Chateau Mcely

Rooms

The 23 rooms and suites are all themed; some by months of the year, others by parts of the world. Each has a queen, king or American king-sized bed, a luxurious ensuite bathroom, and all the mod cons you'd expect from a five-star hotel (including WiFi). The furnishings are sumptuous - silk bedspreads, heavy damask drapes, Regency-style chairs, delicate rugs on parquet floors. And they're filled with pretty detail - gold framed mirrors, painted ceilings, even crystal-beaded chandeliers. There's no air-conditioning, but a cool breeze usually blows through the large casement windows. With tall ceilings, plenty of white wall-space and the odd flourish of mural, they're elegant but not stuffy or over-elaborate.

Walk up the antler-lined staircase and you come to the Floor of the World. The Orient Luxury Suite is decorated in reds and golds, with a giant paper fan adorning one wall; the Southern Seas Luxury Suite is awash with calming sea colours and bright white bedlinen, and the Africa Luxury Suite is decked out in safari colours, with animal fur adding finishing touches. However, the piece de resistance is the enormous Legend Suite - a 60 sq.m. decadent blend of creams and golds, with an Italian marble ensuite and the biggest bed imaginable!

The double rooms on the second floor are not as lavish nor as large - at 20 sq.m., the ordinary doubles are quite expensive for their size. But they are beautifully done, with floral murals, sloped ceilings and a chocolate-box finish. Themed as months of the year, January is winter-frost white, April is spring pinks and September is burnished gold. The smaller ones, dubbed Flower Rooms, come with queensize double bed, the larger ones with kingsize bed.

A step up in size and price, the Junior Suites are probably the best value for money. Our own room, July - one of 2 corner suites of about 40 sq.m. with 2 open-plan rooms - was splendid: the kingsize bed was magnificent, and there was an additional day bed. Our only gripe was the lack of chest of drawers to put clothes into (just 1 wardrobe).