ScottI256
Google
I hadn’t had a holiday abroad for several years, but my late wife and I visited Saint Valerie many years ago so I thought I would go back to relive some memories and hopefully make some new ones.||I really liked the look of Les Corderies from the pictures on the hotel website and the fact that it had parking ( unlike some hotels in the town) was a real bonus.||I stayed there for 11 nights, 8 in a standard room in the main hotel building and 3 in a superior room above the hotel spa. Both rooms were excellent; if anything the standard room was slightly bigger - but they were both spotlessly clean, comfortable and all the things you would expect from a hotel of this quality.||I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant every morning and couldn’t have asked for more variety. I’ve seen some reviews that didn’t rate the breakfast that highly, but I honestly couldn’t fault either what was available to choose or the quality - and I’ll get my head around having cake (gateau battu) for breakfast eventually.||I had dinner in the restaurant on at least 5 nights and the only word I can think of is ‘Formidable!’. I’ve tried ‘basic’ French dishes (if such a thing exists) but the dinners were on a different level entirely. The presentation was amazing - on some nights the food looked so beautiful it was almost a shame to disturb it by eating it but the flavours made that sacrifice worthwhile. I’ll post a couple of pictures in this review - I was sending the pictures to my family in the UK each night and they were amazed.||Facility wise there’s a small pool in the main building which I used, but I didn’t use any of any of the services in the hotel spa - maybe next time. The lounge is comfortable, there’s a nice selection of drinks in the bar; had my first ever champagne cocktail and became acquainted with Calvados again. There are lots of places to sit or lounge outside the hotel, and the views at sunset overlooking the Baie were stunning.||Plenty of space in the hotel car park and the hotel itself is situated nicely - a 5 minute walk down to the riverside although it was nearer 10 minutes to walk back uphill through the amazingly pretty street.||All the above is great, but the hotel staff were brilliant and to my mind, the staff make all the difference. They couldn’t have been more kind and helpful, nothing was too much trouble or effort - after the 3rd night it was if I’d stayed at Les Corderies forever, they were almost like friends or even family.||Thank you to Clotilde, Marine, Clèmence, Julian, Coralie and everyone else; you made my stay a very special one and I really hope to return one day.