Hôtel Restaurant La Bonne Etape

The hotel is small, I counted seven rooms, and there's a popular restaurant attached. Our room was clean and the staff were friendly. Walking into town takes around 30 minutes, with about half the route on a road without a sidewalk. After 11 at night, only three cars passed us over the whole walk. We used our phone lights to make ourselves visible and got off the road well before cars reached us. I'd stay here again, though I'd pay a little more for an equally clean place closer to town with sidewalks.

The restaurant serves very good French food, with an extensive breakfast too. Locals come in to eat with family and friends, which seems a good sign. Staff are friendly, and the rooms are clean and quiet, even on the road side. They can get warm, but an air cooler is available. There's a large car park set back from the main road. You can walk to Amboise in about 30 minutes on an unpaved rural road, or bike along the main road and be there in 10. Much better than another one of those big-name, one-of-a-dozen hotels. Recommendable.

Just up the road from Amboise city center, we had a fabulous dinner. The shrimp and goat cheese casserole was delicious, along with the other dishes we tried. Service was warm and attentive.

The ribeye was okay, and the sauce was decent. Everything else was hard to eat. The turkey was the worst I've ever tasted, and the riz gourmand was just plain rice packed with bell peppers. The mousse was pudding dressed up nicely.