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Château de la Bourdaisière

Exterior

At a Glance

    Pros

  • exquisite setting
  • secluded pool
  • stylish salons
  • extensive and "eco"-style gardens

    Cons

  • only offers quick and casual lunches
  • rooms lack air-conditioning
  • town is a bore
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Château de la Bourdaisière Review

A 15th-century, 100-carat jewel of a castle, once the favored retreat of kings François I and Henri IV, is today the luxurious country setting for the Prince de Broglie's hotel—a magnificent place that magically distills all the grace, warmth, and élan of la vie de châteaux as no other. Prince Louis-Albert is scion of one of France's top families (two prime ministers and one Nobel Prize winner, at last count) and one of Paris's most famed biodiversity preservationists, who here cultivates 650 types of tomatoes in the château's potager (vegetable garden). It's not surprising, then, to find the three main public salons suavely done up in shades of tomato red, sumptuously offsetting such accents as an immense marble fireplace, majestic taxidermied animals, and curio cabinet objects collected by the prince. Inside the neo-Renaissance castle, guest rooms range from the grand—François-Premier is a timber-roof cottage blown up to ballroom dimensions—to more standard-issue, yet always stylish salons (garden-view rooms away from the gravel driveway are best). Cheaper rooms are found in the adjoining 17th-century "stables" fitted out with a gardening shop and a tiny eatery (lunch only, June-September). And don't overlook the enormous secluded pool—a gift from above during hot summer days.

    Hotel Details

  • 17 rooms, 3 suites.
  • Rate includes breakfast.
  • Closed mid-Nov.--Mar.
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    Château de la Bourdaisière Review

    My wife and I recently stayed for two nights at the chateau from July 20-22. France, like most of Europe, was hot and your mention of no air conditioning was correct. The site is beautiful but there are several problems with the hotel.

    We were given a room in the annex area and although adequate was intolerably hot. The single fan in the room was inadequate and malfunctioned. You left out that there is no TV which I think is essential. I would not recommend the rooms in the annex for anyone during the summer since there could be a health problem with the heat especially for older individuals.
    The staff, although friendly and able to communicate in English, consisted of two people at the front desk. A modern hotel staff they weren't. Both were constantly on the phone taking room reservations and seemed rushed. I asked one of them to get our train tickets electronically for the TGV which our hotel in Paris did easily. The staff member tried but could not figure it out and just gave up. We had to go back to the train station in St. Pierre des Corps a day early to accomplish this rather mundane task.
    The last problem is food. The chateau provides breakfast but otherwise you are on your own. They recommend two local restaurants which are good but, due to the chateau's isolated location, are hard to find. Since the hotel is located away from the Cher River, one has to drive over the hill through Monlouis-sur-Loire to get to the river road where the restaurants are. We found it easier just to drive on a great road to Chenonceau where there are great restaurants and better service.
    I would stay at the chateau for one night only and just to say I stayed there.

    by asparkuhl, 7/26/10

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