knew the area and took us places. We would be really stuck for things to do in The Prieuré as if you don’t cycle or like picking mushroom you have a drive to most places of any interest. The hotel offers rooms with very basic amenities and the beds were very hard but we padded them with all blankets available. It also turned out to close for many hours after lunch with no one at reception and we were not told about the digicode on arrival but were lucky to drag the gardener into the hotel and ask him for our keys. The food is beautifully presented with elaborate pre-prepared food ornaments and looks like Michelin’s star food until you try it. A bit disappointing that in the night of berries season we got tinned fruit for fruit salad and in the midst of asparagus country we were served tinned asparagus. The wine glasses used to serve my rose were the smallest wine glasses I have ever seen but pression is of finest quality. Staff made a point of not speaking English (except guy on reception) which is fine being middle of country. The rooms were checked daily and breakfast’s highlights are all these home made jams. The rest you can buy from SuperU 3 km away for much less than the ten Euro charged. On balance, it served its purpose very well and would go back if...