First things first. We were walked through the inside of this special 11th Century Chateau, accompanied by a very knowledgeable young woman who was able to give us a guided tour complete with its relevant history. Just incredible; the website and other reviews do not do Le Domaine Des Etangs justice. I now understand what she meant when she said the hotel can be fully occupied and you may not see another guest except at meals! It is vast with several magnificent rooms to lounge in. I am trying to remember just how many common rooms there were; there was one with a grand piano, another with a harp and a grand fireplace, one with an honor bar, another with miniature furniture mirroring the adult sofa’s and chairs; one with the planets as ceiling lights and book shelf after bookshelf filled with books on the solar system; one with ‘real dandelion lights’ – no idea how they made them but certainly impressive and another with very large pieces of art. We were not able to access the Breakfast room as it was occupied with a private meeting. Every room was absolutely spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere, windows so clean you could walk into them, the stone floors were squeaky clean and every pillow was perfectly fluffed; yet you felt right at home and would be perfectly comfortable lounging there as you would be in the comfort of your own home.
The Attic was an unexpected gem. It was filled with comfortable, oversized furniture, with part of it set up as a games room with billiards and foosball for the adults and part set up as a children’s playroom with treasure chests filled with costumes, games, and puppets. It was massive – the entire footprint of the chateau filled with potential fun! Bring it on!
Located in the old cellars of the chateaux is a heated indoor swimming pool (35°C) open 24 hours a day. It is accessed from both the gardens outside that run alongside the river and from inside the Chateau. It is surrounded on one side by floor to ceiling glass windows & doors enabling you to gaze out to the roses and trees beyond and on the other side by a series of thermal baths. It is set up perfectly to swim then relax (or vice versa) on the wide lounges at the end of the pool (or outside on a nice day). I was grateful for the information about the thermal baths. They have a succession of hammams and steam baths according to the Roman tradition, going from hot to lukewarm, then cold to optimize the benefits of the treatment through 'water’. Temperatures range from 50° (122°F) in the hottest steam room to 7°C (45°F) in the cooling alcove to allow muscles to completely relax and all tension to release. There are lockers for your belongings, washrooms, and showers. There is water to drink, loads of towels, Sothy’s of Paris shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and hair dryers. I was pleasantly surprised how clean and ‘mold free’ the entire pool and thermal baths were – especially given the water /moisture everywhere.
A stone's throw from the castle is the Dairy, a dedicated exhibition hall which hosts innovative artists’ work. Above the main exhibition hall is the library, or ‘La Laiterie’ which has two mezzanine spaces. One is the library of the past, which brings together books published before 1920; the other, the library of the future, intended for books dating from after 1920. Upholstered leather sofas, perfectly oriented lighting, shelves overflowing with fascinating and unusual volumes. A private sanctuary of sorts.
Les Domaine de Etangs has 17 unique Guest Rooms, Suites and Farmhouses. Not only is each unique and different to the others but they are also unlike any hotel room / suite / cottage you have ever stayed at. There are 7 rooms and large suites upstairs in the Chateau each named after a star and they range in size from 38m² for the Prestige Rooms to147m² for the Signature Suite, Venus. There are 4 additional suites in the ‘Longere’ Building (a long farmhouse adjacent to the Chateau where the restaurant and reception are), each named after a season and these range in size from 63m² to 85m². There are 6 farmhouses scattered across the 2,500-acre estate which range from 1 to 5 bedrooms (from 104m² to 393m²) in size. The one thing they all have in common is the 11th Century stone walls (and for many units, stone floors too) with the interior stunningly decorated in a combination of antique furniture & contemporary fashion that just works beautifully.
