Le Chalet de la Foret Hôtel 3 étoiles et Restaurant

Best avoided. Welcome to Les Tours de Fawlty. The chalets are not uncomfortable but basic and thin-walled. Beds are decent, pillows brick-like. The tour de force, however, happens in the restaurant. Having read decent reviews, we were rather looking forward to some simple but good French food. Worth mentioning at this stage that I lived in France for 14 years and speak French. To start, we were rather taken aback by the prices, which are high, particularly by Vierzon standards (we stayed in a competitor establishment last time, which was far more reasonable). We decided to push on, long day, late (8pm), tired. Charcuterie, not bad but at €16 for a slice of paté and a couple of slices of other cured meats, it should have been more generous and better. A skinny foie gras, disappointing. The main course of steak (€28) was tough and bland with no sear, and accompanied by a luke warm potato gratin and some other unidentifiables. That went back, prompting shock from the waitress, disbelief from front of house and utter outrage from the gesticulating breeze-block chef, all of whom took turns to challenge my - clearly ignorant - view of the culinary arts. But the beef is French, Monsieur, and everything is cooked in-house! I expected Manuel to burst in at any moment. Cheese, difficult to get wrong in France. And the tarte tatin, a saving grace from complete disaster. One might be tempted to think of this place as quirky or charmingly anachronistic but, basically, it is sub-par. Skip it if you can.

Bel accueil au téléphone à la dernière minute !Chambre à l'étage très propre,bien équipée, excellente literie. Dîner au restaurant ,produits de qualité et beau plateau de fromages (ça se fait rare de nos jours).Nous reviendrons sans hésiter !

Convenient stopover location for our journey south, situated just off the autoroute. Stayed in one of the lodges to the rear of the main hotel building. Friendly staff, basic but comfortable room with excellent shower. Secure parking through coded gates.