Best Castle Stays in Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Our Choices for 2023

The 15th century era Château de la Motte is an authentic and charming French castle B&B near Châtellerault where Poitou-Charentes meets the southern Loire Valley. It is a special property, with a rich local history and a carefully maintained old world atmosphere. At first glance the interior design barely seems to touch the 21st century, such is the authenticity of the place, but modern comforts and facilities are also here. THE ACCOMMODATION: Though the building is large Château de la Motte has just 6 rooms in total for guests; 3 cosy double/twin rooms and two ‘deluxe doubles’ which have more space, an extra bed and the added perk of a spa bath in the bathroom. Finally there is a ‘family suite’ with two extra beds. Check your options on the booking page here. All of the rooms come with views, and some also come with a nice romantic open fireplace, put a note in the booking form to request if you’d like. The decor of all is beautifully old fashioned; all the double beds are four poster for example and almost every piece of furniture is antique. The breakfast at the château is a great feast to be taken in READ MORE

Château Monteil is a beautiful private chateau, with an outdoor heated swimming pool, to rent in the Dordogne-Perigord region of southern France. It is just over two hours from Bordeaux, in the eastern Dordogne, and close to both the beautiful medieval town of Sarlat-la-Canéda and the Lascaux Caves. THE ACCOMMODATION: The château is very spacious and can sleep up to seventeen people without much fuss. There are six bedrooms with various numbers of beds (take a look on the booking page here), five bathrooms, spacious lounge areas (which include, amongst other things, an open fireplace, a snooker table and a TV), a nice, fully equipped, kitchen, and finally outside you have gardens and terraces with sun loungers that overlook the aforementioned heated swimming pool. The château owners live close by and will always be on hand should you have any issues. They are also very good cooks and if you tire of cooking at the chateau they can arrange meals for an extra charge. With some advance notice they can provide breakfast and in the evenings a tremendous multi course home cooked meal featuring local recipes and ingredients. Wines can be ordered too, with the latest wine list from the READ MORE

The four star 19th century Château Hotel Grand Barrail lies among some beautiful countryside near to Bordeaux and nearer still to Saint-Emilion in the heart of South West France‘s Aquitaine Dordogne. The estate is surrounded by beautifully tended gardens and acres of vineyards, and is particularly known for two things, its food; the kitchen, run by Chef Romain Gondras serves up some of the most innovative cuisine in the region, and its extensive spa which has two hammams, two saunas, a hot tub, various treatment and fitness rooms and a wide choice of Cinq Mondes body treatments. THE ACCOMMODATION: Between the château and its three neighbouring annexes there is a choice of over 40 rooms and suites. Check out all your options on the booking page here. Most of them have a terrace or balcony from where you can enjoy views over the surrounding vineyards and all are extremely comfortable and clean. Though these days they are quite modern in style they still retain a certain, quite old fashioned, opulent charm. They have the usual modern comforts of course; flat screen TV, WiFi, study and seating area, as well as some beautiful en-suite bathrooms. The château itself is of course very READ MORE