Chateau Breduriere

We’re just back from a couple of nights at Château Breduriere. First off, we had a lovely stay and others have written much and posted plenty of photos so I’ll try to stick to a few practical things that I haven’t seen mentioned and that might be helpful. We stayed in the Mme Beufvier room, the mid-priced room of the three chateau rooms on offer. Like all three rooms, it is on the first floor (second floor, American). No elevator; it’s an old house. It is a spacious, well-appointed room with a fireplace and window overlooking the backyard and vineyards. There are shutters you can close to reduce light and keep out bugs. Lights in the room at night will attract phototropes, of course. There is no air conditioning, which probably isn’t an issue most of the year, but could be an issue as the weather continues to warm. It has been hot in Paris, where we live, so I wrote ahead of our stay to see if an electric fan was available. Marieke graciously promised to put one in the room and she did. We were glad to have it and comfortable at night. The bathroom is nice and very clean, but small and pretty basic with nowhere to set anything in the shower and only a small shelf above the sink. There is storage under the sink with a hair dryer. A window in the bathroom faces towards the west side/entrance of the house and catches the afternoon sun. There are no shades, shutters or curtains (only half-frosted glass for privacy) so it does heat up later on a long summer’s day. The only negative about the room, for me, was the choice of thick, heavily textured pillowcases and duvet cover. The bottom sheet was nice and smooth, but the rest was almost ribbed in texture, rough against my skin and too heavy for the weather. I thought at first that the pillowcases must be pillow shams, but there were no pillowcases beneath, so that was what we slept on. Judging by the laundry drying outside, I think every room, at least in the château, had the same type bedsheets. Parking is a bit of a walk down a gravel road to the château and gîtes, so might be an issue with those having mobility issues, but you can drive closer to drop off luggage and passengers. There’s plenty to do around the château’s pretty grounds: petanque, ping pong, soccer, foosball, etc., and, of course, the pool which is saltwater and well maintained. Château Breduriere is very popular with families so there were children in the pool most of the time. The owner of Château Breduriere is Dutch as were most of the guests and the friendly manager, Marieke, who speaks excellent English. We enjoyed two good, very different meals nearby. For a upscale night out, Michelin-starred Maison Desamy provided an excellent and creative tasting menu. Book ahead. (It’s about a 6-minute drive.) On the other end of the spectrum, we ate tasty Basque food outside in a gorgeous casual location (complete with live music to celebrate the Summer Solstice) at L’Aubraie in Péault beside the River Lay and next to a bridge built by Gust

From the moment we arrived the welcome could not have been more genuine and friendly. Having booked a room in the chateau we were delighted to be given a guided tour of the grounds that really set us up for our 4 night stay. We travelled to France to attend Festival Dans Les Jardins De William Christie in nearby Thire. Marieke is a wonderful accommodation manager - Nothing was too much trouble for her. It was obvious from the outset that she intended in making our stay special, and I'm sure she does the same for everyone! The views over the estate vineyard and out onto the sunflower fields was so relaxing. We found some great walks nearby and a fantastic restaurant in Maison Desamy in Mareuil-sur-lay-Dissais. This was our first adventure post COVID lockdowns and couldn't have been a better start! Highly recommend staying here as a base for touring the Pays de la Loire region