Inexperienced = Locations to remain Blue = Meals & drink Yellow = Sights Purple = Actions
Firstname Bordeaux
A 147-room lodge within the Mériadeck neighbourhood from the place it is a 15-minute stroll to the town’s fundamental points of interest, and about 20 minutes tram and stroll from Saint Jean railway station. Between the Sixties and the Eighties this uncared for nook of the town grew to become a testing floor for a number of the brightest trendy architects of the time. Among the many showstoppers they created was a concrete colossus with putting curvilinear balconies designed by Arretche-Karasinki and Marcel Nouviale for French insurance coverage firm Allianz. An excellent-sized instance of upcycling, the constructing was not too long ago repurposed as a lodge with stylish, modern aptitude. Inside its brutalist exterior hides a serene, vibrant house that welcomes friends in with intelligent lighting, lounge-on-me seating, a communal kitchen (so no want for power intensive mini bars) and pure supplies (every room has a bag of charcoal to purify the air). firstname.com/fr/resorts/bordeaux
Grand Resort Francais, Bordeaux
A former 18th Century mansion on the historic rue du Temple in downtown Bordeaux, a couple of steps from the magnificent Saint-André Cathedral, about 20 minutes tram and stroll from Saint Jean railway station. Behind its historic facade is a contemporary, vibrant Greatest Western 3-star lodge with 35 sensible, unfussy rooms, an elaborate cocktail bar ‘Bar Casa’ (“impressed by the good artists of illusionism”), and buffet breakfast. It was the primary lodge in Bordeaux to be awarded the European Ecolabel (in 2010) and subsequently has obtained La Clef Verte eco label for its dedication to lowering its influence on the setting with a variety of eco initiatives all through the lodge, corresponding to low power lighting, natural and Truthful Commerce merchandise at breakfast, together with honey from a bee hive it sponsors on the hillsides of Bourg-sur-Gironde. There’s additionally a library of green-minded literature for friends. grand-hotel-francais.com
Domaine Saint-Amand, Dordogne Valley
A big multi-lodge glamping web site within the Périgord, managed by a dynamic younger couple, Jeanne and Baptiste, near the medieval village of Saint-Amand-de-Coly (formally considered one of France’s Most Stunning Villages and residential to a spectacular fortified abbey). We cycled there on the Circulate Vélo cycle observe from Sarlat (see our function on Outside Journey in Nouvelle-Aquitaine). A grocery and outside pool sit beside the restored farmhouse at its coronary heart whereas 50 two-bedroom wood cabins are spaced out scenically amongst fields of wildflowers and newly planted bushes. Fantastically crafted with restful taupe and timber interiors, stylish ensuite bogs, non-public kitchens and lined terraces, the cabins make a peaceable pitstop alongside the Circulate Vélo path. Particularly if, like us, you decide up considered one of Jeanne’s home made coq au vin or occur to go to on an evening when the wood-fired pizza oven is being fired up. domainesaintamand.com
La Maison des Etoiles, Dordogne Valley
Near Collonges la Rouge (formally one of many ‘most stunning villages in France’ and on the route Saint Jacques de Compostelle), La Maison des Etoiles is a beautiful hamlet of gites reverse Turenne in Corrèze, about an hour and half’s cycle from Brive. There are a number of choices for lodging: a big communal home (Casastelle) for as much as 11 folks (nice for teams, sleeping in a big frequent room surrounded by 11 beds), a home (La Grand Ourse) for as much as 10 folks, a cottage (Cassiopée) for two to 4 folks, and for these desirous to admire the night time sky out of your mattress, Domostella is a room-with-a-view, glass domed cabin for 2 folks, the place you’ll be able to have breakfast on somewhat terrace dealing with the Turenne Fortress. In case you can stir your self from the back-to-nature idyll, there are many outside actions close by, together with mountain biking, climbing, by way of ferrata, horse-riding, canoeing and canyoning. lamaisondesetoiles.fr
Resort La Réserve, Biarritz- Pays Basque
A peaceable 4-star 41-room lodge inside seven acres of lawned gardens perched on the cliff overlooking the Atlantic, a mile from the railway station in St Jean de Luz – simply far sufficient to flee the hustle and bustle of this widespread seaside city, however shut sufficient to stroll to, together with to its well-known sandy seashore. The lodge’s Ilura outside restaurant specialises in utilizing native components to organize Basque dishes, the Elaia Lounge serves less complicated salads and sandwiches within the backyard by the massive infinity pool, whereas the Lounge Bar is the place to go for a drink and tapas in a comfy indoor sanctuary. hotel-lareserve.com
Domaine de Bassilour, Biarritz- Pays Basque
Three kilometres from Biarritz, in a 16-hectare park, Domaine de Bassilour is a small impartial lodge that consists of rooms and suites in three sorts of lodging near the city of Bidart and fewer than 5 minutes from the seashores of the Basque coast – one is on a farm, one other is in a sixteenth Century manor home and the third is a seven-room villa, which has a heated swimming pool. The lodge has been awarded the European Ecolabel (see our information to ecolabels and certification schemes in tourism and hospitality) for its efforts to scale back the influence of customer stays on the setting, together with geothermal underfloor heating, hemf roof insulation, discount in the usage of plastic bottles, a raft of power environment friendly mechanisms within the rooms, corresponding to low power lighting and a key card system for in-room electrical energy in order that energy is lower when a visitor leaves the room, and sustainable agricultural practices in its gardens, together with use the apply of permaculture rules and the recycling or natural waste. domainedebassilour.com
Resort Chais Monnet & Spa, Cognac
Come right here to spoil your self. In the guts of Cognac, a 12-minute stroll from the railway station, this 104-room luxurious lodge, consisting of traditional French stylish rooms, suites and flats, is dwelling to a Michelin-starred gourmand restaurant (the one one in Cognac), brasserie, jazz bark rooftop lounge , spa, steam room and sauna. The restaurant, run by head chef Mathis Debize, focuses on regional delicacies utilizing native components, so count on dishes corresponding to Courgette de Charente, Boeuf de Montbéliard – marinated, after all, in cognac – and blueberries from the Médoc. Distinctive. chaismonnethotel.com
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Greatest Western Plus Richelieu, Limoges
A well-liked 4-star, 46-room mansion in a pedestrianised space within the centre of Limoges. It serves a breakfast buffet and there are a number of glorious eating places close by for dinner within the centre of the town. It has been awarded the Clef Verte eco label certification and encourages to be conscious of their power use: click on on the web site and you may see a pop up message asking friends to hitch their method in amending their actions throughout their keep to restrict power consumption. It is a 20-minute stroll from the railway station and there is an electrical charging station for automobiles.
