Whether you want to do nothing and simply relax, breathe in fresh air and soak up nature or feast on local produce or you crave a more active kind of holiday, Château Mitaud has something for you.
Sports facilities
We know many guests love to be energetic on holiday. For them there is a tennis court and playing equipment, a home gym, games room plus an indoor pool. There is even a football goal.
Gym
Our small but well-equipped gym has a treadmill, multi-gym and free weights plus Pilates equipment.
Table tennis and badminton
There is a table tennis table plus badminton nets and racquets available on request.
Swimming pool
The indoor pool is located behind the main Château kitchen. Find out more about its history and facilities here.
Tennis court
A new tennis court was built on the site of the previous one. It was overgrown and abandoned when Andrew bought Château Mitaud and the surface was decaying and broken up by plants pushing through. Bamboo is beautiful and a symbol of the domaine with its strong links to China, but can be the ruin of any structure built over it with its incredible ability to grow rapidly and lift. It is already trying to break through the recently relaid surface.
Football
For those who love the beautiful game there is a goal in the garden. Andrew loves football, but despairs at the performance of the England team (and Scotland as he is half Scottish, not to mention having Irish grandparents, so which team to support is, well...complicated). Then again if you love football and come from China, he might ask you how hard it is to find 11 good players from a population of more than 1.3bn? The best answer he has heard is that half of those are women (who can fnd time away from holding up half the sky) and it is actually easier to find 11 good women footballers, as success at international football tournaments has demonstrated.
Basketball
Those who prefer the NBA can practice their free throws on the full size basketball post located at the far end of the tennis court. The height of the basket can be adjusted manually for those who wish to show off their dunking skills.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
We have something for everybody at Château Mitaud, from tennis, snooker and table football, through to pinball and music.
After your activity, or if you are not inclined to build up a sweat, why not enjoy the:
Buddhist chill room and spa
Next door to the gym is a Buddhist chill-out room where guests can relax. Of course you do not need to be Buddhist to chill here! There is a spa on the first floor and appointments can be booked in advance when a suitably qualified therapist is available. Details of the spa therapies on offer can be found in the spa menu.
Snooker hall
We have a full-size UK-style snooker table if you had a misspent youth, but we don’t mind if you use it to play pool.
Like many aspects of Château Mitaud, the table has its very own story. It was shipped from China (of course) but the shipping company failed to send the original bill of lading, so French customs refused to clear it until they received it (after Andrew had to return to China for work). The shipping agent then claimed payment was for port-to-port delivery when Andrew had agreed door-to-door. The final straw came when the delivery company driver refused to bring the five pieces (each weighing over 200 Kg) to the entrance of the château, citing union rules and health and safety concerns. He then proceeded to unceremoniously dump the pieces in the middle of the road, and we had to direct traffic and borrow the neighbour’s tractor to carry them to our door. We then had to hire another local company to assemble the table. Buying a table locally may have been the easier option.
By the way, there is a Wine Hall of Fame in the snooker room where we welcome vistors to stick their favourite wooden case motif on the wall. We have plenty of space left, so please think of us when you are visiting wineries around Bordeaux. We only have two rules: choose a case with some kind of specific artwork or features (letters are a bit dull), and no repeats. It is best to visit the wall first and work out which ones to avoid.
Board games
A variety of board games (Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit chess etc.) and children’s games are available on request.
Music facilities
For those who are more musically inclined, you can jam away on electric and acoustic guitars, a keyboard, drum kit and bongo and Chinese drums in our music room.
Pinball
For those of you nostalgic about smoke-filled French cafes where they were almost a fixture back in the day, there is a pinball machine inside the music room. You may not need to feed coins into "le flipper" (as they say in French) to play depending on its mood. Appropriately, as Andrew is a lawyer by trade, the theme of the pinball machine is Judge Dredd. You may even get to hear the tag line. "I am the law" from the eponymous film starring Sylvester Stallone.
Table football
Also known as 'fussball' and 'babyfoot', the table is located in the corridor between the music room and the swimming pool behind the kitchen.