Chateau Hotel & Spa Grand Barrail

My wife and I absolutely loved this hotel. It was one of our favorites of all time. We had an upgraded room, with beautiful vineyard views. The room itself was large, nicely decorated, with a nice size bathroom. We were welcomed with chocolates and our room gave us access to the hot tub, steam room and sauna which we used twice. We also received breakfast as part of our room, and it was one of the best we have had with a good selection of drinks and food. The staff was very friendly. The location is perfect if you want to explore Saint Emilion and the surrounding areas, though I would recommend having a car. I would highly recommend this hotel, and I hope to be back. Like others have mentioned, there is a large speed bump and the entrance road is narrow, but that certainly shouldn't affect your experience

We recently stayed at this lovely hotel and overall, had a very pleasant experience. The setting is beautiful, surrounded by vineyards, and with fewer than 50 rooms, the atmosphere feels peaceful and exclusive. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful throughout our stay, and our room was spacious and clean.||We stayed in Room 315, an executive suite, which had sunshine from 11 am until sunset, with gorgeous views of the vineyards—an ideal spot to relax. The spa was also a nice addition, opening at 10 am, and a great way to unwind.||A couple of things to note: make sure to book dinner well in advance if you want to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. We tried booking the day before and unfortunately couldn’t get a table, but there are plenty of great restaurants nearby, |When our Uber mistakenly picked up someone else and we were at risk of missing our train, the staff really went above and beyond to assist with translating on the phone. ||One downside was the flying bugs around the outdoor areas, especially in the evening. While this is somewhat out of the hotel’s control, it would be helpful if the outdoor furniture were swept more regularly as we noticed some dead bugs on the chairs. Bug spray is definitely a must!||Breakfast was a bit underwhelming for a hotel of this caliber, being a continental buffet. We were surprised not to see more options like eggs Benedict or avocado toast—small improvements here could make a big difference.||In summary, while I had some reservations after reading earlier reviews, we had a great stay. At 600 euros per night, I did expect a bit more in certain areas, but the overall experience was positive, and the location and staff made it a memorable trip.

On the surface a nice hotel at a beautiful location. However, that’s really only on the surface, which is mainly let down by its incredibly overpriced and mediocre restaurant. The restaurant is honestly unacceptably expensive for what it offers, but I wouldn’t recommend it if it was even half the price. It simply wasn’t good enough. Breakfast was equally overpriced and of the same low quality, with the saltiest scrambled eggs you can imagine. It wasn’t just the restaurant that was disappointing. The deluxe room was nice enough. But the room was too warm at night, even in October and the “view” shown in the pictures on their website was non-existent (see picture). This should’ve been indicated in the room description. Overall, I cannot recommend this hotel, or restaurant.

I rarely share negative reviews of places, but: - The speed bump at the entrance is simply criminal - any low car above 5kph an hour will get some damages - The staff was truly unhelpful with restaurant bookings. During the holidays on a Sunday when nothing else really is available, the restaurant didn't set any tables asides for hotel guests, nor phoned us, nor sent a follow up email. Their weren''t in capacity to welcome hotel guests while there were still 3 tables available across both services. All wouldn't be such an issue if the staff's reaction wasn't on the tone of "Sounds like a you problem"... Other side notes, true bugs in the rooms, but that happens in the country side.

October 2024. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Chateau Hotel & Spa Grand Barrail. The room and campus grounds are nice and gave us a romantic vibe. Staff is very kind and paid attention to detail. They reached out to help us plan our dinner, tours and room extras like flowers. Breakfast and dinner at the restaurant were great and more than worth the price. We highly recommend it for people looking to relax and enjoy St Emilion (10 minute taxi ride). Looking forward to returning!

We absolutely loved it here! The service on reception was exceptional (I wish I’d got the name of the guy who checked us in as he was so lovely and helpful). The spa was lovely, as was the pool, all super clean and well maintained with plentiful towels. We ate in the restaurant and it was a lovely experience. Our room, a duplex suite, was gorgeous. We only stayed one night and I was so disappointed to leave. Would definitely return!

My wife and I arrived in Saint Emilion by bicycle from Bordeaux and stayed here for a night here before heading on to our next stop. I must admit I was a little wary of booking this hotel due to some of the negative reviews and felt obliged to post a review as our experience was excellent! The building and grounds are spectacular, the staff was super friendly and accommodating and the room was beautiful and comfortable. I would definitely stay here again. They provided a shuttle into Saint Emilion so we could walk around, shop and enjoy the beautiful town without a car. The main “issue” it seems with bad experiences is to be aware that the hotel restaurant is fine dining and popular so reservations are needed but the concierge contacted us prior to our stay to make sure we were all set and had a great stay. We recommend!

Absolutely fantastic hotel! It is a magnificent building with fantastic grounds lovely rooms and a superb restaurant. The staff are very welcoming and professional and all deserve some praise as no matter who you spoke to they all smiled and couldn’t do enough for you. I stayed in two of the rooms , in the main hotel which was very grand and then moved to a vineyard view room which was smaller and more basic (still very luxurious though ) . Waking up looking over the vineyard and then enjoying breakfast looking out over the hotel is really something special .

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!