Abbaye Des Vaux De Cernay

“A Great Stay at a Beautiful Place”

We have been global luxury travelers for almost 50 years. I even had a column and wrote many features for the US’ premiere luxury travel and lifestyle magazine back before the GFC killed print magazines. We have stayed in literally hundreds of great hotels from 5-star ++ grandes dames to faded qu… more

We have been global luxury travelers for almost 50 years. I even had a column and wrote many features for the US’ premiere luxury travel and lifestyle magazine back before the GFC killed print magazines. We have stayed in literally hundreds of great hotels from 5-star ++ grandes dames to faded queens of yesteryear. Lately, we prefer to rent apartments or houses than do the hotel hop when we spend a week or so taking in the sights. A fablous aparment overlooking the Grand Canal or the Seine for the price of a 1 BR closet of a suite is a vastly preferable experience - particularly if you speak the language and/or don’t mind managing your own logistics. But every now and then it is nice to indulge, and our trip to the Loire this spring ended at the Abbaye. We went big - La Suite de la Barone, and it was well worth it. We generally eschew the resort hotels - overrun with loud kids and homogenized for the US/Middle Eastern crowd. But the AVC had no such issues. The service was fantastic, and the staff could not have been nicer. No Trump animosity whatever! The sole shortcoming in the suite was terrible night time lighting in the bath and dressing rooms - a shame considering their size and truly “baronial” decor. The towels almost made up for it. I am desperately trying to get the precise variety to restock all our bathrooms! The best ever - supplanting the Ritz and Hotel du Cap. One side note: the deep and narrow vintage soaking tub was great, and the filler was like a fire hydrant - no waiting around for a hot bath! This is a rarity, and shows the engineers were paying attention!! The property is gorgeous. The romantic ruins play off the beautifully-restored and converted structures to turn the former Abbey into a simulacrum of a French aristocrat’s country manor for 100 guests. The pool is a bit of a stumble - it is small and relatively unattractive, No deck, just grass for the lawn chairs there, The indoor/outdoor feature of the pool is nice, and of course the spa building is lovely. Our meals were more than acceptable for a big hotel. The fine dining option was certainly that. There was one misstep - a massively oversalted sauce on the foie gras - but massive apologies and corrections were swiftly offered. All else was superb. The buffet breakfast in the converted carriage house (?) was gargantuan and SPECTACULAR. Something for all cultures and tastes. Everything made fresh and of top quality, particularly the breads and pastries. Plenty of fresh juice and good coffee. This was not quantity over quality in any sense. There was an “influencer” party at the bar one night, but it was not intrusive. Lots of adorable over-dressed college-age and young professionals networking and drinking. They fit right in. I can’t really think of a negative. Our conceirge, Noemi was as good as they get. Helpful in every way without being at all obsequious or intrusive. She had about two months until her baby was (is?) due but was as energetic and upbeat as possible. I won’t opine on value for money because we cast that aside for a relatively short stay at a top line hotel. I will say that there really wasn’t anything we wanted we could not get. The only tiny, tiny thing was when I asked if they might open the gift shop for us an hour early the morning we left. I had seen some really interesting items the night before but my wife didnt have the energy. That inquiry went without a response. Partly my fault for inadequate follow through. Also - probably saved us a lot of money!! All in all, AVC is a 10/10

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“Over rated brunch for the price ! Spend your brunch money at Bel Ami in Paris for half the price all you can eat !”

We came for the brunch at €149.00 Euros per person for all you can eat. To be frank, it is not worth the price unless you eat a lot of … save your money and eat elsewhere. The quality of the food was alright and the service so so. Save your money and for the same amount eat at Yannick Alleno’ brun… more

We came for the brunch at €149.00 Euros per person for all you can eat. To be frank, it is not worth the price unless you eat a lot of … save your money and eat elsewhere. The quality of the food was alright and the service so so. Save your money and for the same amount eat at Yannick Alleno’ brunch in Paris at the Pavilion ! You will not get the surroundings atmosphere you get at the Abbaye but as far as the food it’s not comparable for the same price ! We came across many snob Bourgeois Parisians staying overnight there …: so the crowd might not be for everyone ! The grounds are amazing though

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