La Cote Saint Jacques

La Cote Saint Jacques

Marie Lorain opened a small boarding house on the hill above Joigny in 1946, and four generations later her family still runs the kitchen: her descendant Jean-Michel Lorain holds two Michelin stars at the restaurant on the banks of the Yonne. That continuity is the one thing few hotels this size can claim, a 32-room Relais & Chateaux house built around one family's cooking rather than a restaurant added on to justify a rating. Rooms sit above a garden and terrace that look out over the river, some with balconies and open fireplaces, all stocked with bathrobes, minibars and staff who switch between French, English, German, Spanish and Russian without pausing. The 800-square-metre spa spans two floors and includes a heated indoor swimming pool twelve metres long, a hammam, sauna and treatment cabins, along with a private tropical lounge for anyone who wants the space closed off. Outside, free bicycles and footpaths lead into the vineyards beyond Joigny, and fishing rods are on hand for guests who'd rather sit by the water than pedal through it. A second, more relaxed dining room, the Bistrot des Générations, run by the family's fourth generation, means an evening here doesn't have to mean a tasting menu every night. Pets are welcome, and children get their own playroom plus supervised access to the spa. This is not a hotel for anyone chasing a lively town centre; the pull here is the table, the spa and the river, not the streets of Joigny. Couples marking something worth marking, food-focused travellers and Burgundy-bound wine drinkers will get more from a stay than a group after a big pool deck and organised nightlife. A 32-room Relais & Chateaux house in Joigny where four generations of the Lorain family have run the kitchen since 1946, now holding two Michelin stars. The 800-square-metre spa and riverside garden make it a base for slow days, not a scene for nightlife.