Family castle in a 5 hectares park between Lyon and St Etienne

C'est beau : ça fait rêver un tel château ! La région, peu médiatisée, est un plaisir à découvrir. Beaucoup de monts et vallées qui se méritent après une route pleine de virages : le calme et la beauté des paysages de campagne nous ont charmé. L'hôte est adorable et très rapide pour répondre aux questions. La piscine est parfaite, le terrain de tennis mériterait une rénovation mais comment se plaindre...foncez, réservez, le bonheur est dans le pré ! Et au château de la Bonnetière !

The trip was the first time me, my family and my close friends had seen eachother since before the pandemic and it was to celebrate my 40th birthday. The grounds are amazing - the pool, the woods, the lawns etc were all brilliant. The house is full of character and quite magical. Denise was very friendly and responsive in preparing the trip and meeting us when we arrived. However, we had a problem with an infestation of flies which meant three bedrooms were not usable throughout the duration of the nine-day stay. This was problematic and a bit stressful as I had booked a big property to avoid too much sharing of rooms between different households because of COVID - I was trying to reduce the risk to my loved ones as much as possible. Because of the flies (and really, there were hundreds and hundreds in the rooms) we could not use them. The owners said that it was because of the season and it’s countryside location - I totally appreciate that it’s a rural area and this can happen but it was clear that the flies were breeding in the wall of the house. The hosts brought fly spray and some fly stickers and they did respond quickly to my messages which I appreciated but it was not sufficient. If it’s true that this is an unavoidable seasonal occurrence then this is an issue that future guests should take into account - if we had needed every bed, we would have had to book hotel rooms. That said, we had a truly wonderful time. The kitchen has everything you need and the dining room is very atmospheric. I would say that the house is in need of a bit more love as it is a very special place but some of the rooms and facilities are in need of attention. With all of this, I do want to thank Denise - we will all remember the trip forever and it was a great experience. I hope people continue to visit this one-off property.

My kids and grandkids had such a great time here, everyone took a turn at the ping pong table, great pool and the view is incomparable. The location was perfect for us, true French countryside with wonderful small villages to explore -- close enough to spend a day in Geneva, and easy in and out to Lyons and St. Etienne. Madame was so helpful when I had a flat tire, providing the name and phone number of a local garage for help, and so responsive to our questions. Would definitely go again

We had a marvellous two-week family holiday here. There was loads of space for running around, sardines, star watching and eating out on the terrace. New things to discover and trees to sit under and read. We enjoyed the tennis, pool, pétanque and table-tennis. The chateau is a piece of history with lovely fin de siecle decorations and furniture in the public rooms and a '30s flavor in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Very much loved; as if the family just moved out for a short while (which perhaps they did - we didn't ask). But modern equipment in the kitchen, and with loads of crockery and cutlery. The house and garden are very quiet and private, the pool is enclosed by a wire fence, and it was good to know that the small children could be left to wander around for a while without immediate danger. The family arrived in groups using car, train and 'plane, and all enjoyed the experience immensely.

We had a marvellous two-week family holiday here. There was loads of space for running around, sardines, star watching and eating out on the terrace. New things to discover and trees to sit under and read. We enjoyed the tennis, pool, pétanque and table-tennis. The chateau is a piece of history with lovely fin de siecle decorations and furniture in the public rooms and a '30s flavor in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Very much loved; as if the family just moved out for a short while (which perhaps they did - we didn't ask). But modern equipment in the kitchen, and with loads of crockery and cutlery. The house and garden are very quiet and private, the pool is enclosed by a wire fence, and it was good to know that the small children could be left to wander around for a while without immediate danger. The family arrived in groups using car, train and 'plane, and all enjoyed the experience immensely.