Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa

Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa

Balconies at Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa look over rows of vines that climb the hills above Champillon, four miles from Moët et Chandon's own slopes and a fifteen-minute drive from the Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park. The hotel belongs to Relais & Chateaux, and its 49 rooms are each decorated individually, with private balconies or patios, minibars, flat-screen televisions and bathrooms stocked with proper toiletries and hair dryers. What separates this address from other Champagne-country stays is Chef Christophe Raoux, named Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2015, who runs the kitchen at Le Bellevue; a second restaurant and the Abysse bar round out the eating and drinking, with continental breakfast served from 7:30 to 10:30am and room service around the clock. The spa runs to sauna, steam room and treatment rooms for massage and facials, and guests can choose between an indoor pool and an outdoor one, plus a 24-hour gym. There's a playroom and babysitting for those travelling with children, and pets are welcome for a 75 euro fee, though the 500 euro damage deposit taken by bank transfer on arrival is worth knowing about in advance. Condé Nast Traveler ranked it third-best hotel in France, and the setting explains why: this is a place built around the vineyard view and the food, not a base for exploring Reims itself, which sits over twelve miles away. Couples marking an occasion or serious eaters planning a trip around one kitchen will find what they came for. Anyone wanting walkable old-town streets or a large group of rooms under one roof should look elsewhere. Check-in is from 4pm, check-out by noon. Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa sits above the vines near Moët et Chandon, with Chef Christophe Raoux's kitchen at Le Bellevue as its main draw. Forty-nine individually decorated rooms, two pools and a full spa suit couples and food-focused travelers, not those wanting central Reims.