"It's a Castle, Not a Chateau"

The summer of 2018 saw us deciding to head to Switzerland. We finally have our little Honda CRX up to scratch and wanted to get to see a different part of the Alps, having already covered the French Alps a couple of times. So we decided to spent 10 days exploring the beauty that Switzerland has on offer.

We planned to stop one night in France on the way there, and one night on the way back, just to break up the drive a bit as Paul does all the driving whilst we're in Europe. The first stop saw us stopping in the region of Lorraine in North-East France. We had found on Booking.com, what looked to be a stunning hotel that appeared to be a castle... When we got there, it was safe to safe we were not disappointed! It really was a true castle and it was stunning in every way. It's called the Hattonchâtel Chateau and wow. Words do not begin to cover how incredible it was.

At the front of the castle you are greeted by a full size gate, and to gain entry for the first time you have to ring the doorbell - nothing special you might think, but it genuinely rings a proper bell that can be heard throughout the courtyard... An exciting start to the experience.

This view of castle once you're within the grounds is awe-inspiring. We were shown to our room having been shown where the main dining room was and where breakfast is held for the following morning.  There are no TVs in the hotel, and everything is very traditional and grand. The castle is from the Renaissance period and the furnishing are sympathetic to this. You do, however, have the modern day perks of flushing toilets, proper showers, electricity and heating if required (it was summer when we arrived and the temperatures were well in their late 20s/early 30s most days so no heating needed for us).

The stunning views of the outside really got me. I could have stared at this castle for hours on end. The lovely owner of the castle just kept reminding us when he saw us, "It's a castle, not a chateau".

Inside is just as beautiful, and our room was huge as you can see from the image on the right. For one night we paid €115, or about £100. This included breakfast in the morning as well. 

It's definitely safe to say this room set the standard of what we were hoping for throughout our trip, and thankfully I can confirm the rest of the trip did not disappoint. 

Check back next week for the next section of our trip and the first part of us reaching Switzerland.

If you using my link to Booking.com as well, you can get 10% of the cost of your booking back as well! You can find out more about the Hattonchâtel Chateau you can visit their website here as well.