Entries Tagged 'france' ↓

Hotel Auberge de Cassagne

Bungalow bedrooms in spruce grounds are done out in exuberant Provençal style. The auberge itself is a mellow old house and its location a leafy suburb. Chef Philippe Boucher is a protégé of the renowned Paul Bocuse, with his own reputation and Michelin star. 84130 Le Pontet-Avignon, Vaucluse.

Le Maquis

It started life some 50 years ago as a beach café; today it’s a fashionable hotel with elegant rooms, its own beach, two swimming pools (one indoors, one out) and a tennis court which is floodlit at night. The rooms are luxurious and face the sea, and some have their own terraces. 20166 Porticcio, Corse-du-Sud . Continue reading →

Château de Castelpers

The present owner’s great-grandfather built the house in the 19th century on the ruins of an earlier mill. Visitors today find a reflective place, a rambling country house filled with old paintings, antiques and four-poster beds. Enveloping the building is a garden of rivers and tall trees. And all this at modest cost. Castelpers, 12170 Lédergues, Aveyron.

La Terrasse au Soleil

This luxurious ranch-like manor has an individual style and intimacy that is reflected in its warm colour schemes. The restaurant has a reputation for serious food, but serves brasserie-style lunches too. Bedrooms are in annexes, some with verandas. Route de Fontfrède, 66400 Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales. Continue reading →

DORDOGNE AND AQUITAINE • MASSIF CENTRAL • PYRÉNÉES LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON • PROVENCE-CÔTE D’AZUR

THE DORDOGNE and the Lot, the fertile valleys in the southwest, are popular holiday spots. They offer a wealth of attractive small hotels and B&Bs in old mills, stables, manors and farmhouses. Further west is Bordeaux, with its incomparable vineyards, and the tree-bordered beaches of the Landes. The Massif Central, arguably the least spoilt part of France, has a range of hotels, from farmsteads and chalets to medieval stone-built inns and elegant restaurants with rooms. Many are very good value for money. To the southeast of the region, in Provence, whitewashed walls and tiled roofs, and shady courtyards with wrought-iron furniture, are typical. Continue reading →

LOIRE VALLEY • POITOU-CHARENTES • LIMOUSIN • AUVERGNE BOURGOGNE • FRANCHE-COMTÉ • RHÔNE-ALPES

THE CHATEAU-HOTEL comes into its own in the Loire Valley. Although it is possible to stay in castles all over Europe, there is a special charm about sleeping in a fairytale French Renaissance chateau with its turrets, steep roofs, dormer windows, formal garden and park. But there are chateau-hotels in other regions of Central France, such as the Limousin and Périgord.

Many are old, solid bourgeois residences, flat-fronted, shuttered mansions with mansard roofs. There are also converted mills, and country and village inns full of character. To the east, in the upland regions of the Jura and Alp mountains, chalet-style hotels with steeply sloping roofs, shutters and wooden balconies, are prevalent. Continue reading →

Hôtel Roche

Corneille Faultless housekeeping and gastronomic menus at this seaside villa. 4 rue G Clémenceau, 35800 Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine.

DAMPIERRE – Auberge du Château

Purpose-built in 1650 in rural surroundings just 30 minutes’ drive from Paris. Low rafters and undulating floors. 1 Grande Rue, 78720 Dampierre, Yvelines.

CRÉPON – Ferme de la Rançonnière

Tapestries and fine furniture are scattered about this fortified old farmhouse. Huge breakfasts of eggs and cream. Route d’Arromanches, 14480 Crépon, Calvados.

Hôtel Cléry

The team at this small 18th-century chateau are dedicated, enthusiastic and welcoming. A tree-lined drive leads up to the elegant white façade but, despite the splendid Louis XV wrought-iron staircase, there is no formality in the pale, simply furnished interior. Some of the bedrooms are in annexes. rue du Chateau, 62360 Hesdin-l’Abbé, Pas-de-Calais. Continue reading →

NORMANDY • BRITTANY • PICARDY AND PAS-DE-CALAIS PARIS • CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNE • ALSACE-LORRAINE

NORTHERN FRANCE offers travellers an almost infinite array of choices in scenery and accommodation. The region stretches southwards from the plains of Picardy, through the apple orchards, lush countryside and converted mills of Normandy to rugged Brittany, with its austere granite chateaux and perfect seaside hotels for family holidays. Paris, at the heart of Northern France, is one of the most romantic cities in the world. It also boasts a large collection of very chic hotels. Pasde- Calais, the rolling countryside behind the Channel ports of Calais and Boulogne, is ideal for weekend breaks from Britain. Wine lovers with more time to spare can go further east to Champagne. Continue reading →

Hôtel de l’Abbaye St Germain

This beautifully converted former abbey has quite a following for its faultless service, stylish rooms and calm ambience. Double rooms can be small; if you can afford it, go for a duplex. On fine days breakfast can be taken in a little paved courtyard bordered by flowering shrubs. 10 rue Cassette, 75006 Paris.

Hôtel d’Aubusson

The entrance to this fine hotel is through immense double doors, used for coaches in the 17th century when the honey-stone building was built. Inside are a lovely beamed salon and a breakfast room hung with tapestries. Restrained luxury defines the pale bedrooms. 33 rue Dauphine, 75006 Paris. Continue reading →

FRENCH HOTELS are beginning to enjoy a reputation as the point of your journey, rather than somewhere to be endured along the way. This is not a universal trend, but individual hoteliers have been adding personal attention, style and comfort to their existing culinary reputations. If you have a complaint or a compliment, this new breed of hands-on owner will be there to listen to you – with interest. Such hotels are typically family-run and housed in sympatheticallyrestored and furnished historic buildings – part of the landscape rather than modern intrusions. Often they are proud to proclaim their unique regional identity. Continue reading →