Chateau Hotel & Spa Grand Barrail

This is a very special hotel. The staff went above and beyond, the restaurant was fabulous, our room was beautiful and the grounds are spectacular, surrounded by vineyards. There is a pond with ducks and two beautiful swans who walk around the property. We arranged in advance for a picnic and had a lovely lunch on a blanket with an incredible view of the hotel, the vineyards, and of course, the swans. The pool, sauna and steam were also terrific. We rented a car in Bordeaux, and spent three nights at Grand Barrail, exploring St. Emilion and only a few of the 800 wineries, dining at excellent restaurants recommended by the hotel. It is centrally located with easy access to the St. Emilion area. Lots of free parking on the property.

Absolutely amazing. The grounds and property are gorgeous. The staff was lovely and very attentive. The breakfasts were fabulous. Room was great and bed was so comfortable. We stayed for dinner one night and that was also fantastic - you just need to book ahead of time (people in other reviews seem to have forgotten the simple art of “booking a reservation”, which is… common everywhere). We had a perfect stay here - don’t hesitate.

After putting us in a room that was stifling hot, we were told the AC would work so give it time. It never worked. Hear blasting. Told all rooms the same. When we finally got someone to hear us they moved us to another room the second night. And VOILA the heat was off and it was comfortable. We do not appreciate being lied to. Especially from a hotel that claims it is a luxury establishment. It is not.

Excellent experience over 3 nights in St Emilion. Went for our wedding anniversary, staff very helpful and could not be better. Great dinner one night in the restaurant. Exec Vineyard room was fantastic. Highly recommend

I have booked a facial, as it was recommended by a friend from St Emilion. The hotel is beautiful and I was allowed to enjoy the spa before my treatment. Sadly the sustainability credentials were not respected by the beautician who was "looking after" me. The delivery of the facial was done with very little care and poor customer service. This is not luxury, this is not professional. I will not return nor recommend.

This hotel, property and restaurant are a true delight. Located in the center of the vineyards of St. Emillion, they offer an elegant and relaxing location and great jumping off point to explore the whole wine region. We were delightfully surprised by the top notch food and service at the on-site premises. We had a 7:30 reservation and we were asked if we would like to sit outside on their lovely veranda for a cocktail. When our order was taken, they brought us three lovely and delicious amuse bouche to nibble on! Our dinner was top notch and we chose to stay for the breakfast the next morning which was thoroughly delightful. Everyone we encountered on the staff was friendly and helpful. We just wish we could have stayed more than one night!

My Deluxe room which is described by this 5 star hotel as having "breathtaking views of the park or vineyard" instead had a view of two Grand Barrail vans. When the vans were still there the next day, I asked the front desk to move them, and the vans were moved. While the service from the rest of the hotel was good, the general manager should not allow his lazy van drivers to park in front of one of their more expensive rooms.

Where to start. PLEASE realize the photos are much more luxurious than what you’ll be arriving to. My partner and I stayed in the “ executive room castle ” ( lol ) and it fell beyond short of expectations and photos. The room smelt like mold and/or old water damage. We informed the front desk to which we basically had no reply or care. Apart from there being ZERO view besides looking at the adjacent building next door, the shower leaked tremendously onto the floor which led to carpeted stairs ( makes sense for the gross smell ). The pool was also not like the photos. The photos makes it seem like you’ll be arriving at a fairytale chateau in Bordeaux, with swans in a gleaming pond , a gorgeous outdoor pool and spa etc. It’s more so a rundown building with a gym the size of a closet with no windows, smelly/extremely dated rooms, mediocre service and a 1800$ bill for two nights. Our room was also beside the stairs to the restaurant so you could constantly hear staff. Oh, and if you’d like a reso for the restaurant at your own hotel, goodluck! They don’t cater to their own guests before public reservations so we weren’t even able to have dinner there as it was ‘sold out’. I’d highly suggest looking elsewhere for a place to stay, as a very frequent traveller this was the biggest disappointment on our recent trip.

