Guest User
October 16, 2023
We found Heaven in Saint-Estephe. La Maison d’Estournel is a charming, small, 14-room, hotel that met and exceeded all our needs and desires. We booked well in advance and got the Estournel Room (room 20), a lovely junior suite overlooking the gardens to the Gironde Estuary. With a large comfortable bed and two sitting chairs as well as a desk there was plenty of room to spread out. The room had a tub in the middle of it, with a separate shower and separate toilet area. Parking is easy, check-in fast, and there’s an elevator to get the luggage upstairs (we were on the top—second—floor) Service here is outstanding, and makes the hotel so endearing. The concierge was wonderful in advance, helping me arrange flowers for my wife for our wedding anniversary. All the staff were helpful and charming, at mealtime and in between. At meals they work as a team to tend to your needs and wishes. The breakfast buffet was unchanged from day to day but you can order eggs prepared however you prefer. Coffee, whether simple black coffee, cafe au lait or cappuccino, is made to order. Our server each morning couldn’t have been more charming , and remembered our coffee orders after the first day. One day, after taking a hike, we came back looking for a simple lunch. The staff brought out a carrot soup with bread that was perfect. You can have tea or a drink in the cozy library or eat a full meal in the dining room. If the weather is fair you can have drinks or a meal in the garden. We enjoyed a bottle of their second label white in the garden on the evening of our arrival. Dinner was sublime. We ate here on two of our three nights and had exquisitely prepared and presented meals. The menu changes regularly and is on a blackboard in both French and English. For our second dinner there, when the hotel was about half full, we had drinks in the library and they brought the menu to us there, and invited us to the table only when everything was ready. A classic country house hotel approach. You will find Heaven in Saint-Estephe at La Maison d’Estournel. Just as in spiritual life, attaining Heaven comes at a cost, Heaven in a hotel has a cost, too. But however you get to Heaven, it’s definitely worth it.