Domaine De Clairefontaine

Recent Reviews: 332

• User:richardnewman123

  Trip type: Couples

  Fabulous Michelin food … room, facilities & hotel unimpressive and overpriced

  29 Jun 2025

  My wife and I booked this for my big birthday treat and a weekend at Vienne Jazz Festival. The location for visiting Vienne is close with an easy short drive to the town. In fact you can see the motorway clearly and close up from the terrace and the main hotel.Our Best comments are reserved for the food, dishes at the excellent Michelin starred gourmet dinner. Philippe Girardon and his kitchen team must be congratulated for outstanding plates of food. We also would like to single out the customer focused, smiling, attentive, positive Amelie Girardon who single handedly focuses on guests. The chef Philippe, unusually for Michelin stars, did not make an appearance at any time during dinner, where the restaurant was full.Unfortunately, with the exception of the above points, our stay was neither up to hoped-for 4 star hotel expectations nor unfortunately for us was it enjoyable.On arriving at the agreed time of 4pm, we were shown to a room in the garden Annexe (#105) which is looking tired, in need of redecoration (window frames and walls) and dark … this was not a beautiful room in the old hotel of which photos abound on the website. My wife expressed disappointment with the room (200 euros per night) but there was no offer to change due to hotel being full.We asked if we could sit under the parasols on the lawn terrace and order a tea/coffee. After being seated we waited 20 minutes for a member of staff to appear before going back to reception to order …. Temperature outside was 36C under the parasol so we asked also for a carafe of water, but were told firmly by the Patronne, Laurence Girardon, that if we wanted water we should consume the 2 small plastic bottles provided in our bedroom ! So we did as she had ordered us !! The driveway is very dusty, so there are frequent clouds of dust down to the terrace as guests arrive at the hotel. Very very thirsty and wanting to start birthday celebrations, we tried to order a Gin Tonic but were told by another member of staff that we could only order this from 7pm just before our dinner booking time of 19h15There was no other available shaded place to sit outside the hotel and there is no swimming pool at this 4 star hotel … just a small pond with ornamental fishThe dining room is clean, hygienic, brightly and somewhat starkly lit by lines of ceiling spots. It is not atmospheric nor warm and the robotic restaurant staff don’t improve the ambiance (with the absolute exception of the superb Mme Ameli Girardon)We each ordered accord Mets et Vins for optimized pairing with the Michelin Starred dinner. Our sommelier was not as knowledgable as we would expect for this standard of restaurant: first wine selection Chablis was overly chilled 9C and he told us to leave it 5 minutes to warm up, he didn’t know the exact origins of a Corbieres white wine which we didn’t like and tried unsuccessfully to switch (resulting in us repurchasing Chablis which had come to the correct temperature). With such an incredible wine list, this restaurant needs a proper, impressive sommelierIn summary, this hotel is expensive and photos do not fully show state of decoration, view of motorway, dusty drive/carpark, true ambiance in restaurant. The gastronomic menu is fantastic. Breakfast is barely average, with substandard bake-your-own bread and overly long waits for hot water and cooked egg orders. If you arrive after 9am then the buffet selection looks depleted with a meagre choice for ripe fruit, good cheese and quality charcuterie. Coffee machine is tiny for all of the guests, resulting in 5-10 minutes waiting.Go for the gastronomy … if you stay at the hotel the request a room in the old house and hope that the Patronne Laurence Girardon is more friendly and welcoming for you than she was for us. She didn’t even ask us how was our stay when processing our invoice for 1,015 euros

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• User:jvaldescastaneda01

  Trip type:

  Unforgettable and remarkable memories at the Hotel.

  24 Jul 2024

  Exceptional customer service at the reception and the restaurant.Delightful food with exquisite taste and superb service. laurence Girardon, Directeur général at Domaine de Clairefontaine - Teritoria, responded to this review Dear Guest,Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us. We are delighted that you created unforgettable memories at our hotel, and that you appreciated the exceptional service at both the reception and the restaurant. It is heartwarming to know that our delightful cuisine and superb service contributed to making your stay truly remarkable.We look forward to welcoming you back for another exceptional visit.Best regards,

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• User:Crystal C

  Trip type:

  A beautiful place to stay and dine

  05 Mar 2023

  Our weekend stay here was impeccable - excellent service and attention to details. A very reasonable price for a four-star stay. Our evening meal in the restaurant is just one more reason we will be back soon. Mille mercis to Monsieur Philippe Giradon, the expert chef and host of Domaine de Clairefontaine and the entire staff who made our stay unforgettable. Elodie BRUN, Marketing at Domaine de Clairefontaine - Teritoria, responded to this review Thank you very much for your kind words! We are delighted to hear that your stay at Domaine de Clairefontaine was impeccable, with attentive service and attention to detail. Customer satisfaction is our top priority. We will pass on your thanks to Mr Philippe Giradon and our entire team. We look forward to welcoming you back for a memorable stay !

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• User:abc400

  Trip type:

  A lovely stop off

  25 Jun 2022

  We stayed here on our journey south. It was a great location close to the motorway yet still quiet and in the countrysideWe could not have asked for more - beautiful grounds, friendly attentive staff, excellent food and most importantly dog friendlyIf you cannot get into the restaurant the Cottage is also excellent Elodie BRUN, Marketing at Domaine de Clairefontaine - Teritoria, responded to this review Thank you for your feedback. We hope your stay in the south went well.

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• User:stephenbQ2055CL

  Trip type:

  Gastronomic heaven

  23 Sept 2021

  We stayed here for 3 days in August. The hotel is in two parts separated by a short distance. The main chateau houses the gastronomic restaurant and the more comfortable rooms (these are mainly in a separate building nearby). There is a large park surrounding the buildings. Then there is the Cottage nearby, a modern restaurant with more basic rooms. (I've stayed here before, while returning from a 70th birthday party in Aix-en-Province)The food at the Cottage is good but less elaborate. This time I had the best hamburger I have ever eaten ()given the general level of this dish this isn't setting the bar very high but still welcome).. The rooms at the main part are very comfortable and the gastronomic restaurant is exceptional. And since we are in the Rhone valley the wine list takes some beating.

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