I am in awe by the audacity of anyone leaving this hotel less than 5 stars. It is amazing and worth every penny. Let me start with the staff, because they deserve a lot of praise. I believe I emailed the hotel at least two dozen times with various questions about the spa, the restaurant, bike rentals, airport transportation and more, and every time their responses were prompt and helpful, including getting us a table at the restaurant even though their reservation system indicated they were booked. At the hotel, the front desk, bar, and restaurant staff were wonderful - friendly and very helpful. It helps, by the way, if you make even a modicum of effort to speak french - say Bonjour or Bonsoir (good day or good evening), say s'il vous plait (please), and say merci (thank you). In that way, you don't come off like an arrogant tourist. The hotel itself, as you can probably tell from the photos, is beautiful and no expense is spared for your comfort. The rooms are large and welcoming. The beds and very comfortable and the bathrooms and showers are great. We had a beautiful patio overlooking the vineyards. The back of the hotel has outside tables overlooking a beautiful courtyard as well as some lounge chairs to relax in. Pool looked good, but we didn't use it. Location is great. It's about 3-3.5 km from the village using a lesser used road/bike path behind the hotel (as opposed to the main road which might be a bit too dangerous). I would call it an easy bike ride, but its a hilly area and it's a bit strenuous to get there. Much easier on the way back. There are taxis, if biking isn't your thing. Melissa used the spa but unfortunately, I waited too long to reserve a treatment and wasn't able to go myself. But during her spa treatment, I had a nice time at the bar chatting with the bartender about French whiskeys and trying a few myself. Finally, our meal was absolutely superb. Besides a cheese plate (wonderful), some wine (from Saint Emilion, of course, and delicious) and a tray of small appetizers from the kitchen, I got the John Dory confit, which is a meaty white fish. It was excellent. One of my favorite meals in our 9 days in Bordeaux. This hotel spoiled me for all hotels in the future. I don't know why we would ever travel anywhere ever again but to Saint Emilion just to stay at this hotel.

Chateau is beautiful in a lovely area right between vineyards. Be sure to take the time to walk around the pond for a lovely photo op. Rooms were cute, beds were comfy. Breakfast buffet was worth the extra cost. A bit disappointed by dinner. I know it's mentioned by Michelin but in our opinion nowhere close. Lovely location but we would not dine here again.

My daughter and I wanted to visit Saint Emilion as we love the vineyards and fine wine. We stayed at the Château Hôtel Grand Barrail and it was exemplary. I highly recommend staying here when in Saint Emilion France. It is easily accessible by taking a 20 minute train from Bordeaux. The hotel hosts a spa which was wonderful. The hotel also has a splendid Michelin rated restaurant. Reservations are required for both dinner and lunch. We dined twice because the service and food were top notch. We made reservations prior to our stay. It is a must do. There is also a wine bar in the hotel which serves food in the evening. The pool is lovely and so are the grounds. Very quiet and relaxing, especially after returning from an eight hour e-bike tour through the vineyards and wine tasting. This venue was one of our favorites as world travelers and we will return for another stay. Well done Château Hôtel Grand Barrail! Thank you for the lovely stay. R Olesen

