Fontevraud l'Ermitage

Beautiful place, beautiful rooms. Our only concerns were hearing every tiny sound from the cloister in the morning and having visitors in the breakfast area wave up as it seems they could see us in our bathroom. I wouldn't choose the cloister view rooms next time.

The main problem with our stay was that it wasn’t advertised that there’s no convenient transportation out of the hotel. We had to leave to catch our train to leave the Loire Valley and the people at the lobby told us there were no taxis who could take us to the town, there no buses nearby nor any hotel transportation (not even a car) that could take us to the gare. The people at the hotel didn’t provide any solutions nor helped us in any way; they didn’t even help us taking our luggage to the entrance. We had to leave the hotel (which is effectively in the middle of nowhere) walking down the hill in the heat of the summer to ask any stranger to take us to the train station. All of these could have been prevented if the hotel advertised that a taxi reservation was needed, or if they at least had any type of transportation arrangement for these types of situations. It’s really unbelievable that a hotel of such remark doesn’t warn guests (especially those of us who speak so little French and come from far away) of this lack of transportation. We expected for all of the information relevant to our stay be provided or at least said to us at check in. Of course, we couldn’t catch our train, so we had to buy new train tickets, change our vacation plans for the following days, etc. The hotel is simply beautiful. It’s incredibly well preserved, which basically takes you back in time to Medieval times. The room was really beautiful as well, everything was really polished and clean. The breakfast was, of course, top notch. It was beautiful to see porcupines and other animals passing by. We decided to stay at Fontevraud because of the listing at the Guide Michelin, and we expected a much better service. It’s sad to see the beauty of the hotel being overshadowed by the lack of help the staff provided and the lack of advertising of the transport situation at the hotel. We know that, of course, the lack of transportation options isn’t fault of the hotel, but it’s expected that such an important aspect is communicated to the guest, especially being a hotel of this level.

How often does one get to stay on the grounds of a 12th century abbey? When the opportunity came to us, we took it, and we are glad that we did. The hotel is posh. We booked a one-night stay in a garden room. Beautifully appointed, the room had a modern feel, which is quite an accomplishment for a historic building. The bed and linens were extremely comfortable. The staff was very professional. We did not book a dinner reservation because we were not sure what time we would be arriving. We had breakfast the next morning, and really enjoyed it. Here are a few tips: the parking lot is a decent walk from the hotel entrance. At the gate to the property, ask them to send the golf cart to pick up your luggage. If you stay overnight, you can explore the buildings and grounds of the abbey until midnight. Do not miss that opportunity. Besides the historic tombs of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her family, there are art installations and other things to see. In fact, get there early enough to give yourself time to see the site. We would definitely stay here again.

What a gorgeous hotel in the Loire - one of the best hotels we have stayed in. Beautifully restored and renovated hotel in a former, historical abbey. Lovely modern, classy room overlooking their grounds. Every room in the hotel was lovingly designed with an eye for class and elegance. The abbey and gardens were there to explore (free to guests) and all in all, a relaxed and memorable stay. Highly recommended. Staff were multi lingual so welcoming and friendly. Tea and coffee on tap in their elegant lounge area but it would have been good to have a small fridge and kettle in the room for personal use. That's our only suggestion as everything else was top quality and we loved staying in the hotel.