Castle life for a weekend at Domaine de la Bretesche

In the middle of July, we wanted to take a break from our daily lives before the summer holidays. The Domaine de la Bretesche was the ideal break, immersing us in a bubble of greenery after only 45 minutes by car from the Nantes train station.

Sleeping Beauty’s castle has to be on its toes! The entrance to the domain is really grandiose, between the golf courses as far as the eye can see, the pond and the majesty of the castle that stood in front of us, we were stunned! The place immediately invites you to relax and disconnect, it’s quite striking as soon as you arrive.

The hotel gave us a very good welcome: a smooth, quick and complete check-in and some nice sweet and sparkling attentions in our room; a good start to our weekend. Our room, a Junior Suite, was very spacious and nicely decorated, with a special mention for the bathroom, which was really nice, and the children’s menu that can be ordered with room service! Each room in the hotel has a different decoration and allows regular guests to enjoy a new atmosphere every time they stay.

The view of the castle park was truly magnificent and enchanted us when we woke up. The green of the lawn, the huge trees surrounding the place invite you to try new activities or simply to dream on a deckchair while enjoying a good book!

Although the hotel does not have a kids’ club, we had heard that the hotel offers families numerous excursions very close to the hotel dedicated to children (animal parks, theme parks, etc. ….) with lots of advice from the staff; nevertheless, the bicycle hire, the availability of board games and other games consoles seemed to delight the youngsters present during our stay!

The hotel’s outdoor swimming pool is a favourite place for children, but not only… the whole of the clientele meets there in a very happy and pleasant atmosphere. We also noted the presence of an indoor pool heated to 28 degrees, the spa, for the cooler months of the year. The spa, located in the magnificent inner courtyard of the establishment, is also accessible to children, with only 2 hours per day reserved exclusively for adult guests. This means that it is possible to enjoy a massage or other treatment while one of the parents enjoys the water facilities with the children! The baby-sitting option is also offered by the hotel, which is worth mentioning.

The hotel has two restaurants, we only tested the Brasserie, and if there was something to improve within the domain it would perhaps be the quality which is a little below the place. But we didn’t stay long enough in the hotel to know if it was just an exception that night and if the other restaurant was better. Let me tell you though that this slight disappointment was totally compensated the next morning by the exceptional breakfast that was served to us, truly worthy of a 5-star hotel (and I am very demanding when it comes to breakfast!).

To sum up, Le Domaine de la Bretesche is a little jewel in the heart of Brittany: from the tree-lined and flowery exteriors, to the sublime pond, not to mention the kindness and courtesy of the staff, the family atmosphere that reigns there, not to mention the comfort and space of the rooms: everything is done to make this a « castle » experience to be repeated as often as possible!

Enjoy your trip!