We just returned from a two night stay and highly recommend staying here. The Inn is very elegant and charming. The location and views are excellent. We were impressed with the wines,
rooms and breakfasts. Bob, Nadine and their entire staff were most hospitable and very accommodating. Our overall experience was outstanding and we plan on returning for future
visits.
Great views, wonderful breakfasts, interesting wine tour, dear host and hostess, attentive staff. Make sure you hear the story of Nadine Begin and Robert. Better yet, buy her "Meals and Memories" book.
This B&B is connected to a winery with a delightful terrace overlooking Traverse Bay. The B&B is nestled among grape vines with stunning views from each room. The rooms are spacious with comfortable furniture. Each room is equipped with a small refrigerator which contains bottles of wine at reasonable prices. In the morning guests are treated to a homemade breakfast with great variety after which a private tour of the winery is provided.
My husband and I did a little mini-moon after our wedding here. We lived in Traverse City years ago and always loved going to the tasting room. We had always wanted to stay overnight but never did so we spent 3 nights there in May.
Our room was peaceful and pretty with a jetted tub. We slept great and didn't have noise issues. They leave a few bottles of wine and snacks around in the room and if you want it you can have it on an honor system and pay when you leave. That was a nice thing and we used it. Also, as a B&B guest you are allowed to go up to the tasting room after hours and have some wine. Again, on the honor system here.
We had chosen to do breakfast in bed one morning when we booked the trip. This was disappointing. For around $30 we were served fruit and mimosas with eggs. I had ordered over easy eggs but when they got to the room they were hard. It was like they were sitting under a heat lamp for awhile before breakfast was brought to the room.
Overall, it was a relaxing place to stay but I don't know that I would go back for more than a night for nostalgia being that we stayed for a quick honeymoon. It is gorgeous but you can get a much better value in town and visit the gorgeous tasting room.
OK, so it was late in the day, a couple of hours before closing, and the tasting room was packed, but we'd just come from wine-tasting at Chateau Grand Traverse down the road and Chateau Chantal suffered from the comparison. Yes, the views of Grand Traverse Bay are, well, grand (their location straddles the spine of the Old Mission Peninsula so there are magnificent views of both West and East Traverse Bay), but the wine quality was decidedly mixed despite the clever names they have for their blends. Some of the whites, and especially their sparkling wine was quite good and we bought a handful of bottles, but the reds were not of the same quality and one was completely undrinkable as in spit it out after one taste undrinkable. Our server seemed intent on getting us served whatever we chose from the tasting list without actually having to engage in conversation or provide any advice, recommendations, or oenological tidbits about their wines. The topper came when she announced that they had run out of one of our choices, which of course can happen, but she didn't say it like they had completely sold out of the vintage; it was more like they had finished their quota for the day, which struck us as odd.
Bottom line: Chateau Chantal is a very scenic spot to visit and enjoy the views from their patio with a glass of wine, provided you don't have very high expectations about the wine or the service.
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with a review and for appreciating just how busy our tasting room can be during a Fall visit. I am very sorry to hear that your experience with us was not to our standards. We train our individual staff members to provide interesting information on the wines as they are being served. My only indication for why this did not happen with your party was the desire to provide service to an over-packed bar in a timely manner. We are in transition with a few of our wines right now, but that should have been explained in a more succinct manner, not left to sound confusing.
Please accept our apologies for your experience with us, we do share these with our staff to make continuous improvements in our service and product.
Thank you,
Marie-Chantal Dalese
We came here on a whim and we are so lucky we stumbled upon it! The views are absolutely stunning! It was a beautiful day and the atmosphere was so perfect! We spent a few minutes walking around the property and the whole area was just beautiful. We went inside and the inside of the winery was gorgeous as well. We did the wine tasting and they were a little busy so they didn't give us as much information about the wines and the service was kind of slow (we were a group of 14 people so I don't blame them). But they do offer you a discount on the wines if you do a tasting. We ended up getting a few glasses of our faves (we loved the sparkling cherry wine), and drank our wine out on the beautiful deck. It was a lovely afternoon!
