What's the redesigned Caudalie hotel like?
Avoid room 39: my tips for the perfect stay at Sources de Caudalie and a few words on productivity. #81
We are already in the second quarter of 2024!
On one hand, I do find it a bit concerning that none of the projects that I was hoping would happen this year have progressed much: no new role, no French house yet for instance, no launch of my hotels directory for you. On the other hand, the start of a new quarter and the advent of the summer time - which I love - do give me a new impetus.
I love to plan how I will progress on said projects or new ones. My problem is precisely that: I love planning but I spend more time brainstorming the various steps and putting them in a tech platform (Asana, if you want to know) than implementing the actual plan! Well, this is true for my personal projects as thankfully, I am pretty efficient at work.
So I decided to make two changes for the upcoming quarter
to use the same system I have for work for my personal projects
to game it by trying to achieve a certain percentage of completed tasks each week. This is a method taken from the 12 Week Year by the way for those of you who are into productivity books.
I’ll report back later on what my key projects and success rates have been!
In other news, we had a good holiday week - despite the mother of all colds that really knocked me down - celebrating Easter with my mother, my brother and his family, spending some time near Bordeaux in Caudalie (see review below), and visiting a few houses in Ile de Ré (where we stayed at Le Sénéchal again, more info next week) before doing admin and resting back in London.
We got lucky with the weather, avoiding the rain and having sun most days, even if temperatures were still fresh. I hope you too had a great break over Easter and are ready to enjoy Spring.
Hotel Review: Les Sources de Caudalie, Bordeaux
We stayed at Caudalie before, and you can read my detailed review here. So this is a 2024 update, looking particularly into what the new design had brought to the experience.
Les Sources de Caudalie has a great location, lost in the middle of the vineyards, only about 10-15 minutes from the highway, but you can hear absolutely nothing. Even in winter, the vines not yet in grapes or even in leaves create a very pretty landscape and therefore a very pretty arrival at the Sources de Caudalie.
Style: a chic renovation
The hotel was renovated about a year ago, I believe. They removed a lot of the old furniture, repainted in shades of navy blue which contrast with the warm wood and introduced pieces that are a little more designer-like.
The entrance is much more attractive, much more stripped down, and it allows you to see straight ahead, through the French windows, to the other side of the hotel, with the lake.
It is a welcome update, as I had noted previously that this was needed. It’s done well although I wouldn’t say that it adds much of a wow facto.
Do ask about the location of your room…
This time we had a junior suite, the same category we had before and in the same building, which is called the boat barn.
Unfortunately this time the room was disappointing. We were on the ground floor, with no outdoor space and faced the side where there are other buildings, so there was no light at all in the room. It's room 39, so I recommend you really avoid it, because, as I told them, it's not a suite, which to me means a certain size and at least a view or outdoor space. Make sure to clarify where you’ll be and on what floor etc..
That said, the bedding was impeccable, with a very large comfortable bed.
The room also had plenty of space for clothes, a wardrobe, a nice sofa bed for Mademoiselle and a welcome gift of a red bottle of wine!
… and be careful about the minimum spend for the spa
As for the rest of the hotel, as before, it is in a very pretty setting, so with nature awakening in spring and good weather, we enjoyed a gentle bike ride and stroll around the estate. Bikes are free to hire and you can also go play tennis, enjoy the indoor swimming pool in all seasons, or of course discover the vineyards and winemaking etc.
The spa with treatments using Caudalie products is a nice one and we enjoyed it before. But beware! Because it is a separate company from the hotel, they have a different billing system and therefore do not grant access to hotel guests unless booking a treatment. In addition, said treatment need to be at least 50 minutes, which is a minimum of 138 euros per person on weekdays. On Sundays or public holidays, it’s even worse. There, the minimum reservation required is three treatments per person, therefore, 420 euros per person!
Needless to say, we didn’t book the spa!
Food: options for every palate
As for food, there are several options: a two-star gourmet restaurant, which was not open this time - we tried it previously, it was good; the Table du Lavoir, which is a more classic bistro and was good too; and finally a café where you can have cold meats and cheese platters of course with a nice glass of wine! There’s also a bar where they do creative cocktails.
Breakfast is well stocked, with a nice buffet, and you can ask to have eggs cooked however you want.
The staff is very professional, very efficient. The new decoration has brought the hotel up to date, so it's interesting. Like I said, maybe a little dark in places.
Overall: my verdict
What’s missing, for me , at the sources of Caudalie, is a central place that would reflect the soul of the hotel. There is a bar, there are a few lounges in some of the buildings where the rooms are, but no common lounge and you also don’t see a Manager. That makes the stay pleasant but a tad impersonal to my liking.
But as I said, otherwise, it's very good service, good food, good setting, so a classic luxury hotel that can work for lots of people and a good base near Bordeaux.