Moulin de Chalons

The only real frustration was the late check-in, at 17:30. Apart from that, we very much enjoyed our stay, and the hotel is well placed for visiting the area's many sights. We slept well, then had a simple breakfast of croissants, bread, yogurt, and the like. On our first evening we ate at the hotel. The menu was small but thoughtfully put together. There were just two other couples dining that night, which was a shame, though the restaurant was much busier on the second evening. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, and the service was friendly and relaxed. For starters, we had L'asperge, filet de canette séchée, crumble de parmesan, Chantilly a l'aillet, and Taboulé de quinoa asiatique, variation de radis, Œuf confit au soja. The first was asparagus with dried duck fillet, parmesan crumble, and spring onion chantilly; the second was Asian quinoa tabbouleh with radish and a soy confit egg. For mains, there was Le veau confit, croustillant aux olives, Déclinaison brocolis / pack Choi, jus corsé, which was veal confit with olives, broccoli, pak choi, and a rich jus. We also had seared scallops, which weren't on the menu and may have been a special. Dessert was L'ananas poché, avocat épicé, sorbet ananas, Meringue soufflée bergamote, or Le mille-feuille tout chocolat, Sablé cacao, grué, glace praliné/pécan. These were poached pineapple with spiced avocado, pineapple sorbet and bergamot soufflé meringue, or an all-chocolate mille-feuille with cocoa shortbread, nibs, and praline-pecan ice cream. We stayed in a Junior Suite for two nights. The building is gorgeous and sits on a road, but all 10 rooms face the other way, so even with the windows open we couldn't hear the traffic. Our room was spacious and comfortable, with two first-floor windows over the river and a large, comfortable bed. The decor made it rather dark, though the bathroom had a big walk-in shower and good lighting. Wifi worked well, and there was a coffee machine and minibar. Guests can use a quiet seating area at the top of the stairs, and there are plenty of outdoor seats on the terrace overlooking the river.