La Petite Vigne

“Charming”

This B&B would have to be the most charming we have stayed in. The host is wonderful and so very interesting. The room was all you could ask for with charm and elegance. The bathroom is modern. Breakfast was continental but there was so much food and the setting took me back to an elegant perio… more

This B&B would have to be the most charming we have stayed in. The host is wonderful and so very interesting. The room was all you could ask for with charm and elegance. The bathroom is modern. Breakfast was continental but there was so much food and the setting took me back to an elegant period. The whole house is so eclectic but fascinating and elegant. We stayed here for 3 nights but wanted to extend but unfortunately she was booked.

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“Old style accommodation exposes problems with freak weather conditions”

This was the third Chambres d’Hôtes we have stayed in since our France 2019 trip started and this one had a lot to live-up-to after the previous ones in La Flèche and Vendôme, as both had been fabulous. Fortunately, though we found La Petit Vigne to be very different in style, it was more than ade… more

This was the third Chambres d’Hôtes we have stayed in since our France 2019 trip started and this one had a lot to live-up-to after the previous ones in La Flèche and Vendôme, as both had been fabulous. Fortunately, though we found La Petit Vigne to be very different in style, it was more than adequate, and the owner to be very attentive to our needs. The location is only a few minutes’ walk to the Château and the main street that hosts most of the restaurants. From this main street runs the long narrow lane, parallel to the river, which hosts most of the shops, plus more restaurants, cafés and bars. Our west facing room and other rooms (unoccupied during our visit) were on the first floor which is actually in the roof space. Furnishings were old style, comfortable and sturdy, there was a table with a lamp and chair, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, bedside tables with lamps, and an easy-chair. The bed and pillows were comfortable but I prefer not to have a foot to the bed as I sleep well down in the bed and my feet often found the metal frame a bit hard on my toes. There was free Wi-Fi but the room had no TV. The en-suite bathroom/WC was bang up to date, twin sinks, lovely shower with an extra rainfall fitting. There was additional wardrobe space in here too and plenty of under-sink drawer storage. The rest of the house is traditionally furnished and pleasant. The owner was a very pleasant lady, very thoughtful and kind. She spoke well in English and we found it easy to follow all the information she gave us. There are 3 cats who share the house, and the owner’s son who, we assume, visits or maybe stays too? The cats are not allowed in the accommodation rooms. There are two of three ladies that do the shopping and clean the rooms. The inclusive breakfast was served in the east-facing salon at the front of the house. Breakfast was what you ordered – we were asked what we would like, and that is what we got. The breakfast room was elegant and the open window offered a refreshing breeze as the sun hadn’t yet heated up the air too much, the 45°C heat came later in the day. So, all was good then? Sadly, not so but not the fault of the owner. In Amboise we experienced daily temperatures ranging from 30°C by mid-morning and as high as 45°C by late afternoon. As our room was at the top of the house it got the full blast of the sun for a good 12 hours. Consequently, the room was incredibly hot from late morning through to the early hours. To be honest there’s not a lot you can do to stay cool, and being out in such heat doesn’t suit us and besides would be dangerous. So, we had little option than to ride it out in our room from our return from lunch until the early evening when we went out to air-conditioned bars and restaurants. This was not the owner’s fault as it was just freak weather conditions. The portable air-conditioning unit, with a plumbed-in exhaust, manfully tried to keep the temperature down but it just could not cope. We found sleep almost impossible. We sweated the proverbial buckets, suffered the noise of the air-conditioning and did the best we could to get some sleep. We found we would wake up absolutely soaked in sweat and had to take a couple of cool showers during the night to get any kind of fitful sleep. By about 06:00 we could open the windows and turn-off the air-conditioning, peace then descended. On the morning of our departure the weather broke and the temperatures nose-dived down to 21-22°C and normality in the room returned – at least this made packing a bit easier. We would recommend this lovely accommodation; it was very calming and restful.

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