Monsieur Lenoble’s attention to detail is staggering. Not content with creating a buzzing, cheerful restaurant he has lovingly transformed a priory and farm buildings – stables, dovecotes, stone structures on varied levels, wooden verandas topped with red-patterned Burgundian roof tiles – into a very seductive hotel. Each bedroom has a trade for a theme: a typewriter and old books for the ‘writer’; antique irons for the ‘laundress’; horse and ox collars for the ‘ploughman’; vine-decorated wooden panels for the ‘wine-grower’. The walls have been lightly skimmed in plaster in natural shades of ochre, pigeon-egg grey or light yellow. Floors are terracotta or flagstone, stone walls are painted, rafters exposed and windows round or cottage square with curtains of vintage linens and lace. Beds are king-size, mattresses are excellent and TVs are hidden in antique cabinets. Most bathrooms are open plan so as not to detract from the beams and volumes. There is even a sheltered sun lounge on the terrace only overlooked by sparrows. A nice place to sit and sample your chilled choice picked up in Chablis.
This is a hidden gem. This is the 2nd time of staying here and we were slightly hesitant as we’d loved the hotel last time 8 years ago. We weren’t disappointed, it retains is charm in every way. It’s a beautiful hotel and the auberge food is outstanding. Staff relaxed, friendly and helpful. Great place to stay on route from Calais to the Alps.