2 Best Hotels in The Loire Valley, France

Small enough to feel like a home, stuffed with lovely 18th-century decor, and replete with a beautiful river terrace, this overlooked treasure provides an unforgettable experience in the Loire. Other château-hotels may have pomp, but this has something more precious: authenticité. Once the property of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, first French governor of Louisiana, it was purchased by the current owner’s family in 1779. At the end of a long allée, this "pavillon Mansart" embraces you in a semicircular layout (the collier, or necklace). Ten family descendants study you from gilded Charles-Dix frames in the comely main salon, a confectionery of white rococo moldings, glittering chandeliers, and furniture that Madame Bovary would have loved. The breakfast room is covered with quaint 16th-century Italian frescoes, and each guest room is a bouquet of antiques and comfy furniture.

Charmingly set on the pedestrian street that leads to Azay's château gates, this shuttered town house has a delightful courtyard-garden that hides an authentic 19th-century schoolhouse, now converted into lodgings cozily furnished in traditional country style (complete with the stray blackboard and school desk). Guest rooms in the main house have a contemporary decor, punctuated with the occasional 19th-century neoclassic "Directoire" touch. The village has quite a few restaurants—if you don't want to stroll around and pick, ask the friendly owner Bruno Stachetti about the best.