Le Manoir Les Minimes: Luxury hotel, budget price!
Written: May 18 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: romantic and relaxing rooms, lovely setting, excellent value
Cons: none
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| kboo's Full Review: Loire Valley |
Located on the Loire River and at the foot of the Chateau d'Amboise, this small hotel was built in the 1700s but was gut-renovated in 1998-- and what a renovation it is!
Le Manoir Les Minimes is centrally located, a perfect base for exploring the chateaux and wineries of the Loire Valley. It is elegant, private and romantic, an ideal location for a small wedding and/or honeymoon. After a harrowing drive from Paris in our tiny rental car (top speed: 140 kph; begins shuddering around 120 kph--but that is another story!), all we wanted was a place to relax. Arriving Le Manoir Les Minimes was like finding the treasure at the end of the rainbow.
THE ROOMS
The rooms are unbelievably spacious, and most have a view of the Loire River and the Chateau d'Amboise, which is lit with floodlights at night. Best of all, at the current US$-FF exchange rate, it is a bargain. Our "double deluxe" room was located on the second floor of the house, up a small winding staircase. It faced the courtyard with a view of the Loire River and the Chateau D'Amboise. We were expecting at best a queen sized bed, and a room comparable in size to a standard hotel room in the U.S.
What we got:
Our king bed (a rarity in France) had luxurious sheets and soft, puffy down pillows. The room itself was about the size of our apartment in New York City- it also had a separate sitting area with a double sofa bed, coffee table and a small TV, a writing desk, another small table with two chairs, and one of those wooden valet-stand thingies where you can hang a jacket and pair of pants and put all your loose change.
The bathroom included Burberry toiletries, lots of fluffy towels and bath sheets, and two heavy terry cloth robes embroidered with the hotel's logo. The main bath room included a tub large enough for two, with a hand-held shower massage, and double pedestal sinks. The "WC" was discreetly located in a small alcove with a door- oh, how I wish American hotel rooms would do the same!
The deep closets were spacious and included quality wooden hangers. (Aside: I get rather offended by those hotel/motel hangers that have the pieces that don't come off the rod-- the last thing I intend to do when I check into a hotel is steal the hangers!!)
Also included was a bottle of mineral water, although the tap water is safe for drinking and tastes fine.
THE ATMOSPHERE
Le Manoir Les Minimes is one of the most tranquil and relaxing hotels I have ever visited, bar none. It achieves this result mainly by having very few rooms (there are only 14 of them) and by having attentive and friendly service.
The check-in area is a small office located behind and beneath the stairs to the second floor. We were greeted by Monsieur Eric Deforges, who spoke English fluently, yet graciously complimented my own stuttering attempts at French. We parked our little rental car in the courtyard, along the gravel drive. In front of the hotel, there were several tables and chairs set up on a terrace for the guests, and a family was already at one of them, quietly laughing and playing cards in the late afternoon sun.
On the ground floor, there are two large lounges decorated with period antiques or reproductions. In these rooms there are also several books, magazines and maps providing information on tourist attractions in the area, ranging from chateaux, to restaurants, museums, and wineries. M. Deforges also has a collection of menus of restaurants in the area for browsing, and the hotel staff (which, as far as I could tell during our stay, consisted of M. Deforges and one other gentleman) will gladly make reservations for you at any of the nearby restaurants.
We also enjoyed looking through the photo album of the renovations of the hotel.
Guests are expected to have breakfast at the hotel, which is 58FF per person. Breakfast is served in a smaller room on the ground floor, with white linen, silver, and fresh flowers at every table. It includes freshly squeezed orange juice, strong coffee, a bountiful basket of pastries with butter, jam, preserves, and honey, and fresh fruit, all served by M. Deforges, of course. (Does the man ever sleep?)
One thing is for certain: M. Deforges' care in the renovation and operation of this hotel make Le Manoir Ler Minimes a real pleasure. We only wish we could have stayed longer.
DETAILS, DETAILS
Le Manoir Les Minimes is located in the historic section of Amboise, within walking distance of the Chateau d'Amboise, shops, restaurants, and the Loire River.
The commercial center of town, including the SNCF train station (Gare d'Amboise) is 1 km away, across the Loire River.
The nearest TGV (high-speed train) stops at Tours, about 20 km away.
Amboise itself is centrally located in the Loire Valley and within 20 km of numerous chateaux in the region.
Room rates range from about 490FF for a single room, low season, to 2200FF for a palatial two bedroom, four room suite during the high season.
Breakfast is 58FF per person.
Our room, a double deluxe, was 820FF in the high season. (Our stay, including the cost of breakfast, came out to about $135 US)
Pets are welcome. There is a large and very friendly dog on the premises.
There is ample free parking in the courtyard, which is locked at 10pm at night (guests have keys to the gate).
Phones are only answered between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm, local time. (Take Eastern time and add 6 hours).
We made our reservations over the internet, via email, about one week before our arrival.
The staff speak English fluently and are very friendly to Americans.
Le Manoir Les Minimes
34, quai Charles Guinot
37400 Amboise FRANCE
http://www.amboise.com/les-minimes
manoir-les-minimes@wanadoo.fr
If calling from U.S:
Telephone: 011 33 2 47 30 40 40
FAX: 011 33 2 47 30 40 77
In France:
Telephone: 02 47 30 40 40
FAX: 02 47 30 40 77
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kboo
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 283 members
About Me:
De-fezzed in two topics. Ask me if I care. Hey, what happened to my picture?
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