My sister recommended this after she had been in the much cooler month of April but commented to me how wonderful this place would be in the warmer months. She wasnt wrong. So easy to fly to with RyanAir from East Midlands (so easy and such good value) - little Carcassone Airport is very easy to navigate and collect a hire car from. An easy hour or so's drive to the Chateau on a straightforward route. The reception at check in was friendly and efficient with a glass of champagne and fruit juice for our two children. We had booked one of the smallest 'units' - Le Cave i think it was called which had two ensuite bedrooms and a living area with kitchen and a comfortable suntrap dining terrace. At first we were berating ourselves for not having pushed the boat out to get accommodation with a private pool because it was very hot whilst we were there - but it turned out it wasn't a problem as the main pool was really beautiful with lots of comfortable loungers, shade, a little bar and showers/loos/towels etc - and it was also quietly sociable. So you could chat to other guests if you wanted but could also just be totally private as well. The accommodation was really practical, comfortable and chic. We all slept very well. Although there was a bit of walk down to the beautiful and peaceful pool each day we saw it as essential exercise after all the pastries and rose. We ordered the 'in room ' breakfast basket on the first day which was wonderful. Then went to the local supermarket for the rest of our breakfasts as we have teens and noone ever wants to get up for a hotel breakfast in my house. We sometimes had lunch by the pool which was easy and quite well priced - or we walked up to our accommodation and had lunch on our terrace which was also a nice break from the midday sun. We had three dinners up at the Asado restaurant which has a beautiful al fresco setting and very friendly service. The actual delivery of the service is a little bit hit and miss with a couple of late/wrong orders but honestly the staff are so sweet, it didn't actually matter - i defy anyone to get into a hump when sat on that gorgeous terrace with its incredible views - we were offered a couple of Laurent Perrier as a sorry so that was fine! The food was also very good. Do bring insect repellent with you though/wear appropriate coverings because you will get munched otherwise. The addition of large outdoor fans was wonderfully welcome when it was super hot. They even put up the England semi-final world cup match for the brits in the bar which was very thoughtful of the team. We did day trips to Narbonne which was charming for its history, food market, little eateries and ease of access, Gruissan old town which was very pretty although small and also Carcassone (totally beseiged by instagrammers and lemmings - had to go to tick it off the list but not very inspiring at all which was a shame) Overall our stay at Chateau Capitoul was very relaxing, very easy
