The Best Hotels to Book in Lorraine, France

In Magnant, a little village on the border of Champagne and Burgundy, Hôtel Le Val Moret has a menu that pays tribute to the cracking produce in Lorraine. The local cream cheese sorbet is a thing of beauty, while the trout, pork and lamb that land on your plate are from just down the road. For accommodation, choose between the main hotel or the nearby Les Camelias, an old barn that’s been turned into stylish rooms as part of a sustainable development project.

Whether you are lounging in its spa or dining in its gourmet restaurant, La Cheneaudière celebrates everything that’s good about the Alsace area. The three-storey wellness area has a pool overlooking the lush green countryside, a wooden barrel for a bath with hot water jets, and five saunas. The restaurant offers the best in “locavore” cuisine and has an interior highlighting the work of local craftspeople.

If you feel like taking a break from all the culinary treats in the region, Mercure Vittel is the place to stretch out and relax. Situated in the commune of Vittel, famous for its thermal baths and natural spring water, which is distributed around the world, the modern hotel is close to the Thermal Centre that treats a range of ailments. If that sounds a bit sedate, the Casino De Vittel is only a dice’s throw away from the hotel.

Located slap-bang in the middle of Vittel, the two-star New Providence Hôtel caters for every mood. Feeling sporty? The Golf de Vittel Ermitage is within walking distance. Want to tap into some culture? Stroll on down to the Palais de Congres for a show or an art exhibition. And, if you’re feeling lucky, the Casino De Vittel is right there. And, then, of course, there’s the reason you probably came: dipping into the rejuvenating waters of the Thermal Centre.

Seemingly drifting on a sea of vineyards, the three-storey Château de Sacy near Reims is perfect for dipping into Champagne country. If the opulent rooms don’t make you feel like French nobility, the restaurant with its 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape certainly will. The menu is sheer indulgence: pâté en croute (meat pie), local game carved at your table and champagne-soaked desserts. For an even deeper dive into the bubbles, the hotel will happily book cellar tours.

As the name suggests, this Champillon favourite is devoted to the joy of quaffing champers – although it might just be the culinary creations at its two restaurants that stay with you the longest. Key to the restaurants’ Michelin-starred success is the deal that chef Jean-Denis Rieubland has struck with local farmers – who deliver daily – while vegetables are grown by staff and honey is harvested on the grounds.

The atmosphere at La Côte Saint Jacques and Spa is that of a family home – if you had a two Michelin-starred chef in the kitchen, that is. Jean-Michel Lorain is the culinary magician at the hotel right on the River Yonne, producing creative dishes backed up by the best local ingredients. He follows in the footsteps of his grandmother Marie Lorain, who opened the small boarding house (which leans just towards the right side of rustic) that would become La Côte Saint Jacques in 1945.

The fact that Relais Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu has named paths at the hotel after famous chefs – Paul Bocuse, Alexandre Dumaine, Jean and Pierre Troisgros – is an indication of just how seriously food is treated here. Even kids get in on the act, with gourmet dishes for young diners that aim to “sensitise children to subtlety in flavour”. The menu doubles as a colouring book that the budding little chefs can take home with them.

Dating back to 1857 and designed to be a Benedictine monastery, Château des Monthairons in the Maas Valley has remained remarkably intact – its authentic features now form the backbone of a luxury hotel and spa. A huge surrounding park, which includes a branch of the River Meuse, makes for wonderful walks while, in the kitchen, chef Benoit Thouvenin dishes up specialities like pan-fried foie gras from Meligny, with tart plum verjus from Lorraine.