Domaine de Biar

The Domaine De Biar is a chateau hotel in a tranquil rural setting a 20 minute drive outside Montpellier. The chateau grounds offer wonderful rustic charm in a classic French provincial setting. The hotel itself is OK without ever being anything more than that. It is certainly not bad by any means, but nor does it have any wow factor outside the chateau facade and the grounds. The room we were allotted had it's good and not so good points. The good? It had a balcony and was right in the centre of the chateau. The not so good? The room was the narrowest room we have ever stayed in. This meant that there was no real bathroom, bat rather an open basin/vanity in the entrance on one side and a shower on the other side. The most unusual set up we have ever experienced, and ever likely to experience. The room also had no TV...probably because there was nowhere to put it, and a musty smell that is common in older poorly ventilated properties. The front desk clerk informed us that the chateau is due to conduct renovations, and that should help. All up, it wasn't a bad stay by any means, but nor did the chateau compel us to want to stay there ever again.

Great stay. Quiet location right outside of the city. The grounds and chateau were scenic. Upon arrival, the hotel upgraded our room to the best suite after hearing it was our honeymoon. Food at the restaurant was amazing as well. Staff were helpful and very nice as well. Only thing that’s still a mystery is both our headphones going missing but anything could have happened.

Sadly we were disappointed with our stay here. It promised so much but failed to deliver. The room Henriette was extremely small and overpriced - over £300 for a room that had a small bed with no bedside tables, no furniture at all and a tiny cupboard with a small hanging space. We resorted to putting our clothes on the floor under the bed! There was no Aircon and we couldn't have the windows open due to noise from the road and mosquitos. The shower was in the room so condensation ran down the bedroom walls and there was nowhere for towels so they were still damp in the evening. The loo was in a small under-ventilated cupboard. This was one of the most expensive rooms we have stayed in out of at least 20 hotels a year but it was definitely the smallest. The food was good but far too small a choice. Two starters and as we don't eat prawns we had to have the same starter for 3 nights at £20 each for cauliflower 3 ways! There were only 3 mains and again as we like all the choices we ended up having the same two nights running. When we complained we were told the chef would do us a different main on the second day so instead of dining elsewhere we arrived for dinner to be told as it was only our second night the menu wouldn't change. We did eventually get a different main on the third night. I am allergic to nuts which reiterated by the receptionist when we arrived. At dinner on the terrace it was dark and I took a bite of dessert to find it contained nuts. Luckily I had medication with me and my allergy is not that severe but the receptionist just said she forgot to tell the chef. Not good enough. There was also a guest at the next table chain smoking all through dinner with smoke wafting over us. The staff were friendly but we felt that the hotel was out to make as much money as possible but didn't really care about the guests' comfort - lip service only.

This hotel is deceptively. In the night was a person who slept on the corridor!! The amount of mosquitos in my bedroom was terrible and very difficult for sleep. The dinner a limited menu. I don’t recommend this hotel!!

This is classified as a 4 star hotel but has no service whatsoever. There was noone to pick up the luggages on the check out, you could not arrive directly to the hotel by car. At the restaurant there was no choice of food. Could only eat what they had at the moment. Full of mosquitoes, no ac or tv at the room.

I have put 1 star because there is not a chance to put ZERO! I had chosen this property because same period last year the staff was kind and I arrived at 21:30 and they served us some cold cuts and cheese. This year, what a disapointment. It all started with the fact that there was nobody at check in at 18:30 neither at the check out 10:00 to carry or help with lugagge so we had to do it by ourselves, and from the parking till the reception there are good 3 minute walk. Then the room that was given us had a door that wouldn't lock, so it remained open all night. l, and for safety reasons we felt very unsafe and had a very unpleasant night. Just for your information, there was a person who slept in the corridor!!!! Just to give you an idea of this place.. Is it normal?? Not to mention as well the amout of mosquitos inside the bedroom, they bite us all night long. If the room is properly clean and desinfected, usually there are not so many mosquitos inside and I wish the manager of this place could sleep there and be honest with his experience. We woke up with at least 20 bites of the mosquitos. The bath tub was very slippery (not following the security rules to have an anti slip inside it) and small, there was no shower and I have a broken ankle and it was a nightmare to had a shower in the bathtub. Then the sink to wash your hands had the faucet broken and by opening it, the water just splashed on my clothes. Dinner: very limited menu, no alternatives for vegans, all had cheese and the waitress was only anwsering no to any request. As if we were there to bother the royals. The main dish "pork" was almost hard as a stone, my husband ate it to respect the animal who didn't die for nothing but it was not good. The cooking should be done in a way that the meat is soft and savory, the pork was hard as wood and no flavor. They claim to have local produce, but in my opinion is just a facade as the quality of the food is not as they claim it to be. In the morning I went out for a jogging in the property, and I realised it is not fenced. I was almost attacked by a wild bore with its cubs and that scared the hell out of me because that is actually really dangerous!!! No security at all in the property. Check out: Very unpleasant, not empathetic woman, not helpful and unpolite. Basically charged me for my dogs WHO SLEPT IN THE CAR!!! Just because she saw them passing. She didn't want to listen to me and made me angry and nervous and just ruined my morning. Overall I will never come back here because this woman at the reception was viscious and had ZERO empathy to a customer who paid honestly a lot to stay in a place like this. The staff at this property have no idea about hotel management and how to deal with customers. I hope you could have an idea with the time that I spent at this hotel which I wouldn't wish to my worst enemy!

This is a superb hotel and we couldn't fault anything n- food, service, staff, accommodation all excellent. We stayed 3 nights in the newish pink Flamingo inspired room and had a fantastic stay and wouldn't hesitate to come back. It was a great place to chill out and relax. One thing that might add to the experience would be the opportunity to hire bikes so we could have explored the area a little.

Most aspects of our stay at Domaine de Biar were superb, far exceeding expectations: friendly and generous staff, a romantic magic of a locale and historical estate, gourmet food in a wonderful ambiance. All excellent. Owing to the limitation in restoration of a centuries old house, the luxury of spacious accommodation with contemporary bathrooms and shower was not at that same level of excellence. However, I recommend Domaine de Biar as an extraordinary opportunity to enjoy a unique experience.

Fantastic gem out of Montpellier. Nested in a beautiful park. Old “castle” with fully renovated rooms. Wonderful pool and activities around including horse riding. Friendly. Great to relax. Very nice restaurant. A lovely place to relax and ressource yourself. We loved it and we will come back.