Not sure if this is a restaurant review per se, but the experience was worth a review
This was our second visit. My first glowing review is on TripAdvisor.. We brought our son and his wife for a birthday and first anniversary celebration. We originally had planned to take them to Sonoma Valley, but they couldn't leave town. The priciest place where we stayed in California was almost half the price of our night here and much different.
I will start with food, which was definitely the best part. I was a bit surprised that for $580 a night they did not offer an appetizer spread. There was an open glass of mixed nuts on the bar. We had a bottle of wine in our room, but no snacks. Of course, there were no vending machines...but other bed and breakfast type places usually keep a supply of snacks, cookies, etc for guests. We came down for dinner at seven and were seated in a lovely dining room with five (?) tables. Our table was wobbling so badly that we had to switch seating.The other guests with children were seated in another area. That didn't keep their children from flying through our room a couple of times, screaming and brandishing swords ala Harry Potter. We had a delightful 5 course meal and I can honestly say that it was in the $200 range in service,taste, quality, and presentation.A bruschetta with red caviar, a turbot atop a potato cake, a filet with an incredible sauce, a pot de creme chocolat with a light meringue
for dessert. Before, we had banquet seating with the other guests. The Continental breakfast is a step above- they had several styles of muffins, breads, cereal , yogurt, fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheese and hardboiled eggs.The smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese were outstanding.
We arrived at around 4 pm and they were just finishing a Harry Potter themed birthday party. The children were in costume and were running through the castle making lots of noise. At first we were amused, not realizing that two families were staying with their unsupervised children. We enjoyed a cocktail in the back and played Bocce ball. The pool was not open yet, but in season is very nice. The hot tub in the turret on top is also not working (or filled).The other two turrets contain an empty bar and a tiny workout room with 4 machines and nothing else. The landscaping wasn't as nice as before, I noticed many weeds, no garden and few flowers. During our predinner time, we noticed that several small children were running through the castle, in the yard and in the game rooms screaming and yelling with no supervision at all. This went on all hours of the night and next day. At 10:40 I called the manager and asked them to please quiet the children in the next room who were screaming and jumping on the bed. I could not relax or sleep. Clearly, the parents and grandparents were enjoying the amenities while they let the children run wild. I am shocked that nobody in management spoke to them in advance about other guests, rules, discipline, etc.
We were packing when I realized my earring was missing. I looked under the elevated bed and saw a hair clip. dust, a fork, a carrot and some other type of foodstuff. Disgusting. It looked as if it hadn't been swept in some time. When we left at 11, nobody was in the castle at all. Nobody said goodbye, or asked us about our stay, etc. I have been treated better in a Red Roof Inn.
This is such a lovely property, but it is so poorly mismanaged that I can't imagine how they can charge these prices and give their guests such shabby treatment. We are world travelers, and I can say that this was one of the poorest excuses for a luxury experience I have ever received.