Domaine Castan: Le Musée des Emile Vignerons

We stayed at this hotel many times and love the location, great breakfast and Pet friendly. We always liked the people working there, but this time the reception was a little less customer friendly, but we worked it out in the end.

First impressions of the hotel were awful. On pulling into the parking area in front of the hotel, I thought, "Oh no. What have I done". The parking area felt unsafe. The hotel, and particularly the gardens, looked tired, dated and unkempt. It got worse. When we checked in, they had not got our reservation from Expedia so that took a while to sort out. We had paid extra for a better room but when we eventually got to the allocated room, it was a basic single - so we headed back to reception to get it changed. So why is this not a 1* review ? Once we were past the initial disappointment, we found that there was a separate, secure parking area. The room itself had been renovated and looked like the photos on Expedia. The bed was comfortable - so we got a great night's sleep. So, overall, we had to say that it was "OK".

Check in was efficient. Reception staff were friendly. The room was clean but could do with a good painting/ decorating. Plaster work unpainted in some parts. There had been some sort of an accidental maintenance incident so maybe we hit it at a bad time. Could do with two comfy chairs for the bedroom. Furniture and wardrobes had a cheap look to them but functional. Bathroom facilities were excellent. We loved the fact you could open the sash windows wide. At €18 a pop we didn’t take breakfast. I’d still recommend staying there highly for location beside train station and tram stops and if I am ever back in Montpellier it’s the first place I’d look to stay. Overall a good experience but probably just under 4 star level.