BlackBook Up Next
BlackBook Up Next Expressive sitespecific installations in Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, clockwise from far left: American sculptor John Grade’s Reservoir; Sheila Hicks’s outsized thread sculptures; Passage by German artist Cornelia Konrads; Giuseppe Penone’s Trattenere 8 anni di crescita What’s Old is Nouveau Again Opulent, indulgent and filled with art, the Loire Valley’s castle revivals are utterly enchanting. By Lanie Goodman Once known as the garden of France, where the aristocracy feasted and fêted, the hotel scene in the lush Loire Valley is making a grand comeback with a renaissance of royal residences and a singular art de vivre. Call it a savvy mix of fairy-tale splendour and a thoroughly modern eco-conscious initiative to showcase the region’s earthly delights. Take, for example, the new 39-room hotel, Le Bois des Chambres (domainechaumont.fr) – an old farm transformed into atypical cottages and a Unesco World Heritage site. This vast property, which also includes the castle’s romantic 7ha park lined with plum and apple orchards, is grouped together as the culturally vibrant Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, host to a renowned yearly International Garden Festival, among other events. “There’s no PHOTOS ERIC SANDER 20 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM PLEASE CHECK THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE BEFORE BOOKING TRAVEL OR DEPARTING ON ANY TRIP
“There’s no point in restoring a castle just to see how the past owners lived. A château needs to be lived in and reinvented” point in restoring a castle just to see how the past owners lived,” says Patrick Bouchain, head architect and artistic consultant of Bois des Chambres. “A visit is not enough to ensure a permanent maintenance of its restoration – a château needs to be lived in and reinvented with relevant themes.” Which is why, for the first time, there’s now a hotel where visitors can spend the night in the castle grounds and dine on the starlit restaurant terrace overlooking a pond, headed by Michelin one-star chef Guillaume Foucault. After a stroll through the fragrant landscaped grounds (closed to non-guests after dark), you sleep in cosy minimalist rooms of all shapes and sizes that resemble a mini-gîte, decked out with cutting-edge art and photographs. If you’re travelling with friends or family, book the 10 adjoining rooms that open up to create a private country retreat. Minutes away from the historic centre of Blois, set back on the Loire riverbank, the meticulously restored Fleur de Loire (fleurdeloire.com) is a 17th-century former hospice of Gaston d’Orléans, son of King Henri IV and Marie de Medici, where innovation and sustainable gastronomy go hand in hand. The spacious contemporarystyled 33 rooms and 11 suites are a medley of soft greys and earth tones, in sync with the back-to-the-roots concept of this tranquil foodie destination, dreamed up by Michelin two-star chef Christophe Hay (voted Chef of the Year by the 2021 Gault&Millau guide), a devotee of the terroir cuisine of his native turf. “For example, we want to reacquaint our guests with the Loire Valley’s forgotten recipes by reintroducing all types of river fish – pike, perch, silverfish, catfish – a delicacy once served to the kings,” explains Hay, whose signature dishes at his eponymous restaurant include an elegantly prepared Carpe à la Chambord, with truffles and crayfish in an organic Cheverny wine sauce, or a featherlight mousse of local goat’s cheese with pear, garnished with wild herbs and edible flowers. Add to that caviar from Sologne, endless varieties of homegrown produce plucked from the hotel’s greenhouse, plus exceptional Wagyu beef raised on the chef ’s own cattle-breeding farm – not to mention a second bistro-style restaurant, Amour Blanc, which features a pastry kiosk with fruit tarts galore. In keeping with the nature-loving spirit, there’s also a Sisley spa for rejuvenating phyto-therapy treatments. You don’t have to be a history buff to immerse yourself in the aristocratic refinements of the refurbished 20-room Château Louise (chateaulouise.com), near Tours, once the family home of the fetching Duchesse Louise de la Vallière, the longtime favourite mistress of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Opening this autumn, expect plush neo-Renaissance fabrics by style-guru Jacques Garcia, handpicked period antiques, lovingly tended French gardens and roses, fig trees (the Sun King’s preferred fruit), a gastronomic restaurant, plus a multibrand spa and a lovely pool that young, spirited Louise (who ended her life in a convent) would have surely adored, had she been born a few centuries later. ¬ Luscious views of the Loire, the town of Blois and its cathedral from Fleur de Loire PHOTO © FLEUR DE LOIRE CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 21
