Description:

What better way to experience the Loire Valley than to stay in an elegant private chateau in the prettiest part of chateau country! This is an ideal accommodation. The location is wonderful for touring. It is just 10 minutes from Azay le Rideau, a delightful small town with its own classified chateau, an excellent selection of shops and an outdoor weekly market. In addition to Azay, there are many famous chateaux to visit all within 45 minutes' drive: Chinon, Villandry, Chenonceau, Amboise, Langeais and more. Tours, a graceful city with high speed train to Paris is less than an hour by car. The countryside here is lovely with gently rolling hills, oak forests and meandering rivers. In addition, the area is famous for its wine, cheese and excellent food. Visiting local producers and enjoying market days is a great treat. There is also biking, canoeing, golf and hiking close by.

The chateau is a classified historic monument and sits on 34 hectares of land. The setting is lovely and includes the French garden, the English garden, a bassin, a vegetable garden and the woods. One horse and 2 donkeys are kept in the farm buildings for fun. The chateau is part of a a 4 walled structure with a interior gravel courtyard. The living accommodations fill one complete wing. Meals can be taken at a table under the arcades in the courtyard, by the table inside the gates or just outside the gates facing the garden. It is a truly magical setting.

The Parisian owner has fully renovated the chateau so that it provides extremely elegant and comfortable accommodation in the original historic structure. The ground floor has the main living quarters. The enormous kitchen has a large open fireplace where a fire burns daily. With high ceilings, exposed beams and large windows this is a beautiful room to spend time. The kitchen appliances are all new and there is even an "arrière" or back kitchen where the housekeeper is available to prepare meals. Adjacent there is a comfortable room with sofas and easy chairs and a plasma screen TV for relaxing. A toilet and sink are off the entry hall. From the main kitchen, one can continue down this wing to the formal rooms with high ceilings, exposed beams, windows on both sides and each room with original art and fireplace. The Blue Room has an original hanging tapestry, some beautiful 18th C carvings and table and chairs for enjoying board games. The dining room is an elegant space with a long table and seating for 18. The White Room has lots of comfortable seating and french doors to the courtyard.

By the entry is a lovely circular stone stairway leading upstairs. On the second floor are the main bedrooms all of which have high ceilings, exposed beams and high windows. The floors are either parquet, stone or the original brick. All the bedrooms have comfortable seating, a desk and some have TVs. The master bedroom is an enormous room with king bed and ensuite dressing room and bathroom with walk-in shower, bathtub, 2 bowl sinks and heated towel rack. Continuing down this main hall are 3 more bedrooms. Bedroom #2 has 2 single beds side-by-side and ensuite bathroom with sink and stall shower. Bedroom #3 has a queen bed in a niche and ensuite bathroom with clawfoot tub, sink and toilet. Bedroom #4 has a queen bed and ensuite bathroom with 2 rectangular sinks, bathtub, shower over, sink and toilet. At this point, of the hallway is a door that leads to the remaining bedrooms. Past the door is Bedroom #5 with 2 singles side by side, and ensuite bathroom in a Delfin decor with sink, bathtub, shower over and toilet. Around the corner one walks through a small room with an antique lit bateau. This continues through the laundry room and then comes to a small, but pretty bathroom off the hall with 2 rectangular sinks, stall shower and separate toilet. One then comes to Bedroom #6 decorated in black and white with double bed. At the end of this hall is another stairway which is also circular with stone steps, but is a smaller, "back" stairway and leads downstairs to the courtyard.

The main stairway leads upstairs to the 3rd floor and 2 more bedrooms. These bedrooms all have steps immediately outside their door and thus caution must be taken. Bedroom #7 has 2 singles beds side by side. Bedroom #8 is a very large room with a high ceiling and 2 single beds side by side. Both these rooms use the charming bathroom which is reached off the circular stairway and through an unusual door. Although access requires walking across the landing and low clearance through the ancient door, once inside the bathroom is very charming with stall shower, sink and toilet and lovely view down into the courtyard. Off the back stairway on the 3rd floor is yet another bedroom, Bedroom #9 with sleeping for 2. All 3 of these bedrooms are perhaps best suited for the young as caution should be taken on the stairs. One can rent for 12 persons only which includes 6 bedrooms, numbers 1-4 and 7&8 which are all reached off the main stairway.

The heated pool is located past the gardens. There is also a tennis court, an apple orchard, ping pong table, covered well and miles of forest to explore. Immediately outside the gates is a manor house that accommodates 6 and can be rented separately. If the manor house is rented, the pool is reserved for those clients 2 hours/day.

Location Information:

Immediately outside Chelle no facilities. 4km W of Azay-le-Rideau, most facilities, weekly outdoor market, classified chateau and "petit train" to Tours(30 minutes); 32km SW of Tours all facilities including high speed train to Paris (1 hour)