Le Chateau De Beaulieu

Le Chateau De Beaulieu

Le Chateau De Beaulieu sits twenty-eight kilometres outside Lille, close enough for an afternoon at the Citadel or an evening at Theater Sebastopol, far enough that the terrace and garden feel like their own quiet estate. Twenty-six rooms across two floors keep the place small by design, the kind of scale that lets a library and a sun deck feel like fixtures rather than amenities checked off a list. Tradition rooms run to 269 square feet, air-conditioned, with a fridge, hairdryer and safe built in; suites step up from there for guests who want more room to spread out. What sets this address apart from other countryside stops near Lille is its membership in the Relais & Chateaux group, and the fact that it runs two restaurants, unusual for a house of only twenty-six rooms. Breakfast is charged separately, thirty-two euros a person, served in the breakfast room from seven to half past ten, with a small surcharge for eating it in bed. Dogs are welcome for thirty-five euros a night, though two of the restaurants keep their tables dog-free. Business travellers get a conference hall and business centre for meetings, while families get babysitting and kids' television, so the two rarely cross paths under the same roof. Anyone hoping to walk into central Lille from the front door should look elsewhere; this is a hotel for people happy to drive in and drive back, trading footfall for a garden that stays theirs after dinner. A twenty-six-room Relais & Chateaux stay outside Lille, with two restaurants, a library and a garden that outlast the day's sightseeing. Good for slow evenings and a car in the drive; not for anyone wanting to walk to the Citadel.