The brochure of Chateau de la Caze looked fantastic and I couldn't believe that the reality would be even better but it was! The location is absolutely stunning and our room Loyse on the first floor of the chateau had breathtaking views over the Tarn Gorges. All the staff spoke English and were incredibly helpful. This is a real fairy-tale castle and you feel you are entering the Middle Ages (but with 20th century mod cons) when you cross the moat into the stone entrance hall which is lit by candles in the evening. Dinner on the terrace was delicious and beautifully presented and came with extra little 'tasters' with every course. Couldn't recommend it highly enough!

We were told the setting is specatcular, the rooms good and the food wonderful.

The setting is specatcular, our room was huge and comfortable but the food!

This was to be a special treat: instead we had lamb cutlets which were virtually inedible (one was burnt, the other undercooked!), fish which was mushy and vegetables cooked within an inch of their lives. Very disappointing and expensive.

Suffice it to say, our proposed two night treat became a one night stay as we saw no reason to put up with food like this more than once.

It appeared that the hotel was understaffed and this may have been the problem in the kitchen but in a country where there are plenty of good restaurants, this is one to be avoided.

We've had a busy year as owners of holiday cottages in Cornwall and really needed our holiday in France (mainly visiting friends) to get off to a relaxing start ! We were not disappointed. Everything about the Chateau was first class. The food was amazing, the staff charming, Sandrine an excellent hostess and our suite (in the Barn) very comfortable. We would certainly go there again-although we'd need to go on a diet first-and will certainly recommend the Chateau to our friends. Although not cheap, it was certainly not expensive by UK hotel standards and in our opinion it was excellent value for money.

A really friendly, luxurious family run hotel where nothing was too much trouble for the staff. The highlight of our touring holiday in France.

We stayed in the Annexe simply because we booked too late in the year for a room in the main castle. We thought this was great, in contrast to the other comments here - the room was a mini-appartment with separate hallway, lounge, bedroom, bathroom and toilet, with everything modern, clean, luxurious and working. It's not the castle experience, but we knew this in advance and in fact it was probably better for the three of us.

The restaurant is really serious gastronomically, but more importantly it bent over backwards, and succeeded, to get things just right for the family. For example, my son's well-done meat (always a challenge in France and a source of dread to me when ordering in upmarket places) was perfect. Fantastic wine list - perhaps a little pricey for France but still a treat compared to similar places in England. Also, as others noted, the many extra courses, amuse-bouches etc aren't just throwaway items - they are all delicious and carefully matched to the overall menu.

Everyone was really friendly, eager to please and effective (not always the same thing). For example - I chipped a chunk out of my car tyre on a low wall when reversing in the car park (entirely my fault). At breakfast the next morning I was presented with an envelope of Yellow Pages printouts of all the tyre depots in Millau, with an offer to help me make the call.

Above all, the place is such excellent value for the overall standard of accomodation, service and food. The drawback of course is the 20 mile drive out of the Gorge du Tarn to get anywhere each day (assuming you want to) - the spectacular views can get a little wearying on the sixth journey! But if your stay is built around the Gorge's attractions this won't be an issue.

Local highlights - the Millau viaduct is a must-see with a great visitor centre that is well-signed from Millau. Also, test your and your family's nerves on the extremely hairy white road up from La Malene across the Causse Mejean and down to Florac - our SatNav took us to the hotel this way in a thunderstorm and if I could have removed my white knuckles from their grip on the steering wheel long enough I would have gladly thrown it out of the window for doing so.