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Following a short stay earlier this week I thought I’d summarise my experience for anyone interested.
I stayed with my 70+ parents (that’s their age, I don’t have dozens of parents), and booked a Queen Cosy and Queen Premium on a Destined rate via Emyr. We were upgraded well in advance to a Queen premium with balcony, and a Queen premium respectively.
First impressions were fantastic – the property sits at the top of a small hill within Chantilly forest, with 360 degree views across the treetops. We arrived in hire EV (do not use Hertz from Gare du Nord, it was shambolic) and was immediately escorted from the car to reception while they took our luggage, parked the cars and put it on the charger. Mum had a cold, so they had mentioned to me that they’d prefer separate beds rather than a Queen, and reception was able to accommodate a room switch to a Double Premium. Platinum Ambassador status was acknowledged, and the complimentary drink was extended to all three of us despite me being the only one with status. They also gave my parents the 4pm Ambassador checkout which they weren’t strictly entitled to which was appreciated.
I had the balcony room on level 2, which sits just above the treetops for a wonderful view. Note that there are some rooms that overlook the terrace which would be a significant disadvantage in my view – add to the notes that you would like the forest view. My parents in the double room had a terrace view as I suspect that was the only option for that room type. The terrace view isn’t terrible – there is still some greenery, but doesn’t feel as unique. The rooms had all the expected bells and whisltes, with remarkably cheap spirits from the minibar (and typing this I just realised I forgot to pay for mine when checking out. Oops!). I had a bowl of fruit and three french cake thingies waiting for me in the room along with a handwritten note. There was a shower over bath, which was a little on the slippery side, but on day 2 I spotted the rubber bath mat tucked away under the sink. My parents were very grateful for that as they are getting to an age where they’re not as steady on their feet. Toiletries were ‘Gypsy Water’ from Byredo, which makes a nice change from the Bal D’Afrique which seems to be at every other IC I’ve stayed at recently. Other than that, the room was perfectly acceptable.
Where I felt the hotel wasn’t up to scratch was on the food offering. Dinner was tasty enough, but had a very limited offering (you can see it online). With only four main courses, by day 2 we were already struggling to find something we wanted. There seems to be an enhance menu for Friday and Saturdays, but we didn’t see that with out midweek stay. I found the breakfast to be quite poor. A limited selection, the sausages were barely warm, and we were served a teapot with water well below boiling, meaning we had to discard our first brew and sort ourselves out – then they ran out of teabags as they only had half a dozen anyway (and they were the crap European variety with hardly any taste). First world problems, but when they had staff rearranging the stacked plates into neat piles, one would have thought they could have been put to better use. You won’t starve, but I’d expect more from 5 star.
In terms of the spa, unfortunately the pool was under maintenance for the duration of our stay which was a disappointment for all of us. At checkout I mentioned this and whether a discount could be offered. The front desk staff went and spoke to Gautier – the guest services manager – and suffice to say the resolution of this issue more than exceeded my expectations. I also had a 30 minute massage which was acceptable, but felt a little bit like going through the motions rather than targeting any specific aches and pains.
While we were there we made day trips to Senlis and Chateau de Chantilly, both of which I would recommend.
All in all it was a good stay, but let down by the food. Because of that, I’m not sure I’d be in a rush to return, but if you’re eating out anyway and have other breakfast plans it’s a great place.
Any questions, I’ll try my best to answer.
Thanks – I stayed at this hotel 20+ years ago and so am interested to know what it’s like now. I recall being quite impressed with the breakfast last time, though we only ate one evening meal there.
Chateau de Chantilly is definitely worth a visit, for the Renaissance architecture and art collection, plus to tick off a Bond location!
Always take your favourite tea bags with you.
Indeed, I had an excellent mug of Yorkshire tea by the pool earlier. Well, poured into a plastic beer cup as they don’t allow glass and ceramics in the pool area 😂
@phantomchickenz, what did Emyr’s rate include?The usual. Breakfast, upgrade, $100. The ambassador late checkout trumps the Destined offer.
The usual. Breakfast, upgrade, $100. The ambassador late checkout trumps the Destined offer.
Would you eaten elsewhere if you didn’t have the dining credit to spend or are you captuve when there? I will definitely be visiting to pay homage to A View To A Kill at Chantilly
There isn’t an alternative in the immediate area – it’s quite isolated. If you’re happy to drive for 15 mins I’m sure you’d find something.
I really need something in the belly to get me going in the morning though, so usually try and eat at the hotel.
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