
Domaine de Vieux Mareuil, France hotel review
Predating what is now known as the Dordogne, the historical Périgord department in south-west France is split into four 'colours' based on regional and geographical points of interest. Blanc for its chalk cliffs, noir for the abundance of truffles, pourpre for its red wines and vert for its forests. Domaine de Vieux Mareuil can be found in the Périgord Vert area, surrounded by woodland and greenery.
Laetitia Morlat created Domaine de Vieux Mareuil in the late 1990s where she grew up and much of her family still resides. She has many stories to tell: walking back through the woods in the early hours of the morning after teenage parties or watching her children embracing slow living in Périgord.
The private villas – four in total, with a fifth planned – are dotted around the area, each with a distinct personality but the thread running through is Morlat's design eye and attention to detail. Allowing private, quiet moments with loved ones in homes that embrace nature.
The vibe
Each property has close connections to the family: one a home previously lived in by Morlat's parents, while another is the place where Morlat and her husband spent their honeymoon. They have been painstakingly renovated into luxurious private villas, bringing together a sharp interior design masterfully arranging old pieces uncovered during renovations and contemporary style, all with the intrigue and history of French architecture.
This review focuses on Château de Chanet, an imposing medieval country house filled with plush soft furnishings, art made by local artists and touches of history salvaged from the rubble of the old buildings. Think playful wallpaper, expensive fabrics and hand-selected antiques.
The service
With a team covering housekeeping, laundry and full-service fine dining, practically everything is taken off your hands for the duration of your stay. Activities for kids, special meals and even – if your budget allows – helicopter transfers to and from the airport. From the welcome cocktail to an unpacking service and activities, the staff are polite, knowledgeable and friendly, and are at your disposal for the duration of your visit.
Bed and bath
The Château de Chanet – surrounded by 14 hectares of land – has a 23-person capacity spanning 11 rooms, each with a distinct design flair. With a maze of rooms that lead upstairs and along corridors, half the fun is exploring and finding where you'll be staying. There's even a whimsical room at the top of a fairytale tower with a mezzanine seating area and panoramic countryside views. Some of the nine bathrooms have stunning free-standing baths with plush seating that you could spend a whole afternoon enjoying. Marie Antoinette would have felt right at home.
Food and drink
Ingredients at Domaine de Vieux Mareuil are grown on the property or sourced from local suppliers within 15km of the estate. Leave it all up to the private chef, and you're sure to find French classics impeccably made: rich, buttery foie gras that's famous in the region, cep mushrooms and truffles that are found in abundance in Périgord Vert. Duck, veal and seafood are often on the menu, and the desserts – orange blossom crème brûlée, for example – are unforgettable.
It's imperative to indulge in the local Bergerac wines, too: red is the real winner, along with sweet wines from Monbazillac. Book a tasting experience at a local vineyard and find a new favourite.
The Château de Chanet has an intimate dining room with a table that almost fills the whole space. The table will be beautifully dressed, candlelit and flowing with local wines and fine food. Or opt for an outdoor meal in the warmer months and drink in wonderful views with your wine.
Facilities
Facilities vary by villa – Château de Chanet has a heated swimming pool, a relaxation room with a billiards table, games and a projector with screen for a movie night. Book the movie experience and enjoy locally made cocktails, popcorn, snacks and blankets. Fitness facilities include courts for padel and petanque, or just go for rambling country walks.
Disability access
The Château de Chanet has wheelchair-accessible rooms in a new custom-built part of the building, which has slightly less historical intrigue.
Pet policy
Pets are allowed.
Check in/check out?
Customise your check-in or check-out according to your needs. Minimum four nights' stay.
Family-friendly?
Yes. Bespoke activities for children are available.
At a glance
Best thing: Switching off your phone and listening to the birds on the outdoor seating.
Perfect for: An overnight wedding party or ultra-luxury family escape.
Not right for: A city break or holidaying on a budget.
