Mr & Mrs Smith

I'm sure there are many fantastic wine shops in St Emillion but the one we stumbled accross was exceptional! They had a very large range (quite a lot of old wines) with varied prices in a very easy to read lists, service was great as was their English!

Comptoir des Vignobles, 1 Rue des Girondins

The France Mayne is truly fabulous with friendly and helpful staff. Do make time to savour the selection of wines from the owners vineyards, which are dispensed by the glass in the lounge. We hired bikes for one day following a route map provided by the Tourist Centre, that was a great way to explore the countryside and miles of chateaux. Don't forget to visit the many wine shops in the village and taste some great Grand Cru. The wine purchased was shipped back to the UK at a very modest cost and some arrived before we did .. we're slowly sampling and recalling the wonderful time we spent there.

My girlfriends and I took a trip to St. Emilion last October. Chateau Frau Mayne was a lovely hotel set amongst the vines so as you pull in with your car you feel automatically relaxed.

We were looking for a boutique hotel that would offer alot of common space since there were 10 of us. The salon at the hotel was glamourously decorated complete with an honesty bar. We spent several evenings there chatting and laughing over a glass of wine!

In October it was still warm out and we were able to sit amongst the beautiful patio garden while enjoying some of the wine the hotel left for us in the room as a benefit for being a Smith member:)


The hotel was also very helpful in arranging appointments for us to have wine tastings and also helping to arrange dinner reservations for us. They were extremely helpful.

The winery at the hotel also gives you a complimentary tour and tasting of the wine made by Chateau Frau Mayne.

I would highly reccommend the hotel, the comfort and design of the rooms each with their own character and also the helpful staff.

The feel is very relaxed generally, more like you are staying at someone's farmhouse. The freshly squeezed orange juice was the best I've ever tasted and it was interesting of not a little stilted at times to have breakfast around one large table with the other guests. The majority of the time we had the garden to ourselves which made the first evening watching the sun set with a bottle of Lusac and a cheese platter divine! The walk into town through the vineyards is a must, getting lost was fun too! We found it was best to get out early around 7pm for dinner as they seemed to stop serving earlier than we are used to in London for example. Food is quite expensive, the set menus are better value. Ask the reception to give you some recommendations, we found this very helpful. Don't get too tipsy at the wine tastings in town, we ended up getting caught up in the romance of Saint Emilion, watching the sun set over the rooftops, nipping into one of the wine cellars 'just for a tasting'...then leaving having spent almost £200 on three bottles of wine! Needless to say they are being kept for a very special occasion. The hotel's own wine tasting is definitely worth doing and is free for paying guests. We would definitely go back. I didn't get the chance to bathe in the natural pool overlooking the vineyard, surely worth going back for alone.

The hotel has recently introduced a menu of the day. We availed ourselves of it in the evening and had a most pleasant meal in the garden.
In St-Emilion, we would recommend L'Huitrier Pie at 11 rue de la Porte (+33 (0)5 57 24 69 71) for the best oysters – a lunch in themselves, which we ate sitting in the little garden. The wine tour offered by Le Relais de Franc Mayne of their own cellars was excellent, as was the tour they organised for us at Château Tailhas, in the Pomerol. Luc, the owner, spent significant time with us, explaining everything in English.

Very pleasant setting with the opportunity to have a tour of the vineyard (booking required in busy times.) Very picturesque walk into Saint-Emilion, which is only about 10 minutes away. Numerous vineyards to visit in the area to do some local sampling – again, booking essential.