Hôtel Belle Epoque

“Excellent hotel.”

Stayed here for a few days whilst visiting Chinon. Basic but clean room with comfy clean bed and en suite. Locked secure car park which was great for our open topped three wheelers. Very good buffet breakfast and friendly staff. Fair price too. Recommended.

“Comfortable but noisy first thing in a room without Wi-Fi”

Our France 2019 trip rolled on to Chinon. After the blistering heat of Blois and then particularly again in Amboise, our journey was much more pleasant with temperatures a little over 20°C (that was nearly a 25°C drop in temperature in about 8 hours. The journey down from Amboise to Chinon which … more

Our France 2019 trip rolled on to Chinon. After the blistering heat of Blois and then particularly again in Amboise, our journey was much more pleasant with temperatures a little over 20°C (that was nearly a 25°C drop in temperature in about 8 hours. The journey down from Amboise to Chinon which sits on La Vienne, a tributary to the mighty Loire, was not too difficult and took, at what was a gentle pace, a couple of hours. On arrival at about 13:45 we easily found the hotel and drove straight into the private secured car-park. Being a tad early to check-in we went to hotel’s bar which is a popular spot for locals, to have at least a coffee or a cold drink. We were lucky because the lady at the bar managed to get the kitchen to produce a cold snack which we found most welcome, together with a glass each of good local wine. Our room was tiny and to say that the combined bathroom/WC was compact would be a significant understatement. The entrance to the shower was not very wide and up a large step which made getting out a bit precarious. No grab handles were fitted and you really need to be careful not to slip: as a sudden descent would be painful with a sink and WC in close proximity. The shower however was great – really nice flow of good hot water. The bright mosaic tiling was probably best seen with eyes not affected by any hangover from the night before! A plumbed-in hairdryer with handy mirror over the (chipped and cracked) sink was provided and worked well. The toilet roll dispenser was of industrial size. The room furnishings and facilities included bedside tables, a small disk, with a lamp and a tiny uncomfortable stool, a shelving unit, a door-less wardrobe unit, a luggage stand, a mirror, an electric convector heater, a flat-screen TV with remote, a floor-standing electric fan, a selection of brochures and leaflets about local attractions and two 3ft beds (properly) linked together. The bed was too close to the desk to pass without shuffling sideways. The bed was a tad hard for my partner, but I found it OK but the pillows were particularly skinny. Decorations in the room were clean and reasonable but the up and around the stairs they needed attention. Breakfast was fairly good – all the usual stuff (very good croissant but no ‘special’ artisan breads that we have had elsewhere, and no cold meats either). Unless you eat heartedly you’re not going to get your 9€ worth. We ate lightly and just went with the flow and the comfort but some people like to get value. The breakfast room is pleasant being light, airy and clean. This hotel was selected because of its good comfort rating and its reasonable proximity to the Centre Ville (a 15-minute stroll). The SNCF train station sits opposite but trains seemed to be rare apart from early on the first morning. This raises my major gripe: because a diesel locomotive arrived at something past 6 o’clock. It sat there with its engine running for a good half hour, thus ensuring that I was fully wide-awake by the time it moved-on. Really!! My second gripe is that we booked this hotel very nearly a year ago and we must have been one of their earliest bookings for the night of our stay. So, pray tell me, why we were in the attic, up two flights of winding narrow stairs (43 in all)? One of the four first floor rooms was required and expected. My last gripe was that there was no Wi-Fi availability in our room. The station was visible in my Wi-Fi list (and at a good strength) but it would just not connect. We had to go down to the bar and drink wine just to get the internet! Life’s a b****. Other than these issues the staff were great and the breakfast was more than adequate. As our stay progressed we grew more to like this hotel and my major gripe about the noise of the trains is outside of their control.

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“Fun trip”

Cute little hotel- more like a B &B. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. The attached bar was a plus for good cold beer! Small rooms and small stairway to top floor-but it’s an old building!!!!

“A bit of a squeeze.”

Check in was efficient and easy. Staff absolutely delightful. The room was extremely "bijou", certainly no room for error and on the second floor, with no lift. Apart from the shower the room was very clean and the bed very comfortable. For me personally the shower was hard to negotiate, rather a h… more

Check in was efficient and easy. Staff absolutely delightful. The room was extremely "bijou", certainly no room for error and on the second floor, with no lift. Apart from the shower the room was very clean and the bed very comfortable. For me personally the shower was hard to negotiate, rather a high step in and out and with wet feet, I didn't really feel safe. Breakfast was adequate. We stayed for 2 nights and I was pleased that the room was tidied as soon as we left for the day. The resident cat was also very friendly. The only real downside was the bar didn't open in the evening, but we had a bottle of wine and sat on the lovely little terrace after our day exploring.

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