Address: Varies by villa; office address is 3-5 Rue Paul Brégeat, 24340 Mareuil en Périgord, France

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


North Wales Live
12 hours ago
- North Wales Live
The 'dragon's teeth' and 'pillboxes' that dot North Wales and why they were put there
North Wales is full of landmarks and historic sites - with as much heritage per square mile as any part of Europe. Some tower over towns like the castles of Edward I or dominate their surroundings like the famous mansion homes of the former lords of the manor. Their histories are well known but there are other smaller slabs of the past that lurk on the coast and the mountain passes of Eryri, which many would not notice. Or even if they do they may not know why they are there. These remains of "dragons' teeth" anti-tank devices, pillboxes (concrete dug-in guard-posts), spigot mortar mounts (bases with a central spigot designed to hold am anti-tank spigot mortar) and even sniper posts give an insight into the very real threat of invasion in the 1940s as German tanks rolled across the continent. In May 1940, while tens of thousands of British, French, Belgian and Dutch troops continued to be plucked off the beaches of Dunkirk by the Royal and Merchant Navies, new Commander in Chief of Home Forces, General Ironside, issued orders to commence the building of anti-invasion defences. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox The obvious invasion route was a short hop across the English Channel but Britain had to be prepared for all eventualities - including the Germans using neutral Eire as a stepping stone to invade from the west. In north west Wales stop-lines were hastily constructed in the spring and summer of 1940. While people may associate these with the obvious coastal weak points, the lines also included parts of Eryri and places like the Sychnant Pass near Conwy. The Home Front Museum in Llandudno said: "General Ironside chose to defend the country by using a series of 'stop-lines' - defensive lines using natural obstacles and geographical features coupled with pill-boxes, anti-tank barriers, trenches, minefields and barbed wire to hold up the advancing enemy. "The actual direction of enemy attack was of course unknown and while the short 'hop' across the Channel might be the most obvious, it was important that the military prepared for every eventuality. "One possible direction of attack was from the west, from neutral Ireland. In fact, Hitler and his Generals twice considered attacking Britain from this direction which they codenamed Operation Green. In north west Wales stop-lines were hastily constructed in the spring and summer of 1940. "One took a line roughly from Bangor, down the Ogwen Valley to Capel Curig and then to Pen-y-Gwryd and onto Porthmadog. While the second was a larger arc that ran from Fairbourne near Dolgellau in the south to Llandudno on the north coast. "A third defensive line ran from Aberdyfi to Prestatyn. There is still much evidence of WW2 defences in north west Wales including 'dragons' teeth' anti-tank devices, pillboxes, spigot mortar mounts and even sniper posts. "On the Dwygyfylchi side of the Sychnant Pass there is still an anti-tank wall and the base of an anti-tank block while here in Llandudno the pillboxes at West Shore and Penrhyn Bay may have gone, but there are still loopholes (strategically placed openings in walls or fortifications, designed for firing weapons) in the walls of Maesdu Golf Club and the former Gogarth Abbey Hotel. "In the Nant Ffrancon, Ogwen Valley and Pen-y-pass areas of Snowdonia (Eryri) evidence of fortifications are still visible today. Anti-tank blocks were built of local stone at the head of the Nant Ffrancon while various spigot mortar emplacements can be found around Ogwen Cottage and Nant Peris. "A number of pill-boxes are also evident in the Ogwen Valley and around the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel." Thankfully due to the success of the Battle of Britain in the skies and Hitler turning his attention to the East the invasion never came. But many of those defences still mark the landscape - a reminder of a time when the future of the United Kingdom was under threat.


Spectator
12 hours ago
- Spectator
The remote Spanish wine region that rivals Rioja
A.E. Housman once wrote that the English villages of Clunton and Clunbury, Clungunford and Clun 'are the quietest places under the sun'. He's almost right. I grew up in Clunton and the only place I've felt a deeper sense of quiet is Escaladei, a village high up in the mountainous Priorat region of Spain, which is home to the Cellers de Scala Dei vineyard. Getting there from Barcelona isn't for the faint of heart, as the roads weave erratically along the hillsides. Driving there, I gripped the steering wheel tightly and drowned out my fears with music from a local reggaeton station. Once safely at the vineyard, Roger, our guide, impressed on us the importance of two things in Priorat: Garnacha and monks. The Carthusian monastery of Scala Dei was founded in 1194 by monks who had come from France to set up their first Spanish religious community. Its impressive ruins still stand high above the village, with cypress trees flanking the entrance. The monastery, so legend has it, got its name when the monks met a shepherd who told them he had seen angels climbing a ladder – or stairway – to heaven at the summit of nearby Montsant. Some 70 years later, the monks became interested in viticulture and started planting vines. Their interest paid off: Priorat is one of only two regions to have been awarded Spain's highest-level designation of origin, alongside Rioja. Now the area has more than 550 vineyards, most of which are dedicated to growing top-quality red Garnacha. 