La Bernardière Holidays from £320

A good no nonsense place to stay. It has all the necessities you need and a huge amount of choice for breakfast. The gardens around the property are nice and the pool would be a real bonus in the summer. The staff are friendly and the propietor spoke excellent English and was a really helpfull nice chap. I was very glad I found this and would stay again if in the area. I didnt know how to rate the Eco freindlyness as i dont know that, so a mid 3stars.

Large and clean rooms. Not all rooms have an AC. Problem with breakfast - we came at 9:15 and were told that the eggs run out. Pastries were cold and the variety is poor.

Great breakfast, well places, close enough to the city but not too close and on-site parking

The hotel and grounds are wonderful, particularly in high summer when the gardens and floral scents from the herbs are wonderful. The location is peaceful and calming and the old Abbey grounds give an aura of protection given a high boundary stone wall surrounding the site. The architecture both old and new fit well together and the quality of finish is very high. The complementary coffee or tea on arrival is a nice touch and the glass water bottles to reduce plastic waste is a nice touch that promotes wellness. The lady at reception was most helpful to my mother. The only negative is the arrival sequence is complex involving finding a side gate, using a video buzzer and trying to read an LCD screen - impossible in bright sunlight. Eventually the gates open so you rush to get back in the car to await a golf cart's arrival to help you with your bags to transit to the hotel that is quite some distance from the side gate. Also the side gate appears to be the only way in and out for hotel guests, as the main arrival from the town is via the museum ticket office - this makes a short walk from the hotel into the local town impossible without museum staff interaction. As my mother had a mobility scooter this was not ideal as the ticket office wasn't access friendly for easy passage in and out after hours. Also the Abbey and buildings can be accessed in most part but there are steps and ramps that would make a disabled visitor have to take an alternative route if at all.

Good location (very close to the train station and downtown) and relatively quiet for being located on a major road at a major intersection. The building is nice, solidly constructed with spacious rooms and high ceilings. The room needs some updating in terms of decor and there are little touches that show a lack of very careful attention to maintenance (curtains that aren’t attached completely at the top of the window, dead mosquitoes on the sheer curtains). A little more careful attention to these details would go a long way to improving the first impression. That said, the room was spacious (a corner room -05) and the bed was very comfortable. The staff were welcoming and pleasant. All in all, I recommend this hotel and would stay again on another visit to the Saumur area.