Hotels met bar in Beaugency

Stopped here on our return to Blighty after a 7 hour journey from the deepest south, planned timing having gone a little awry due to personal ineptitude but in the end not a problem really. They have secure parking which is a must for me, coming from the crime riddled UK and working on the basis that everywhere must be at least as bad (not at all true). We’d noted on other reviews that the hotel is not necessarily going to attract passing trade by its looks which, now having seen it, is a fair comment, but really does belie the reality of what lies below the surface. This is a place that we will very definitely revisit both for the hotel, their food and the town. We arrived during rush hour it seemed and so had to recce the area before making a final approach when my co-pilot was launched to advise of our arrival. As a result, the large gates located to the right of the hotel were opened by the proprietor who assisted by halting the traffic whilst the rather narrow and unforgiving entrance was negotiated by my bus. The car park itself is located in a walled area and is indeed as advertised and as about as secure as it gets. There was a very pleasant welcome and we were guided to our ground floor, garden facing room which was modern, clean and well appointed (no tea and coffee facilities though which was a shame). There are possibly 10 or so rooms all facing the garden which is a large walled affair with a terrace/courtyard where meals can be enjoyed. Very pleasant, peaceful and relaxing particularly after a long journey. We’d booked for dinner which is only on offer to residents and was extremely good with a good choice of freshly prepared fare all for around E25 plus wine and coffee, each - bargain! Beaugency itself is a very pleasant, Loire side town and although we went for a wander after dinner, it deserves more exploration since there is bags of history in the town. We will definitely revisit after summer but this time plan it a little better. As regards the Le Beaugency hotel itself I would very definitely recommend a visit including the partaking of their dining facilities, all in all, extremely good value and a very enjoyable stay. The whole lot was just under E174 which included, comfy bed, lovely breakfast and superb evening meal which I’d regard as excellent value.

The hotel was easy to find, being just at the end of the main bridge on the bank of the Loire. We also got parked up in the courtyard of what is an 11th - 12th century old abbey and is a very grand looking building. The interior of the building has lots of high ceilinged rooms with antique furniture and objects d’art all over the place. I’d booked a superior room and the beamed ceiling must be about 15 feet high. The room is very smart and has a desk by the window that looks out onto the bridge and the river. After a splendid sleep we had breakfast in an attractive dining room that also offers seats outside or in an enclosed terrace with views of the river. Breakfast here is 17 Euros and they offer a fine range of fruits, local cold meats, cheeses and preserves. They even offer an array of loose tea blends from which to make your own tea bag. In my view it’s all a bit of style over practicality however, and although we saw the occasional member of staff loiter now and again, there was no “service” per se. We weren’t greeted on arrival or shown where everything was in the buffet. The serve yourself breakfast buffet may have some advantages, but in a quality hotel I don’t want to have to do everything myself. Breakfast should be a relaxing occasion, and not one where you have to queue up to use a fresh orange squeezing machine. I don’t want to have to search for a teaspoon (in vain!) or wonder if there might be a tea pot (no there wasn’t). And whereas it is nice to be able to have a boiled egg, I’d rather have someone else cook it for me and, to be blunt, for 17 Euros I’d expect a waiter to ask me if I would like to have some scrambled eggs or an omelette instead. We had breakfast on both mornings and second time round it continued to disappoint rather than please. This time there was no yogurt to go with the fresh fruit salad and no spoons to eat the fruit salad with; there was also no butter and because there was nobody visible in either the dining room or kitchen I had to ask the bloke on reception to go and get me some. This is a very good hotel and it is clear that they want it to be of a high standard, and whereas we enjoyed staying here I have to say that the service at breakfast was poor - simply because there was no service at all. The bottom line is that apart from the lack of service in the breakfast room (and I accept that there may be staffing issues) we found this to be a really good hotel and would stay again.