Chateau Cocove

I don’t normally post reviews, but I wanted to give my opinion of Chateau de Cocove in light of 2-3 other rather negative ones for broadly the same period which, at least according to my experience, cast too negative a shadow and certainly not one that I would share. I stayed there with my wife for two nights at the end of August paying 582 Euros for a Superieure room, including 3 course dinners and full hot and cold buffet breakfasts on both days. We consider it to have been very good value. It is fairly expensive but what you get is of a high quality. The evening meals on both nights were superb. The menu probably changes, but the skill of the chef and his team would endure so I would have no hesitations about recommending it to anyone. For starters we had foie gras, which came with a lovely jelly and juice, with very nicely toasted bread. For main courses, we had beef and lamb on the first night and turbot and lamb on the second. Both the lamb and the beef were extremely tender, cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. The turbot was equally beautifully presented and delicious. The seasoning of all the meals was for us just right. We tend to be at the end of the spectrum to add salt to everything but it was quite perfect as it arrived. In truth, for what you get, dinner (42 Euros Menu) is excellent value. We did not have any problems with the attentiveness of any member of staff and were helped when we asked for clarifications on the menu. Our French is not great but using what we knew, a bit of Google searching and the friendly help of the Maitre d’hotel we very easily got through things. The Maitre d’ also kindly wrote down the names of some of the local cheeses my wife particularly liked so we could buy them after departing. All was done with a very pleasant smile. Food came promptly and plates cleared away equally so. We did not have any wine but were not in any way made to feel deficient for only ordering sparkling mineral water. We did not have the sense that service was any less attentive to any of the other 8-10 diners. The room on the 1st floor was exactly as advertised and looked forward onto the main ‘park’, which really enhanced the feeling of being in the country. A nice touch is that cars don’t park at the front - large car park area very close by at the side - ruining what is a lovely frontage. (They are happy for you to pack/unpack however). We threw open the windows to let the sun and cool breeze in which was really nice. Both the shower and bath functioned as they should and we had plenty of hot water. The super picky would say there were two gouges in some plastic trim and some nail varnish had been trailed across the rim of the bath, but to have an issue would be needless. Tea and coffee was available in the room and replenished the next morning. Everything was spotlessly clean. We slept really well and heard no noises from either the corridor or surrounding rooms. Breakfast was again very good. I had scrambled egg, sausages, bacon, american-style pancake and crepe with maple syrup, yoghurt, cheese, cold meats, croissants, spreads, fruit juice and coffee! My wife went for fresh fruit, baguette, cheese, ham and confitures. 16 Euros was again very good value for what you get. The waitress was also very happy to help with filling our bottles with cold water for a day trip to the surrounding area. The Chateau is very conveniently situated not too far from the main road to/from Calais but definitely far enough away to feel you are in the countryside. The grounds are certainly easily big enough for small children to roam around and wear themselves out. Would we stay here with small children - probably not, but we stayed in the main building, which has a quieter and more formal feel to it and probably not the best place for children to tear around. I can see from the CdC website though that they have a number of lodges which would possibly suit a family quite well so I offer no particular overall view on that. Finally, I am not trying to say that other people’s opinions are not valid but we certainly enjoyed our visit and will have only happy memories of our stay at Chateau de Cocove.

Concur absolutely with Stocklinch Traveller's review of 2 September 2019. We stayed there for two nights the following week. A charming place like this in such a beautiful setting deserves more effective management to realise its true potential. Apart from the young girl serving breakfast, the staff seemed to find it an imposition to have to cater for the needs of guests although to be fair their indifferent attitude may well stem from being terribly over-worked. There simply aren't enough of them. After being shown to a table in the restaurant, that had already been offered to another guest incidentally, it was several minutes before we were brought menus. A request to order apéritifs was ignored, as were we ourselves for the next fifteen minutes by which time we'd decided to leave and try our luck in Ardres. In the event that was very good move. Any attempt to bring the 18th century building up to 21st century standards hardly succeeded with our allocated "superior" bedroom. The bed was certainly large and comfortable enough but the room itself was pokey and sparsely furnished. The Victorian style bathroom had little or no hot water, not to mention an "open-plan" shower. There's only the main broad curved staircase in the traditional French style with no lift. Lack of staff resources is reflected throughout and is no more noticeable than in the poor upkeep of the formal parts of the gardens. The hotel is barely keeping up appearances.

