Our stay at the Domaine Bellegarde in Soustons was crushingly disappointing, NOT WORTH IT and we would definitely NOT recommend it to anyone.

My family and I rented the Domaine Bellegarde in Soustons earlier this summer and were extremely disappointed with the facilities and level of service that we received throughout our stay. This whole experience certainly did not justify the high price we paid for this place.

Based on our conversations with the owner and the Website that can at best be called misleading, we set our expectations high and had been led to anticipate a luxurious stay.

The experience totally let us down for the following reasons:

Food

•The food was not nearly as “gastronomic” as the Website promised and we were instead fed somewhat average food bought from a local supermarket. For example, the fruits provided were neither ripe nor edible, despite it being summer and being in the vicinity of a multitude of local farmer’s markets.
•Freshly made juices were not offered neither at the breakfast nor at the afternoon tea.
•There was poor selection of yoghurt
•The so-called ‘gourmet’ picnic equalled a hard baguette filled with packaged ham and a packet of crisps.
•Each day, they only provided one single cake for a party. However ‘a selection of delicious home made cakes and biscuits for you to enjoy with a soft drink, fresh juice’ was hinted at by the Web Site.
•We watched in disbelief as the staff shockingly filled previously used bottles of Evian water with another brand of spring water.

Facilities, Furniture and Ambience

•Most of the furniture, crockery and cutlery were from IKEA. This is not appropriate for the level of luxury hinted at by the Website.
•The carpet on the staircase was very dirty and full of stains.
•The swimming pool was not heated at first and therefore not useable by the children for anything longer than brief swims. A heated swimming pool was hinted at by the Website. We had to repeatedly push the owner to heat the swimming pool which was eventually done afterwards.
•In the billiard room, several queues were broken and yet unbelievably displayed!
•The exterior of the Domaine was poorly maintained. Despite it being summer, there were surprisingly no kinds of flowers planted anywhere in the garden.
•In addition to being old, the televisions in the rooms did not work.

Service

Overall, the service was mediocre. Despite the presence of three staff members, clearly poorly trained, lots of details fell between the crack.

•The rooms were not well cleaned when we arrived.
•They failed to arrange a birthday cake for one of our party, even though we made it clear to the owner that we were renting the Domaine for couple of birthday party. Even worse, they did not inform us until we asked them at 11pm that evening.
•The towels were changed only once during our stay
•They never provided any games for the children (again, this was promised by the Website)

All in all we would definitely not recommend Domaine Bellegarde in Soustons
to anyone. The Website positions the Domaine as a luxurious property, which it is most certainly not. Over the course of the week we spoke repeatedly to the owner and requested several things as promised on the Website, but most of our requests were ignored. All of this, plus our disappointed expectations, made for a terrible stay.

DEFINITELY AVOID THIS PLACE BY ALL MEANS.