L’AND Vineyards – Relais & Châteaux

Amazing property and staff. We did wish they had some bug lamps for the restaurant to get rid of some of the flies and our lights flickered a lot in our room which as a challenge but otherwise amazing.

A beautiful property with some very thoughtful and high end finishes. However, it is evident in some areas that design has won in favour of functionality - the stairs, chairs in dining areas and limited clothes hanging space. Some staff needed basic training (wrong orders 3 days in a row, lengthy delays to take an order) and about what good customer service and customer experience means - if this can be improved, then it will be a five star hotel. At this end of the market, missteps here and there can be excused, but when it’s consistent, it becomes tiresome. At the moment, there’s a heavy reliance on its architecture and beautiful landscape to make up the shortfall.

We celebrated my birthday and it was fantastic. The rooms are well designed and very comfortable. We had a great dinner at MAPA restaurant. Breakfasts were also very good. Certainly would come back to this hotel.

While it’s the most expensive place I’ve stayed and I think ROI really isn’t there, this place is amazing nonetheless. The lake, the pool, the room by the water, yeah it’s special.