There's nothing Hollywoodesque about actress Leslie Caron's charmingly rustic riverside hotel and restaurant, the "Owl's Nest," set in four 17th-century buildings. The lovely whitewash-brick dining room, with its ingenious twisted rope chandeliers, has a homey-meets-elegant feel, as do the rooms: the "Loft" is an enormous wood-beamed aerie atop the house (the bathroom is in the room itself, just as it was in the rip-roaring days of the 1680s), while "The Suite" glows with a portrait of Sarah Bernhardt. The legendary hostess (the beloved Lili-Gigi-Fanny of everyone's memories) is often on hand to extend a warm greeting, although she does still depart for rare film shoots. In summer enjoy the terrace over the Yonne. The town itself, a bastide (fortified town, built on a grid pattern), is entered and exited via sturdy, angular 13th- and 14th-century gateways. Pros: stunning location; fabled owner-hostess. Cons: restaurant can be inconsistent.
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