Rêves Gourmands

Rêves Gourmands is a hotel with a gastronomic restaurant at Rue des Sondzons 22 in Vernayaz, in Valais, run by Cécile and Bob Jacq. Alongside the rooms and the restaurant, its kitchen takes orders for cakes, including wedding cakes, and for aperitif or dessert buffets, with a published starting price, a minimum order and a short lead time.

Cakes and buffets

The catering page ("Traiteur") is brief and practical. It says the kitchen makes cakes for birthdays, weddings, baptisms and other occasions, and gives three terms:

• "Prix indicatif : dès CHF 6.- par personne" (indicative price, from CHF 6 per person)
• "Minimum 10 personnes par commande et par gâteau" (minimum 10 people per order and per cake)
• "Délai : merci de commander au moins 4 jours avant svp" (lead time, please order at least 4 days ahead)

It then asks whether you have guests and would like to offer them an aperitif or dessert buffet, and invites you to get in touch for a personalized offer. The page's description in search results sums up the service as wedding cakes, birthday cakes, dessert buffets and catering patisserie.

The price is described as indicative, so it is a starting point rather than a fixed rate, and the page shows no designs, flavors or tier options. What it does make clear is that this is a restaurant kitchen offering cakes as part of its catering, not a specialist cake designer. For a couple who wants a good cake for the dessert course, or a dessert buffet for guests, at a known starting price, that is useful. For a couple who wants an elaborate decorated tiered cake, the page offers no evidence either way, so it is a question to ask.

The short lead time stands out. Four days is the minimum the page asks for, which leaves room for a couple who decides late on the cake, though for a wedding it is still sensible to book well ahead to secure the date.

A hotel and restaurant as well

What makes Rêves Gourmands different from a cake shop is everything around the cake. The site's menu covers the hotel (rooms, rates), gastronomy (the gastronomic restaurant and catering) and practical information (services, access, activities and special offers). The site describes the business as a hotel and gastronomic restaurant, and its name carries three stars.

The rates page gives room prices "à partir de" (from) CHF 175 for 2 people and CHF 145 for 1 person, per room and per night, including breakfast and taxes, with the note that prices vary with demand and may differ from those shown. Breakfast is served from 8:00 to 10:00 every day. Check-in is from 16:00 to 19:00, with a door code arrangement for late arrivals by prior contact, and check-out is by 11:00 at the latest. An extra bed for a third person costs CHF 60 including breakfast, subject to availability, and a child sleeping in the parents' bed costs CHF 20. Depending on the season, the length of stay or the number of rooms booked, the hotel says it may ask for a deposit by bank transfer or a credit card number to guarantee the booking.

For a wedding, that means guests could stay where the cake is made, and the kitchen that bakes it also runs a restaurant. The site does not say how many rooms there are, or whether the restaurant takes private wedding bookings.

Where it is

The activities page places the hotel 5 km from Martigny, at the entrance to the Trient Valley, and says it is well placed to explore Valais in all seasons. It lists the Trient, Dailley, Triège and Durnand gorges, the alpine zoo at Les Marécottes, the Gianadda Foundation in Martigny, the underground lake of St-Léonard, Valais wine producers and the cellars of Sion among nearby outings, along with the salt mines at Bex, the Verticalp Emosson mountain railway attraction and thermal baths at Lavey-les-Bains, Saillon and Ovronnaz. That gives wedding guests plenty to do over a long weekend.

For winter, the page says the nearest ski area, Les Marécottes, is 15 minutes from Vernayaz, that the free car parks at Le Châble for Verbier are about 20 minutes away ("une vingtaine de minutes"), and that other resorts are 30 to 45 minutes away. The hotel is certified as a Bike Hotel by HotellerieSuisse, with a locked bike garage, tools and route maps, and on request it transports luggage to and from the station, although the page does not name the station. Packed lunches can be ordered at least 24 hours ahead for a supplement.

The menu also includes an access page ("Accès"), which is the place to check directions and parking before guests travel.

Contact

The contact details on every page are the phone number +41 (0) 27 764 30 30 and the email info@revesgourmands.ch, with WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram links. Rooms can be booked online, and the site also sells gift vouchers ("Offrez un bon cadeau"), which a couple could suggest to guests looking for a wedding present, or give to their own witnesses.

What the site does not settle

• Cake designs and flavors. None are shown on the catering page.
• Delivery. The page does not say whether cakes are delivered to another venue or collected.
• Private events. Whether the restaurant hosts wedding receptions, and for how many guests, is not stated.
• Room count. The number of rooms is not given.
• Language. The site is in French. It does not say whether the owners work in English.
• Buffet prices. Aperitif and dessert buffets are quoted individually.

Who it suits

Rêves Gourmands suits a couple marrying near Martigny or in the Trient Valley who wants a wedding cake or dessert buffet from a restaurant kitchen at a published starting price, and who may also need rooms for guests close by. The short lead time and the hotel's services make it a practical choice for a small wedding in the region.

The caveats: this is a hotel kitchen rather than a cake designer, the site shows no cake designs, and it is in French. A couple should ask about designs, delivery and English early.