'Garnacha is God in Priorat,' Roger explained, pushing open a heavy wooden door and showing us into the cellar, with its high vaulted ceilings and thick stone walls. Half the ceiling is blackened; in another life, it was split into two rooms. One had been used as an office from which monks were once forced to flee by invading forces, burning their paperwork behind them. It felt almost like a tomb. Here the wine lies, undisturbed, in 100 per cent French oak barrels for at least a year before the locals even think about bottling it. The oak softens and rounds the wine, imparting complex secondary undertones while putting Garnacha's distinctive fresh red fruit flavours front and centre. It's a labour of love and a salute to the traditions that have kept these wines almost unchanged for hundreds of years. A sign on the door lists the items banned from the cellars: cigarettes, flammable liquids, cats. 'They are always sneaking in here,' Roger said. 'We try to stop them – but they're smarter than us.' Dogs, he explained, are also a menace for the vineyard workers. Escaladei is home to just 12 residents and they largely let their animals roam free. All the focus of the village is on the wine, which perhaps explains why it is so good. The quiet is almost oppressive, but the beauty of the area – with its sandy slate buildings and green wooden slatted shutters – lifts it a little. Roger, who comes from nearby Poboleda (another small wine-making village), says the people of Priorat have wine in their blood. It's been a hard-won fight to keep that blood flowing: a phylloxera pest devastated vineyards across Europe in the late 19th century, and many were lost entirely. Hordes of locals fled, and the economy – reliant at the time on the wine industry – was decimated. Scala Dei persisted. We tasted the 2022 Blanc de Scala Dei and the 2023 Scala Dei Pla dels Àngels, a white and a rosé both made using grapes from one of the vineyards in the mountains. That the vines are planted between 1,500 and 2,000 feet above sea level gives the resulting wines a certain breeziness, as though the wind passing over the grapes at such a high altitude has made its way into the bottle. The 2022 Scala Dei Prior was a full-bodied red that stained my lips, and I bought a bottle to be drunk later. At Gran Hotel Mas D'en Bruno, a short drive from Escaladei, the terracotta walls stand out against a background of dark soil and green vines. The main building, which houses most of the hotel's 24 rooms, is the old masia (the Catalan word for farmhouse), which has been renovated in keeping with tradition. The hotel is set in one of the region's most prestigious vineyards, Clos de l'Obac, which has produced wines since 1989 and helped to put Priorat on the map. From some of the rooms, you can reach out and touch the vines. Its owner, Carles Pastrana, is revered as one of the cincos magnificos – five magnificent ones – for reinvigorating the region in the 1980s. The food at Mas d'en Bruno more than matches the quality of the local wines. This is down to twenty-something chef Josep Queralt, who is often talked up in the Spanish press as the country's next big thing. He runs Vinum, the more formal of the hotel's two restaurants. His food celebrates the produce and the history of Priorat as much as the wines do. Civet of local wild boar appeared, the animal's blood infused through the sauce to thicken it. It was almost indistinguishable in colour from the deep ruby of the accompanying wine, a 2021 Pas Curtei DO Penedès, which was reminiscent of a Bordeaux but produced in Catalonia. To finish, two thin-stemmed glasses filled with a thick, raisin-scented nectar arrived at our table, a 2021 Pedro Ximenez. I returned to Barcelona, to its loud streets and cramped but charming alleyways, filled with bars, music, life. It was a far cry from the calm of Priorat. For my last meal in Spain, I reached again for a bottle of Garnacha – white this time. Rioja wine may be Spain's most renowned, but for a truly religious experience, it must be Priorat. They've got God on their side. Suites at Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno start from £325 a night and transfers from Barcelona airport start from £260. A version of this article first appeared in the The Spectator's August 2025 World edition.


Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Gatwick Airport: Fire engines swarm runway as easyJet plane forced to divert
An easyjet flight from Gawtick Airport was forced to divert back to the major London airport after take off today An easyJet flight leaving Gatwick Airport today was forced to divert back to the major London airport after take off. Shortly before 4.30pm today an easyJet flight bound for Basta, on the French island of Corisica was forced to return to Gatwick, a spokesperson for the airport has confirmed. Delayed passengers have taken to social media to share their frustration. One man complained his flight faced a two hour delay but it is not clear what has caused this travel disruption. A live flight radar shows the plane, an Airbus A321-251NX, back at the airport at 4.24pm. It had reportedly left around an hour and 50 minutes beforehand. At around the same time a local resident spotted 'multiple ambulances' heading towards the airport. An easyJet spokesperson said: "easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8461 from Gatwick to Bastia today (26 July) returned to Gatwick and requested a priority landing on arrival into London Gatwick due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed normally and was met by emergency services purely as a precautionary measure in line with procedures, and all passengers disembarked normally. "A replacement aircraft and crew has been arranged for passengers to continue their journey to Bastia safety of our customers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers' guidelines.'