Moulin de L Abbaye

Moulin de L Abbaye

The Dronne runs directly under the terrace at Moulin de l'Abbaye, close enough that dinner comes with the sound of it sliding past the Pont Coudé and the Jardin des Moines toward the abbey Charlemagne founded here in 769. The hotel is a former mill turned into three separate houses holding twenty rooms in all, set in Brantôme en Périgord, the river village long called the Venice of Périgord. It belongs to Relais & Chateaux, which shows less in the room count than in the details: bathrobes and minibars as standard, air conditioning against Dordogne summers, and a garage for anyone who drove down through the valley. What separates it from other addresses along this stretch of river is the restaurant, holding one Michelin star and served in a stone-walled dining room with the same river view, backed by two more relaxed bistros close by for the evenings a tasting menu feels like too much. The desk runs around the clock, in English, French, German or Spanish as needed. Pets are allowed, bikes can be hired, and there is boating on the water for anyone still awake after dinner. This is not a place for a crowd or a lobby full of strangers; with twenty rooms across three houses, most guests at breakfast were at dinner the night before too. It suits someone who wants a serious kitchen within walking distance of her bed and a river loud enough to hear from it. Check-in starts at 4pm, checkout at 11, and a third guest adds a bed for 35 euros a night. The mill no longer grinds, but the name points across the water to the abbey it once served. A twenty-room mill hotel on the Dronne in Brantôme, with a Michelin-starred restaurant built into its stone walls and two bistros close by. Part of Relais & Chateaux, it suits a traveller after a serious kitchen and quiet river views, not a crowd.