Top 5 : the best hotels in Champagne

Top-notch gastronomy, cellars, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, charming hotels, but also vineyards as far as the eye can see, are some of the reasons why you should enjoy a week-end in Champagne. No longer than a 2 hours’ drive from Paris here are our 5 favourite hotels for an epicurean stay in the Epernay and Reims area.

1. Hôtel Royal Champagne

Hôtel Royal Champagne was bought back by Denise Dupré and her husband Mark Nunnelly who founded Champagne Hospitality group. After 4 years of refurbishment, hotel Royal Champagne reveals its new look reinvented by architect Giovanni Pace who gave it contemporary clean lines blending in to the surroundings. The spaces within the hotel are bathed in natural light and offer a stunning view over the vineyards. The 47 rooms are signed by well-known interior designer Sybille de Margerie.

For dining you can choose between Le Bellevue chic bistro with its XXL terrace and fantastic  view over the vineyards, or Le Royal, the gourmet restaurant where Michelin starred Chef Jean-Denis Rieublanc cooks a refined  creative cuisine.

But Royal champagne Hotel actually stands apart with its 1500m2 beautiful spa. Sauna, hammam, a 25m long inside pool, jacuzzi and outside infinity pool, not to mention Biologique Recherche et KOS beauty treatment…A true jewel in a heavenly spot ! A hotel which obviously ranks among the best luxury spa hotels in France.

2. Domaine Les Crayères

Nestled in a 7 hectare park near Reims, Le Domaine des Crayères is a mythical address, having tempted lovers of gourmet–food and French art of living since 1983. Les Crayères formerly belonged to the Polignac family and is now a high class five-star hotel.  It has great assets : the Michelin 2 starred gourmet restaurant run by  Chef Philippe Mille, who formerly worked with Yannick Alléno (3 stars at Hotel Meurice , Paris). The wine list offers as many as 600 champagnes ! The 20 rooms and suites about 40 m2 each are decorated in the purest classical French style. With a service over the top, Domaine les Crayeres turns out to be one of the very best hotels in Champagne.

3. Les Avisés

The Jacques Selosse Estate is well known by connoisseurs of champagne, and since 2011 it has housed a hotel and restaurant : Les Avisés. Set on the hill tops of Avise, a small village in the middle of vineyards, this is an elegant mansion dating back from 1820 which looks like a guest house with only 10 rooms, each unique and named in a humourous way : Salute !, Tchin !, Prosit !… Anselme Selosse who inherited the champagne estate from his father in 1974 has ensured a cosy private atmosphere ever since.  Forbes Magazine highly recommends to  stay there when visiting the area. The restaurant directed by chef Stéphane Rossillon (who formerly worked with Anne-Sophie Pic) is regarded as one of the best in the area.

 

 

4. Château de Sacy

Soaring up over vineyards le Château de Sacy can be found within a stone’s throw from the Champagne –Ardennes TGV railway station on the northern side of Montagne de Reims. There you will enjoy having breakfast on the terrace with a 360° view over the vineyards and afterwards cycling around or visiting a famous champagne cellar. Then later in the afternoon, why not treat yourself to an interlude of relaxation in the spa with the Signature Effervessence care using Gemology products, a natural mineral French brand, or indulge outside in one of the two Norwegian baths overlooking the vineyards ? Eventually before going up to one of the 12 elegant hotel rooms, don’t miss the authentic delicate cuisine of the restaurant on the first floor of the castle.

5. L’Assiette Champenoise

An absolute must, ideally located 2 steps from Reims, L’Assiette Champenoise is among the thirty Michelin 3-star restaurants in France. The hotel restaurant near Reims in Champagne was founded by Colette and Jean-Pierre Lallement in 1975 and is now run by their son Arnaud who has quickly made his mark on the gastronomic arena. But l’Assiette Champenoise also offers 33 attractive rooms and suites with contemporary decor combining space and comfort in a beautiful mansion of typical Champagne architecture.