Belle-Isle sur Risle

Charming country home turned into a hotel. The owner greeted us and gave us a tour and some history of the place. Beautiful room with a terrace overlooking the outdoor pool and gardens. Definitely eat dinner at the hotel one night. It was one of our favorite meals in France.

This stay was hugely disappointing. It’s just an over-priced tourist trap. From the pictures this place looks incredible, but the reality is actually shabby and dirty and poorly maintained. The pool (s) were dirty, chairs covered in dust dirt and bird shit, and it looked like grandma had tried to do basic deck renovations herself. The exterior of the main building is covered in ivy - nice in theory and in pics, but actually covers crumbling bricks and home to zillions of bugs and beetles. The service was appalling and the breakfast was basic and unhygienic with plates such as smoked salmon and deli meats set out in the heat and sweating for several hours. I read the reviews that dinner was very good but when we arrived at 6pm we were told there was no room and the restaurant was completely booked. When we got back from our dinner in town to a nearly empty dining room, one of the servers told us in fact there was lots of availability after 930pm. Oh

This is a delightful 19th century mansion in beautiful forest/parkland on an island. Our stay coincided with a heatwave so we really appreciated the tree cover. We were upgraded to a garden room which had every facility we needed. The food in the restaurant was exceptional. Madame Yazbeck could not have been more helpful. Our only regret was our stay was only one night. We will be back!