La Maison des Ambassadeurs, Atlantic Coast
The primary 5-star lodge in La Rochelle, La Maison des Ambassadeurs is the place to come back to pamper your self. Named after a French ambassador within the nineteenth Century, Albert Bodard, who thought of the town his dwelling, it is beneath the stone arches on the rue de Minage, a brief stroll from the colourful outdated port and the historic centre of La Rochelle, and near the town’s lined market filled with native producers promoting recent greens, seasonal fruits and different produce from the area. The lodge’s rooms (a mixture of ‘deluxe’ rooms, ‘deluxe’, ‘status’ and ‘household’ suites) are trendy but minimalist, there is a spa, hammam, sauna and therapeutic massage therapies, a gourmand restaurant serving seasonal dishes that it describes as “world delicacies enhanced by native merchandise”, a small outside pool and piano bar. maisondesambassadeurs.com
Resort La Villa Seren, Atlantic Coast
In prime place overlooking Lake Hossegor, the 4-star Resort La Villa Seren has 27 rooms, 2 suites and three household rooms with views over the favored salt lake – a nature reserve surrounded by pine forest. The lodge’s spa has remedy rooms, sauna, hammam and a heated outside pool. The restaurant serves seasonal dishes that it says use 80% components from lower than 150km away, corresponding to a harbour fish with inexperienced asparagus, and its wine bar options wines “from producers throughout our stunning terroir” in addition to craft beers and cocktails, corresponding to an natural Pineau des Charentes. The lake has a number of sheltered seashores which are nice for households and its calm waters are widespread for watersports, together with crusing, windsurfing, paddleboarding – there are a number of crusing golf equipment and faculties for classes and hiring gear. villaseren.fr
Resort Thalazur Arcachon, Atlantic Coast
The 124-room Resort Thalazur Arcachon is considered one of 9 thalassotherapy centres throughout France which are a part of the Thalazur model, which specialises in wellbeing ‘bien être’ breaks. The setting of this one in Arcachon is exclusive – amongst an oak and pine forest simply 150m from the favored Pereire seashore – its decor matches the pure setting, focussing on wooden and stone, with touches of rattan and cane. Most of the rooms have a balcony over the forest or the lodge backyard, and friends can select from a variety of therapies and massages, together with a sauna, hammam, jacuzzi, health room, and two seawater swimming swimming pools (indoor and outside). The restaurant serves regional dishes, together with seafood, accompanied by Bordeaux wines, and the lodge has not too long ago been awarded the Clef Verte for its dedication to scale back its influence on the setting. thalazur.fr/arcachon/lodge
Resort Le Vieux Logis, Pyrenees
A family-run 3-star 28-room lodge near the Gave de Pau’s valley about 10 miles to the west of Lourdes on the foot of the mountains of the Pyrenees. The sensible trendy rooms are tastefully embellished with stunning materials and all have a balcony with views of the backyard. Co-owner Francis is the chef and he specialises in seasonal nation cooking utilizing native merchandise, whereas Marie-Pierre is available to advise on pairing with nation wines. The Gave is widespread for rafting and kayaking, and the lodge is only a kilometre from the well-known Caves of Bétharram the place you’ll be able to descend to an 80m chasm to go on an underground boat trip amongst a spectacular array of stalagmites and stalactites. hotel-levieuxlogis.com
Resort Altéora Futuroscope, Poitiers
Self-styled as an ‘Eco-Accountable Resort’, the 3-star 294-room Resort Altéora Futuroscope is 500m from the primary entrance to the Futurescope park that is about 10 miles from Poitiers. It has been awarded the Clef Verte for its dedication to lowering the influence on the setting and in addition has a powerful social dedication to native sustainable and accountable suppliers. It has planted over 2,000 bushes in a degraded forest half-hour from the lodge, has put in a rooftop beehive, and has a dedication to lowering power consumption, which has resulted in a 19% lower in water consumption per buyer, a 38% lower in electrical energy consumption per buyer, and 45% of unrecovered waste, in addition to a raft of different initiatives, together with utilizing cooking oils within the restaurant. Futurescope is a multimedia, cinematography and audio-visual theme park with over 20 fundamental points of interest, imax cinemas, and a variety of strange rides, corresponding to Cosmic collisions, the World of the Invisible, and Dancing with Robots – nice for a time out for all of the household. hotel-alteora-site-du-futuroscope.com
For close by locations to eat, sights of curiosity and outside journey actions, see our
