If you’re looking for a luxury boutique hotel hidden in the Rhone Valley within the Ardeche region and oozing with charm, look no further than Hotel de la Villeon.
Why We Love This Hotel
While the rooms are delightful and the location is perfect, we particularly love the garden at Hôtel de la Villeon. Laid out over three levels, it contains rose bushes, Indian lilac, and wisteria and leads to the old fortifications of Tournon. The gardens end with spectacular views over the Rhone river and Hermitage hills. Why not spend your lazy summer afternoons enjoying a glass of sparkling water or local wine, shaded by a parasol and under the silhouette of castle ruins?
Location
This gem of a luxury hotel is hidden up a quiet side street in the picturesque town of Tournon-sur-Rhone. You will find the chateau and museum within the town, where exciting exhibitions are held year-round. There’s a pretty medieval town center to explore along with seventeenth-century tapestries at the Gabriel Faure Lycée.
The city of Lyon, with all its museums, beautiful architecture and fabulous restaurants, is just under an hour away, and of course, the vineyards of the Rhone Valley are not to be missed! The town is surrounded by beautiful countryside and is set between almost luminous green vineyards that climb up the surrounding hillsides.
Best Time To Visit
The Rhone Valley is gorgeous but can get fairly busy and hot from June to September. At this time of year, activities that enable you to cool down, like canoeing on the rivers, become very popular. April and May are pleasantly warm, but our favorite time to visit is late September and early October, when the crowds have gone, the days are a bit cooler, and the leaves on the trees start to turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow, and brown.
How To Get There
Fly into Lyon airport with EasyJet offering direct flights from England. If you’re planning on driving or using a hire car during your stay, it’s worth bearing in mind that the hotel doesn’t have its own car park. However, there is a parking area just a short walk away.
Style & Character
Hotel de la Villeon is an 18th-century mansion that has been converted into a luxury hotel. Extreme care has been taken with the renovation process, and many stunning original features have been preserved, filling the place with a feeling of living history. The décor exudes the elegance of a bygone age, with marble fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, wooden floors, and wing chairs. A contemporary, minimalist wine cellar and meeting area have been created in the old stables, perfect for wine tastings and corporate events.
Service & Facilities
The garden, along with the bar and dining room, are the main facilities at Hotel de la Villeon.
Rooms
The hotel offers sixteen guest rooms, four of which are suites. Each guest room has been designed and laid out in keeping with the historical nature of the building. The central theme was to ensure refined, sober decoration and modern facilities and to seek the ultimate in elegant comfort.
Review: Le Clos de la Garelle Private Mansion, France
If you have a large family and want to get away to the fabulous French countryside, a luxury hotel may not work for you. You may prefer to rent a mansion, all to yourselves, for a week of frolicking on the lawns and by the pool. There is no more splendid a french mansion than Le Clos de la Garelle, located on a 23-hectare domain situated between the towns of Crozes Hermitage and Larnage. The exact position of the house is a few steps from Tain-l’Hermitage and Tournon-sur-Rhône, just South of Lyon. The main building is dated from 1860 and passed down four generations.
Standard facilities in all rooms include free Wi-Fi, flat-screen satellite TV, air conditioning, and ensuite marble bathrooms with hairdryers and Molton Brown toiletries. Décor is tasteful in neutral tones, and many of the rooms boast antique furniture and flooring as well as fragrant scented candles – a lovely little extra touch. Suites are more extensive, and some, such as the La Villeon suite, feature intricate wainscoting and paneling across walls and ceilings, which will transport you back to the heyday of this beautiful old mansion.
Best Rooms
If you fancy your own private terrace, go for the Goddess suite, while some of the rooms on the higher floors have pretty garden views.
Food & Drink
With its intimate ambiance and little courtyard area, bar Le Gabriel is the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious, crisp, chilled glass of wine or a full bodied red. Guests can choose from a great selection of world-renowned wines, with a special focus on ones from the local region. There is also a beautifully refurbished dining room where a hearty breakfast buffet is served in the mornings, offering delightful local produce, including meats, cheeses, pastries, juices, and coffee. In the warmer months, breakfast is served outside on the patio.
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