Disappointing stay. Upgraded room, but no hot water in the evening. No shower head on the wall, you have to stand and hold the shower head over yourself! Dinner was superb, however, one hour after we had finished our main course, we gave up waiting for our sweet and went to bed. Other diners were complaining about the ridiculous wait too. Location is wonderful, this could be a truly outstanding hotel, but is let down by attention to detail and incredibly long, and unacceptable, waiting between courses. We sat down to. Fine at 07:30, we gave up on our pudding ever arriving at 9:40. Sadly, staff were not that welcoming, no smiles on arrival and rather tellingly, no enquiry as to how we had enjoyed our stay. Other couples we chatted to had similar experiences. Could be superb if a little attention was given to staffing and attitude... Oh and checking that rooms have showers and hot water.

We put our best smiles on right through our stay but received very few in return. You just don't feel welcome. Even though 90%of the guests were English, the menu was in French only with no offer of help.Dinner was fantastic but when we had finished our main course our plates remained in front of us for 45 minutes, and we retired to bed without having had our dessert as there was no sign of any staff and at least half a dozen tables in the same situation. A lady who was in her 8th visit said this was normal! It's pretty expensive now, yet the bath plug didn't work, no hot water in the evening, no shower unless you hold the spray over yourself. All rather disappointing so I don't think we will be returning.

Beautiful chateau and room set in lovely gardens. Bathroom was particularly luxurious and the room was beautiful but extremely hot with uncomfortable beds. Staff not very friendly or approachable if you could even find them. Restaurant seems lovely with some lovely touches but the food was not particularly good. Children's menu was dreadful.

Overall, the hotel is excellent. The rooms are comfortable, and dinner was first rate. Breakfast was also good. However, there are insufficient staff. One person was responsible for both serving in the bar and manning the reception desk - the result was slow service. Likewise, service at dinner was slow because there were too few waiting staff.

This place reserves more than 5.The welcome was warm- unusually in France, the bed was a superking. The room was very comfortable. The dinner was superb, with veal that was so tender.There also were amuse bouches. The food and the service were superb.To cap it off, again unusually in France the breakfast included scrambled egg and sausage with bacon. A fabulous mini-break. Thank you Richard and Ruth

We selected this hotel for the first night of our trip to meet up with all the family for big celebration and were not disappointed! Easy to locate just off the Autoroute, lorries on which could be heard in the far distance at night, and near enough to hear trains passing at speed. Neither should put off any visitor as very much in the background. Parking is plentiful and, on a warm sunny day, not a problem to reach reception where check in was quick and very correct. The bedroom was beautiful but have to say only just about adequate in size. En suite bathroom similar including toilet looking quite like a throne perched at the end of an open shower!! Dinner was absolutely delightful in a beautiful room with views over the grounds. We were fascinated by the little things on which much thought and research had been carried out from the very creative and varied table flower decorations to the large structural timbers and supports. Beautiful!! Not big eaters we found a starter and mains perfectly adequate and filling. Beautifully presented and utterly divine! I would imagine younger diners with bigger appetites would definitely have room for the beautiful desserts we saw being served and/or partaking of what looked a well stocked cheese trolley! Everybody from reception through the restaurant was impeccable and well trained in their roles and carried them out to the letter. Would, however, enjoy their smiling a little more? We left very happy and looking forward to a speedy return to this lovely chateau after having had an extremely comfortable night in every way!

Nice old style Hotel. Marvellous Park. Nice restaurant. Fair price. Furniture a bit old. Service correct, competent, not warm. It's part of a big hotel group and we could feel it slightly. Business is not empathic.