L'Arcane du Bellay

We stayed for four nights at this property. We certainly felt that it looked much better on the photos than in reality. It is an old and rather strangely converted house. Our bedroom had a bath in it and the loo was a small cupboard in the corner! The bed was ok but bedclothes were awful, synthetic, and the duvets didn’t have covers on. No toiletries supplied and bathroom not cleaned while we were there. The swimming pool heating was not working and the garden looked like it needed tending to. Sadly not a great experience. Montreuil-Bellay is a lovely town and a short walk away. The location of the property is next to the quite busy road and a car park.

What a delightful place to spend a couple of nights. We were welcomed by Nathalie who showed us around her lovely garden with caves in the rear walls and a swimming pool which, sadly, we did not have time to use. Our room was spacious and airy with a super king size bed and nice linen. Breakfast was in a beautifully furnished dining room and we were treated to home made pancakes with home made jams . Nathalie had also made a home made dish of almonds and creme fraiche. There was a choice of teas, coffee, fruit juice, bread and croissants. It was only a short walk into the centre for dinner but sadly the restaurants close on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings (the two nights we were there!), only one restaurant was open - The Hotel Splendid where we ate on Tuesday night but they do not change the small menu at all so had to go into Saumur on Wednesday as we did not want the same again. Apart from that we thoroughly enjoyed our short stay and meeting Nathalie. Beware - Nathalie does not have a card terminal so you must make sure you have cash to pay.

We were visiting an old friend in Montreuil Bellay who had no space to accommodate us and searched on line for a suitable place to stay. It is certainly a lovely characterful building with quirky electrics and a nice garden although sadly the pool was not in use for some of our warm week. We did not have breakfast as we were out to dinner every night with our friend until late but certainly the table always looked very pretty. We were provided with sachets of tea and milk to make tea in the room. Nathalie made a useful suggestion for a trip out for us. Clean towels were not provided so we had the same ones all week, our bathroom was never cleaned, not what I expect from a place like this that isn’t cheap by any means. Our bed never changed or made up.