Chateau De Candie, Chambéry-le-Vieux

Advantages: Beautiful, amazing History
Disadvantages: Pricey

...When Mr Tart and I went to the Loire Valley castle hunting I knew that I definitely wanted to visit Chenonceau. It's one of the castles that really said Loire to me as it seems to be one that's often used to illustrate the area. SOME HISTORY: Chateau de Chenonceau was originally a fortified castle built in the 1430s. In the early 1500s the castle was purchased by Thomas Bohier who demolished the fortified castle (apart from one tower) and began the building we see today. Unfortunately for Bohier his castle was seized by Francois I after Bohier's son failed to pay a debt. Francois's son Henry II then gave the castle to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Diane extended the castle to include an arched bridge across the river. When Henry II died (a splinter from a joust went into his eye and he died from the infection - yuk!) his wife... Read review

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Advantages: A calm day out with loads to take in.
Disadvantages: None.

...The chateau of Treverez has become part of my life, in that it is situated not far from where I live, and I visit regularly. First let's tell you something about it's checkered history, though to me, the importance of Treverez lies in today and the way in which it enriches the visitor at various times of the year. The idea of the chateau was conceived in 1894, and the ideals and visions of the owner was to integrate many of the architectural features that were commonplace at the turn of the century, and he achieved that, although it is difficult to say which countries his ideas were taken from. Looking at the chateau and comparing with other buildings of a similar time frame, it is actually unusual for brick to have been used and although many of the styles used are typically french, the use of brick in this area of France is not... Read review

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Advantages: Inexpensive, amazing sea views, walking distance into town
Disadvantages: Scruffy and run down, little atmosphere, very quiet

...As many of you will know from my epic review on Belize published last week, I recently spent 2 weeks in Belize City. The hotel we stayed in was called 'The Chateau Caribbean' I promised a longer, fuller review on this venue so here goes. How did I find out about the Chateau? ****************************************** When we decided on Belize as our honeymoon destination I took a quick look through my existing guide book, which was the Rough Guides 2003 Belize guide. I always prefer to look for independent or boutique hotels, so I quickly discounted the various Hiltons, Marriott's etc. An entry which caught my eye was on 'The Chateau Caribbean'. This was described as a colonial style establishment, right on the sea front, with 30 rooms. The guide said the hotel had actually featured in several films over the years, including... Read review

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