This week we celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary at Chateau Elan. We make fairly frequent trips to Atlanta to visit family. For the first time, we left the kids with family to go stay at a hotel all by ourselves. We were looking for a spa hotel and decided on this one for its location and amenities, making reservations for our stay, spa visit and restaurant meals couple weeks in advance.
We booked a package for two nights which came with a bottle of wine and some resort credit. The place is big - hotel, winery, golf course, restaurants, spa, conference space, walking trails. Driving up, you do get a feel of arriving at a Disney-fied French chateau. The property is pretty - but perhaps like a Marriott with French touches?
It was our first hotel stay since the start of the COVID-19 and it was odd to see everyone in masks. There were temperature-taking machines and self-cleaning handles, elevator buttons (wonder how these work). Resort fee was $42/day and on top of that, $16/day parking fee. For a place advertising luxury experience, the service does not match the price.
The biggest problem with our stay was that it we were put in an adjoining room. We could hear everything through the door. The first night, our next-door neighbors had the tv on till 3am. We called the front desk to ask for support, then Hubby knocked on the door, but no joy. When we talked to the front desk the next day, they apologized and stated the occupants had checked out and they would not put anyone else there that night. A promise they did not keep. Hubby talked to the new neighbors who said they would not be up late but it was still 1am before things quieted down, and 6am when they were up and about again. The room itself was quite nice - we had a separate bathtub and shower.
The pool area was quite nice, but could've done with a couple of showers for people entering and exiting the pool. There was a pool bar with food options. The atrium was also very pretty and they offered afternoon tea reservations. We wanted to dine at the golf course restaurant and the front desk informed that we would have to drive over to there. We arrived to find out the kitchen was not open for the week. This should be something the front desk is aware of. Drove back and dined at the Louis' House of Bourbon instead. I had a meat and cheese plate and Hubby a burger. Both were ok - the place is more of a bar, with loud music.
We had a hard time finding things as there did not seem to be enough signs for such a huge place. The spa was nice but whirlpool and saunas were closed. Spa prices were cheaper on weekdays. We had a couples massage - it was nice to be offered refreshments at check-in but the robes provided seemed a little worn. We made a lunch reservation at the Fleur-de-Lis restaurant which overlooked the garden. Brunch was very nice and as we noted on the reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary, they treated us to some macaroons. Note there are also spa rooms for overnight stays, but they are pricier than the inn rooms.
We found out at check-in that we had to make a reservation to use the gym. Same-day reservations did not seem available. It had a nice enough equipment selection. We were surprised to learn that a wine tasting was included with our stay. It was a seven sample flight and the winery area was very scenic. They also had wine tasting sessions (and tours) for purchase. The wines tended to sweet though. We found out that our free wine bottle was to be from a limited selection, something that they really should indicate in advance.
We had dinner at Marc, in the winery, for which we also had to make a reservation. It didn't seem to matter as the hostess still asked if we were celebrating something, even if we indicated so on the reservation. I was hoping to be seated in the patio, but when we were not, I made the request to which the hostess replied that it was not possible since the patio is very popular. So again, why reservations? Hubby had deep fried brussel sprouts as a starter - a big portion and the accompanying honey sriracha sauce had me eating it too. My onion soup seemed to be a mushroom soup in disguise. Mains were mahi mahi and sea scallops (3), pretty good. Broccolini and potatoes for sides. We got a chocolate cake for free - yum.
The verdict -
*Ask for a non-adjoining room if you don't need it
*Ask for a nice table as part of the reservation
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