Nightfall in the Loire Valley and we are alone in the vast silence of a Romanesque abbey church. A delight of staying here is the freedom to wander through one of Europe's great religious sites after tourists have gone.
Fontevraud Abbey, whose church contains the tomb of Richard the Lionheart, is a short drive south of Saumur, centre of a major wine producing area. The 54-room, four star hotel is housed in one of its four original priories. This one was home to nuns who looked after lepers. From the outside it is barely distinguishable from the chalk-white buildings that make up the rest of the huge complex.
We leave our car concealed in a parking lot about 100 metres away (they'll send a car if you want). At check-in we're handed a mini iPad which can be used to make free local or international phone calls, find information on the abbey and read (French) newspapers.
Our simply designed room isn't huge but very comfortable. Plain, buff and white décor, plenty of pillows, rain and hand-held shower, locally made honey soap that they encourage you to take away in a little sisal pouch to reuse.
Medieval meets high-tech continues in the "iBar", formerly the priory chapel. Touch screen tabletops allow you to read the biography of Jean Genet, for example, who wrote about the Abbey when it was a prison - or to play chess.
Dinner is superb. We sit looking out on the cloister, where the breakfast buffet is also set up. We opt for Chef Thibaut Ruggeri's €83 menu (with a wine for each course). I enjoyed Pollock with a delicate herb crust, grape, onion and a beurre blanc sauce; a radish sorbet between courses with apple, black pepper and a little honey; and a sensational dessert of crème brûlée, lime sorbet, cheesecake and black olives.
RATES: Double rooms range from €125 - €185 Breakfast is €15.
www.fontevraud.fr
