DOMAINE DE LA TORTINIERE

Deep in the heart of the Loire Valley, sits the romantic estate Domaine de la Tortinière, a château-hotel in a fairy tale setting. Close to Tours and perfectly located for exploring the Touraine area, the château has played host to everyone from Georges Pompidou to Audrey Hepburn. 

 
The historic interiors have been sympathetically blended with contemporary chic, to create a property full of French country house charm. Run with accomplished panache by Anne and Xavier Olivier, whose grandfather first conceived the project, this family run affair offers impressively helpful and attentive service. 

 
The stylish and comfortable lounge bar was made for board games, cocktails or dozing in front of a flickering fire. While summer visits present the opportunity to lounge by the pool and dine on the terrace. 

 
The 11 château rooms boast high ceilings, original fireplaces, antique furniture, rich modern fabrics, and modern bathrooms. This cocktail of classic and contemporary furnishings and décor is also on display in the adjacent farm buildings, where exposed beams add to the charm. This is a wonderful destination for families, with suites sleeping up to four guests and plenty of board games, toy scooters and bikes, along with table tennis and snooker to keep young ones amused. 

 
Meals are served in the château’s former orangery, with huge windows overlooking the pool, the river and Montbazon beyond. The menu highlights the region’s wealth of natural produce, so expect black truffles, pigeon, creamy goat’s cheese, cèpe mushrooms, snails, and autumnal chestnuts. There is also a dedicated children’s menu. 

 
Along with an outdoor heated pool, guests can enjoy a sauna and massage in the former pressoir, take a stroll around the estate or spend the afternoon on the river in the château’s small rowing boat. For the more energetic, there is a synthetic grass tennis court. 

 
Domaine de la Tortinière is 15km from Tours in the Touraine region of France. If guests can bear to leave this oasis of calm and serenity, some of the area’s most celebrated châteaux are within an hour’s drive, including Château de Chenonceaux, Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, Château de Villandry and Château d’Azay-le-Rideau.