My husband and I chose this hotel as part of our honeymoon because of the junior suite and due to the fact that it claims to be a 5 star hotel worthy of the price tag of ~$700 per night. We had a terrible experience and have been trying to dispute the cost with Chase (who we booked through) for months. We have both traveled extensively and this is by far the worst experience we ever had a hotel. I wanted to avoid posting a negative review but after 5 months of trying to dispute the charge, I'm left with no choice. The hotel has lied repeatedly to Chase and refuses to give our money back, so here is our very honest review which is really more a summary of the experience we had. I have included photos of the room we booked, the room we received. To begin, this is simply not a 5 star hotel and the majority of the staff were not interested in helping those staying. There were empty towel baskets at the pool and no one to assist with finding new ones, there was no one at the front desk throughout the evening hours, flies all over the food at breakfast, and in general everything in this hotel is very old and dated and not in the way one would hope for a romantic experience. We had to ask for help multiple times and we never received it. To start with the room, it was not the room we booked. We booked the Junior Suite through Chase and were given a completely different room than was advertised. The hotel confirmed by email in advance that the junior suite was lovely and when we complained (which we did in writing to share with Chase) we were told by the hotel that we should have asked them in advance for help choosing a room even though we did and I had the emails to prove it. They apparently have different junior suites but do not advertise this or allow customers to choose one over the other. Our terrace was tiny with astroturf, full of rust, and had absolutely no view of the vineyards as advertised upon booking. I even sent the photos from the junior suite on the hotel's website to confirm that we had indeed booked this room! Instead, our room looked directly at a building and was unpleasant. Had this been the room advertised we never would have booked it. While we were offered to move our room for the second of the two nights, it would not have been available until early afternoon and we would have had to cancel other activities we had booked and lose money as a result. Although the hotel offered, we of course did not want the hotel staff to pack our belongings. Instead of offering to make this right in any way, the hotel chose to blame us for booking through Chase rather than booking with them directly, and again, we did reach out to the hotel to discuss the room type while booking in Chase several months before. We had no functioning AC throughout our stay which was amidst a heatwave in France with temperatures reaching 100 degrees and I was pregnant. We advised the front desk and others multiple times yet no one worked to resolve the issue and no one communicated with one another. When we came in from dinner our first night and wanted to confirm it was fixed, there was simply no one at the front desk to ask and no one to be found in the hotel lobby, which is not indicative of a 5 star hotel. Of course the AC had not been fixed. The next day the hotel staff said we should just keep the black out shutter windows closed (even though we advised multiple times that we kept the windows closed) during the daytime to try to cool the room off. When we left our room for dinner in the hotel during our second night, we again advised the concierge that our AC was still not working and asked that someone take a look while we have dinner. We were told we should have told someone about this issue even though we told several different people already! We were then told by the restaurant staff we were not permitted to eat indoors even though it was 97 degrees outside! One of the two indoor rooms had a large party but the other room was completely empty. We explained I was pregnant and it was extremely hot and they still said no, so without any other option for dinner, we ate outside. The meal was miserable in the heat so we tried to quickly eat one course which still took 1.5 hours. We were even charged 14 euro for 2 small bottles of water because they chose not to disclose that they offered free tap water. After dinner we found our room sweltering hot with the AC still not working. We called to the concierge yet again to ask if someone checked and were told they did not know about the issue even though we had just reported it again one hour prior. At 11pm, two women from housekeeping arrived with a small fan and upon checking the AC stated that a technician was required the next day, which was when we were checking out. They brought us towels to use as lightweight blankets! While the hotel will claim they fixed the AC they most certainly did not. They blamed us for all of our problems stating we did not report them enough.

Had dinner here two separate nights with another couple. Not only was the food truly excellent both evenings but our hostess, Pauline, was the absolute best in every way. Professional, knowledgeable about all the offerings and an absolute joy. Cannot recommend the restaurant or Pauline any more highly.

We stayed here last week for 2 nights. We had come from visiting Barcelona so the change of pace was welcomed. It is a gorgeous property. The rooms were beautifully decorated and surprisingly very spacious. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Most employees spoke English which was helpful for us. We did dinner at the hotel restaurant one night and everything was very good. Especially the rack of lamb. This is a perfect location as you are a few km's from Saint-Émilion and a short car or train ride from Bordeaux. A little further drive you can get to Bergerac. It is a quaint little village definitely worth a visit, especially for the Saturday morning outdoor market. Anyway, we loved this property and recommend it highly!

