Le Domaine de Mestré, The Originals Relais

We had a garden and hill view from our room, and there’s plenty of garden to relax in, with chairs in the shade of the trees. It’s a beautiful property in a quiet area, with three beaux villages nearby. The service was friendly and very helpful. We’ll certainly stay again when we’re in the area.

The garden is lovely, the rooms are spacious, and breakfast is very good. The location just outside Fontevraud is nice too. Be aware that dinner isn’t served on Mondays or Tuesdays. The better restaurants are in Fontevraud l’Abbaye. If the staff recommend P’tit bar de Mestré in Montsoreau, I’d skip it. It’s a good place overall, though there may be better options.

We left after the first night because the property was so unsuitable for my friend’s greatly reduced mobility, and such a disappointment. Even though it was a holiday weekend and we thought the rooms might have been relet, we still had to pay for the second night. We’d booked two rooms for two nights after seeing overwhelmingly positive reviews here and elsewhere. We checked carefully that the property suited someone with reduced mobility, and it was advertised as wheelchair accessible. It wasn’t clear which rooms would work, so we emailed the property. They confirmed that the room we booked, at a substantial nightly rate, was suitable and had a walk-in shower. After arriving, though, the rough gravel across the site, the distances between buildings and the steps made it very clear that the property was not suitable. We saw no ramps. It’s hard to see how it could be wheelchair accessible, so please check before booking. The room I was given, directly opposite the main building, was disappointing too. A couple of photos I took show a random football table in the lobby, which wasn’t what I expected at this price. The strangest example of standards falling short was the bedside lamp, with its cable stretched across the wall. There was a light switch by the door, but it did nothing.

We stayed in early October 2020 and had a wonderful time in this fully modernized 16th-century building. The owners welcomed us warmly and were extremely helpful. Our room was spacious, warm and cozy up in the roof, with big wooden beams, a comfortable bed and a great view of the garden, where beautiful flowers were still blooming. We slept peacefully, breathing clean air, which was such a change from Paris. Breakfast was generous and tasty, with eggs, sausages, cheeses, patisseries, fresh juices, coffee and tea. We had dinner once in the cozy restaurant. The food was good quality and nicely presented, there was a wide choice of local wines, and prices were really good compared with the Paris area. The soap in the room was handmade on the farm, and the soap museum and boutique were very well done. The owners were building a spa, and we’d like to return to enjoy Le Mestré another time. The village of Montsoreau is just 1km away on the Loire, with nice walks and an impressive chateau. Le Mestré is a handy base for visiting the abbey at Fontevraud-l’Abbaye and the châteaux of Saumeur, Chinon, Ussé, Brézé and more, as well as troglodyte caves and restaurants. Don’t miss the wonderful Saumeur and Borgeuil wines nearby. Highly recommended!