We (two mature adults) will be staying in Amboise for 3 nights as our base for visiting Loire Valley in April 2014. We'd be without a car, thus would like to stay within walking distance of town center for plenty of restaurants options.
Budget would be plus or minus Euro $150/ night, but can splurge if it is a beautiful place.
Thanks in advance.

You have Euro $150, so not sure if you mean 150 Euro or $$?

We stayed here years ago, it was wonderful, would stay there again in a heartbeat.

I see it is still highly rated on TA also. Gloria and her husband are invaluable in helping and planning if you don't speak French, as they are American

http://www.le-vieux-manoir.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...re_Centre.html

Agree with wrenwood's recommendation. Great rooms, great breakfasts, great hosts!

Amboise is a small town which caters mainly to tourists. I absolutely would not stay there 3 days without a car. Actually I would not stay there even with a car as there are much better options nearby.

Without a car, you should seriously consider staying in Old Tours or perhaps Blois, places with transportation options, cafés, museums, and much better restaurants.

Yes, The Loire is better with a car but if I didn't have one
Le Vieux Manoir looks like a fabulous place to stay.

The town of Amboise is small, cute, and you can walk to many shops and restaurants. Davinci house is right there and I would think that you can get tours to the excellent chateaux like Chennenceau, Chambord, Villandry, etc. I could easily stay there 3 days without a car.

We stayed right outside of Amboise and went to dinner there several times. In visiting The Loire we were interested in seeing the chateaux and basing in a smaller town. We picked up our car in Tours. It was a larger city with lots of traffic, not the feeling we wanted.

Le Vieux Manoir in Amboise is fantastic, and Gloria and Bob are gracious hosts with a wealth of knowledge of the area. We spent 4 nights there in September 2010, and hope to return in a few years.

As we were traveling by train, Gloria arranged a chateaux tour by minibus that was excellent. Another day we hired a driver, and the last day we took a short train ride to Blois for lunch and a visit to the chateau.

This was our second trip to the area, and our first time without our own transportation. IMO and IME Amboise is a better choice than either Tours or Blois as it is a charming smaller town. And Gloria's dinner recs were very good.

We'll be arriving Loire Valley by train around 2pm on Day#1. We'll book a minivan excursion for Day#2 for a chateaux tour that includes Chenonceau and Chambord. On Day#3 we plan to take trains to visit Chinon on our own. (Can't take any more chateaux than 2 or max 3 in a day.)

The advantage of staying in Tours is that it will make my Day#3's train ride shorter and more convenient.
The advantage of staying in Amboise is that it will allow me time to visit Clos-Luce leisurely on my own during the afternoon of Day#1.

So the tipping point may be which town (Old Tours or Amboise) will provide a more enjoyable ambiance for evening dining and strolling. Your input are appreciated.

Another vote for Le Vieux Manoir
Stayed with Gloria and Bob in 2008 and again in 2010
The first time, thought we knew everything and ventured out on our own without listening to suggestions from Gloria

On our second visit, took the wonderful help offered by Gloria for dinner and sightseeing ideas!
She knows what she is talking about.
Bob was great with maps , etc.

Their lovely breakfast is gorgeous !

Stop and stay with them
It will be a highlight of your trip to France.

I did a double-take when I looked at Le Vieux Manoir, we stayed at Le Clos d'Amboise which is on the same street (#27) with a very similar look and prices. www.leclosamboise.com

Based on comments here, I think Le Vieux Manoir might have the edge although we enjoyed our stay at Le Clos, it was immaculate, modern marble bathroom, good breakfast. A plus for me was the lift as I have a bad knee. We just stayed the night on our way to the Caen ferry, had a nice meal at a small place within walking distance of the hotel.

Doubtless there would be more selection in Tours old town but Amboise suited us.

If you want to save about 50 or 50 euro a night, we loved Le Manoir de la Maison Blanche (visited last autumn), about a 25 minute walk into Amboise (walk made for guilt-free dining). Annick is a terrific hostess. Rooms were lovely and fairly large. She has two horses (hope they are still with us..they were getting a little old), two dogs and two cats on the pastoral grounds. I have photos in these few entries (below) from my website trip report, and I have also provided the website. If you don't mind a little walking, I highly recommend this place. Rooms ran 90 euros for a double.

http://www.travelswithmaitaitom.com/...3_Entry_1.html

http://www.travelswithmaitaitom.com/...The_Loire.html

http://www.travelswithmaitaitom.com/...5_Entry_1.html

http://www.lamaisonblanche-fr.com/

"If you want to save about 50 or 50 euro a night..."

50 or 60...

DaVinci House was amazing, Gloria got us tickets for a concert there also.

I thought Amboise had a really nice choice of restaurants for a small town, everything from a fancy 7 course tasting, to a French "Bistro"

If you do go to Chinon--- below I've added a fabulous restaurant.
The outside seating in the main square and the food were both a highlight of our 2nd trip to the region.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ey_Centre.html

Thanks to everyone. Looks like Le Vieux Manoir leads the poll.

MaiTaiTom - I did re-read your trip blog (even before you post your response to this thread) and located Le Manoir de la Maison Blanche on Google map. I think with the 4 of you walking back to the B&B in a deserted road in the dim light might be perfectly safe, but with just the two of us, we may not feel as secure.

TPAYT - will check out the (Red Hat) restaurant in Chinon.

It may be a bit over your budget but in June of 2011, we (my wife, granddaughter and I) really enjoyed our stay in the Catherine de Medicis room at Le Manoir Saint Thomas in Amboise. We liked everything (our room, the location, the staff, the common areas, the grounds, the pool). We did not visit Tours (except to catch the train to CDG from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps) so I don't know anything about it's ambiance but we liked the town of Amboise a lot.

http://www.manoir-saint-thomas.com/#/en/accueil/

Reading, I don't think you will be disappointed in your choice. We have stayed there twice and really enjoyed it.