Hostellerie Chateau de la Barge

For full disclosure, my stomach was over the top before I even had dinner. I was touring the area with a group for a wine study program and this night was one of our "nights off" for a choose your own dinner. The Hostellerie was on the recommended list and one of the few places open on a Monday night.I originally just wanted to get a main course but when my companiions looked at the pricing, the prix fixe menu was a much better deal. Unfortunately my stomach had too much cheese in it already from all the previous meals I had already in Beaujolais so I didn't eat very much.The service was very slow although the dining room was not very crowded and the room had a bit of a very slight mildewy smell. We sat in a nice little nook in a corner of the room.The dining room was big and airy despite the slight smell that you noticed when walking through it. The grounds looked gorgeous. I think this must be a fantastic place to sit outside at one of the tables on a summer night to have a meal. The place was very green, with lots of trees and plants. In the summer it must be very, very lush!I would come back in the summer. I would come back for their cheese cart. The cheeses in this region are incredible to begin with and as part of the prix fixe or if you choose the cheese course, you can choose 3 cheese from their cart. It was one of the most incredible cheese carts I have seen, they are basically non-existent except at those few places in the States these days.The plates were very artfully plated but I ordered scallops as an entree and they were on the "fishy" side. I order lobster for the main course and again it was beautifully plated but a bit on the over-cooked side. The layout of the place is much bigger than it looks on the outside. They were having a huge gathering at another location within the complex. I didn't notice this until I walked to the other side of the building to use the bathroom.I would come back to the Hostellerie certainly. I fell in love with the outside seating area and can just imagine how lovely it must be in the summer. The price we paid for a four course meal was really good. I see that some reviewers have said it is expensive but I think it depends what menu you choose.This is one of those times, I would give the place 3.5 stars. I think on some nights it is probably fantastic. We were there on a somewhat drizzly Monday night and chefs can have off days in cooking.It is a beautiful room to eat in, the smell was slight and once seated we did not notice it, I just think it is a very old building and a damp night, what can you do.The plating was gorgeous that is for sure and I wish I had my appetitie to really be able to taste everything. I will come back.

Previous visit to this hotel were pleasant, but this time we could see a hotel which lost it's flair. Lots of maintanance issues both on the building and outside park. Next to that the restaurant is heavely overprices, believing that they serve meals of 3 star michelin level, which they don't.We decided not to make use of their facility anymore.

This is a hotel and restaurant and does not merit 4 stars. The grounds are barely looked after, the drive a bumpy agricultural track, the trees and bushes neglected; inside the decorations are tired, tacky, the paint peeling and chipped; there are cheap partition walls, cheap carpets, and cheap fixtures and furnishings; tops of cupboards and shelves are dusty; the hanging curtains in the dining room are a total mess; the so-called Jet Set Bar (which only seemed to have beer on tap as any other drinks were fetched in from somewhere else) is reached down a corridor lined with nasty tiles which make it all look like a minor football club changing rooms; there are piles of beer crates in the bar giving the impression of a little-used store place. This is an impressive historic house with the potential for great splendour but has become a sad and seedy place inescapably reminiscent of the English comedy series Fawlty Towers. It barely rates a 3-star hotel, much less 4. The saving grace was that dinner was quite good, though the waitress service was grumpy, humourless and lacked all finesse. The sommelier was cheertful and informative but clearly run off his feet doing a mass of other jobs which meant he could not concentrate on his dinner guests.The prices are far too high, both for the dinner - breakfast was limited, v poorly presented, and certainly not worth its price - and for the rooms. Overall, this hotel offers a bare and unimpressive minimum to charge the maximum: avoid staying here at all costs!

This Château is beautifully situated in the hills just south-west of Mâcon, with great wines growing just next door (like Pouilly Fuissé for example). On arrival the place is really beautiful, an old big building covered with leaves, very romantic. The restaurant/ terrace outside and the chairs for relaxing look very inviting to spend some time here. We were a group for a seminar and only one of the rooms was ready for moving in when we arrived at 16:30h! We had planned to leave for a walking tour at 17:00h and had to postpone for an hour... After return we had a shower and a magnificent dinner, the food was very fresh and very well prepared. Not to mention the excellent wines served in this place. The rooms were average in size, the bathroom with a seperate shower and no bathtub, which I very much prefer to the bathtubs/ shower attached, without any curtain, which you find so often in France. The toilet being in a small side room of the bathroom. The mattress was in a good state and not too soft, air condition was a machine standing in the room, which was fine for me, as it did its job very well. What I did find a bit disturbing was the noise from the motorway and the trainline (TGV) during the night, which was quite loud actually (sleeping with on open window that is...). I got up at 06:00h to do my yoga and meditation in the garden, as the weather was marvellous, but I could not get out of the hotel, as there was no staff and I found myself locked in by a great front door.... At 06:40h a girl arrived and unlocked, but yet I asked myself what happens in this place in case of a fire during the night... Anyhow, the garden and the pool are very nice to relax and start the day. Breakfast was ok, not very much choice, but it was all fresh, with a nice fruit salad and croissants. There was also a choice of various cakes, if you are into that. The lunch was again very nice and they also took good care of me being a vegetarian. The only thing that did not work well was the seminar. We were told we were in a room under the roof in the morning, but the room was in between 2 rooms where people were sleeping, who naturally complained to us about the noise.... So we were moved to another room, in between the beamer gave up... The seminar continued on the ground floor and we were moved back up for the afternoon, with a very noisy family moving in again at 14:30h.... Unbelievable! So all in all: A very nice place, very close to the Rock of Solutré (great walking tour up there, count 25 minutes from the parking), great restaurant, good hotel, but do not do a seminar here. They have a lot to learn about organization.....

Went with old buddy in the wine business, we spend too much time in restaurants all over the world. Here we had a very relaxed meal with perfectly cooked steaks excellent starters a fine languedoc wine and an assortment of desserts that was a delicious as copious. We did not expect to be knocked for a loop with innovative cooking nor were we impressed by the "chateau " denomination". Perhaps some people come here looking for some kind of gastronomic epiphany. This ain't the place. Downside red burgundies are too young, a bit dear, lots of wines were no longer available. This was explained by nice sommelière as "keeping stock low" before season. The place could use a refit but perhaps that's the charm. I'd gladly return. This coming from someone who dines out 200 times a year.