Stayed at the Grand Barrail for two nights and had two quite nice breakfast meals. It's completely buffet style, except that you can have fresh eggs prepared as you like. There was a nice selection of fruits, cheeses, cereals, breads and ham...along with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Great selection of coffee and teas as well as pastries to end the meal. If the weather is warm, I highly recommend sitting outside and enjoying the grounds. It's an amazing property and I look forward to my next visit.

From the moment I set foot in this place, the joy I felt can not be described. It looks like a caste sitting in a beautiful vineyard. The staff is AMAZING. The people at the front desk are so friendly and helpful and sweet. When you ask them for a favor, they thank YOU!!! Upon check in, the staff helped my friend and I get reservations for restaurants and wine tastings, which last minute can be very challenging and are necessary in France. They showed us around the hotel and took us straight to our BEAUTIFUL room. The room had a balcony that looked out over fields of vineyards. So beyond beautiful. Amenities at the hotel include bikes, a temperature controlled swimming pool, a spa, and a picturesque story tale setting. The hotel bar is great, though I didn't eat at the restaurant and am unable to comment on the food. Personal regret. I will have to go back.

If there was an option for a sixth star this hotel would be well deserving of it!! We spent three nights here on our honeymoon, and by far this was the best hotel experience that we have ever had. From the moment we arrived we knew that this place was special, the estate is set in the middle of the St. Emilion wine region. The hotel is polished in every facet, from the grounds, and down to every little detail in the rooms. The rooms are large and welcoming and the views out the windows are picturesque. The bathrooms are spa-like, with multi-headed shower which is large enough for 8-10 people, and also include large soaking tub. The hotel also has a four star restaurant, which from our experience leads me to believe that its well on its way to being a 5 star. After six days of Paris dining and six days of dining in and around Bordeaux, by far this was the best restaurant and dining we experienced! The staff of the restaurant were on point and couldn't of been any nicer and more informative to two English speaking guest. If you get to dine here you would have to choose from one of the three prix menu's. They set the pricing for these menu's in three different price ranges, the 1st menu is in the 50-55 euro range, the 2nd is 70-75, and the 3rd is 95-100 with a wine paring option that bumps it up to 125. This puts you at a great advantage to taste the best of what they have to offer. Grand Barrail is located in the heart of the worlds most famous winery's, with Chevel Blanc, Petrus and Ausone all within 2 mile radius. Sure you will never get into these winery's, but it shows the company that surrounds you.(they do make great photo ops) What I took from this amazing experience was, besides a lifetime of unforgettable memories, is I couldn't possibly believe there could be a better option in the St. Emilion region.

My wife and I stayed here for our honeymoon. What an amazing adventure. The staff is fantastic. Thr rooms very comfy. The vineyards right outside your door. We would walk to St. Emilion daily, a fantastical small medieval village. Tour the vineyards. We also took to train into Bordeaux for shopping and sight seeing. One night we arrived late and were unable to taxi from the train station to the chateau, we called the hotel and informed them we would walk. Low and behold down a dark street the manager picks us up. But by far the best part of this chateau was the stained glass ambiance dining rooms. We have ate at some of the best restaurants worldwide, but none will ever compete with an intimate dinner for two at this chateau. We will surely return in the future to this fairytale chateau.

I wanted to love you. This hotel was one that we chose to drive to from Bordeaux for our anniversary night because of the reviews about the hotel and restaurant. I'll start by saying I'm not a thin person, I enjoy eating. I enjoy cooking. I've worked at SEVERAL high end hotels and restaurants. We've eaten across the world, and we rarely leave food on our plates...... We did not finish a single course. Even the dessert was horrible, which is honestly a first for me. The amuse bouche was horrible! Spider crab salad was okay, but the flowers and radish made it so bitter we had to pick through it. The fish was over salted, the beef was tough at medium rare. The dessert... lime chocolate. The most bitter lime paired with a dark chocolate... BLEH! Never have I been more disappointed in a restaurant. The hotel is beautiful, the staff of the hotel is wonderful. Do not eat the food!