L'Hostellerie du Château de Bricquebec

The owner/manager was excellent and we enjoyed dinner in the delightful surroundings of the vaulted dining room during our first night.

In the review, above, ('Lovely venue, excellent manager...') I explained two staff relations problems that spoilt our stay. Since then I have received a call from the owner/manager, Marien. He completely understood and recognised our disappointment, and we had a good purposeful conversation. I explained that we already had every intention of returning sometime in the future and we agreed that the issues I raised previously are far from insurmountable (staff/guest relations/PR etc). Marien is part way through a 'root and branch' restoration of the chateau - a challenge in itself - so a little latitude is called for to help him in this effort, and we fully support him in achieving this. I am sure he will be successful.

Lovely building and environment, both inside and out. High level of service (although perhaps slightly short-staffed). Certainly attention to detail cared for. We were able to park two motorbikes in the garage. Very comfortable rooms and lovely quiet area. We stayed for dinner which was excellent. Breakfast was a good continental. Extremely good value for money. Prob not suitable for a long stay with young children as it is definitely a quieter hotel. Good location for looking around the town and area.

I appreciate the parking for cars can be difficult as it is not on site, but the town square car park is just outside the gates. Prob not suitable for a long stay with young children as it is definitely a quieter hotel.

This was our second visit in the last few years and the hotel is now under new management. The charming young new manager Marien Mabelin comes from a Corsican family in the hospitality business and trained at the famous Valet School. The Château is very much a work in progress upgrading rooms and general facilities after many years of neglect. But meanwhile it all works well and we had a very pleasant stay in a ground floor room giving direct access to the large parking area (only to be used to deposit luggage) and gardens enclosed by the old Castle walls. There is a limited menu but the quality (specially the steak) was exceptional. The chef had worked previously in Paris. The breakfast choices were limited and didn't live up to the lunch or dinner. However full marks for supper on Sunday night when most other hotel restaurants in the region are closed.

A bit of difficulty closing the exterior wooden shutters but otherwise a very comfortable bed and good bathroom. There is even a real bath. The only problem for me as a tall person was a shelf above the bath. No idea why it was there as it served no useful purpose but made me bump my head a few times!

Impressive looking castle

Despite us having a confirmed prepaid reservation on booking.com, the manager insisted we were a day late and there was no space for us. When we showed him the reservation he grudgingly conceded we were right but blamed "the system" and did not apologise, and said we would have to apply to booking.com for a refund. Eventually he did help us book alternative accommodation nearby at his cost and refunded us the difference. And gave us beers on the house which cheered us up a bit! But really there's no excuse for such a basic error with modern booking systems.