Fodor's Expert Review Château d'Esclimont

Editor's Note: This property is currently undergoing renovations.

One of France's most spectacular château-hotels lies northeast of Chartres in the town of St-Symphorien: with its pointed turrets, moated pools, and checkerboard facade, the 19th-century Esclimont domaine—built by La Rochefoucaulds—is well worth seeking out if you wish to eat and sleep like an aristocrat. Luxuriously furnished lodgings are adorned with reproduction 18th-century French pieces; note, though, that rooms vary in size (many are loftily dimensioned, others snug in corner turrets). Carved stone garlands, cordovan leathers, brocades, and period antiques grace the public salons; the superbly manicured grounds cradle a heated pool. As you'd expect, the cuisine is sophisticated: quail, suckling pig, and foie gras with prunes in Armagnac top the menu at the restaurant, La Rochefoucauld (dinner reservations are essential, and a jacket and tie are required, as is a very fat wallet).