Grand Hotel Du Lion D'Or

Grand Hotel Du Lion D'Or

Coffee at the window in Romorantin-Lanthenay, the town waking up around a mansion built in 1520 that has operated as a hotel since 1774, longer than any hotel-restaurant in France. Grand Hotel Du Lion D'Or sits at the center of town, close enough to Parc de Beauvais and the Matra Automotive Museum for a morning walk before the château circuit starts: Chambord, Cheverny, Chenonceau are all within reach. What sets it apart from other Relais & Chateaux addresses in the Loire is La Table du Lion, the in-house restaurant run by chef Didier Clément and carrying a Michelin star, so dinner doesn't mean driving out again after a day of castles. Sixteen rooms, each laid out differently, run from a Superior Double at roughly 323 square feet to a Standard King Suite with balcony at 431, with garden or courtyard outlooks, antique woodwork, air conditioning, minibars, bathrobes and slippers throughout. Outside there is a garden, a terrace, and a library for the hours between excursions. Staff work in English, French and Spanish, arrange airport transfers for 290 euros one way, and take dry-cleaning, laundry and luggage off a guest's hands. Pets are welcome for a 15 euro deposit per stay. This suits a couple or a solo traveler building a slow week around châteaux and a serious dinner, not a family chasing a pool or a group needing interconnecting rooms; children can stay, but not alone, and their breakfast runs 26 euros extra. Check-in is 3pm, check-out noon. With only sixteen rooms, book the table at La Table du Lion when reserving the room. Sixteen rooms in a 1520 mansion that has run as a hotel since 1774, the oldest hotel-restaurant in France, with a Michelin-starred kitchen under chef Didier Clément. A Relais & Chateaux base in Romorantin-Lanthenay for the Chambord, Cheverny and Chenonceau circuit.