Les Vignes de la Chapelle The Originals Relais

We had a nice stay. It's easy to park outside the paid parking, and located by the water. The staff was very friendly. The rooms are cosy, clean and functional. Minor points: no AC and we bumped our heads against the bad headboard several times. The breakfast is very tasty with a selection of organic products (overall: fruits, cereals, jam, juices, charcuterie, different kinds of bread, pastries, fresh orange juice, etc). Would come back here again.

Quite hotel in the remote village of Saint Marie de Ré. Fully bio orientated not necessarily compatible with a 4 stars Hotel. Minimalist rooms with the entrance door as the only possible window to air the room which is be hard to bear during hot days as there is no AC. Each room is connected to the next by an internal door which is great for families but not so great for noise proofing. Many paying extras like parking, tea and coffee in the room and of course expensive mini bar. Friendliness of the young staff is very old France, attentive but not natural. Even after prepaying 4 nights and associated breakfast, I was imposed a blockage of 65 Euro on my credit card in case I left with the key or forgot to declare my mini bar consumption... A first for me after travelling frequently for 40 years. Many forbidden signs. Smokers have to leave the premises and smoke on the street. No animal allowed. WiFi very poor. No English channel on TV.

I don’t do this easily, but I hope it’s going to be helpful to some folks. TL;DR: Value for money is beyond acceptable. If you’re into camping, you’ll probably have a great time there, except that you’ll be paying 420 Euro per night and have the same „comfort“. The family loft is simply unusable during summer. The bedroom upstairs has only a very small opening and no windows at all, so the heat is building up to the point where it's simply unbearable to sleep. Since you’ll have to keep all doors and windows open to allow for a bit of ventilation, you won’t have any privacy whatsoever given the bungalow like architecture and the sleeping room facing the parking lot. Ironically the hotel claims soundproofed windows. The ladder to the upper floor is very steep, and the security lock didn’t work. I’d say it’s difficult for kids under age of 4. What is supposed to be a hotel is a very expensive B&B with some cleaning service. Our room didn’t get cleaned for two days though. This is also the only service that you won’t pay extra for. Everything else they’ll charge you for it. Wifi didnt work for 2 full days which is a third of the time we spent there. Do we bother if our room is not being cleaned once? If the Wi-Fi is a bit unstable? No. But it’s the small things that add up to an overall impression and dissatisfaction, especially bearing in mind the whopping price. The worst though is the attitude of the hotel management. Even when one politely explains the shortcomings, the answer comes across with great arrogance and lack of self reflection. It is not always only about what doesn’t work but rather how management responds to it.