Wined, dined and rested.

Chinon is one of those towns that quietly beckons to you as you travel through the Loire region. It is actually on the Vienne river not far from where the Vienne elbows its way out into the Loire to continue its regal journey to Nantes, and Chinon castle above the town is a discreet statement of strength, with a few pretty round towers built on it just to show that force can be decorative too…..

This time we chose to stay at the oasis of tranquility that is the Hotel Diderot, right near the town centre but enough streets away from it that you don’t realise how close you are to what passes for hustle and bustle in Chinon.

Its oldest part dates from the 15^th century and at one point part of it held the archives of the city of Chinon. At another time someone has planted a lovely garden of scented shrubs around the central courtyard, and even in early April you breathe in the perfume of viburnum and choisyea as you wander out to explore the town (and in our case find somewhere amazing to eat, but more of that in another post).

Every corner of the Hotel Diderot exudes an air of history connected to the present. We’ve stayed in very old places before and often the word “old” can be applied to everything from décor to linen to carpets and even the staff; we’ve also stayed in modern hotels where there is not the tiniest whiff of anything older than last year, there are enough goatees around to fill a Whitechapel coffee bar, every piece of wood is scrubbed to within a millimetre of its life and the edgy use of colour never lets you forget how cool the place thinks it is.

Here the past and present meld into a comforting hug of a place; the wifi is very good and omnipresent while at the same time the entrance door is clearly between-the-wars elegant.

Even the pictures on the walls vary between straight old-fashioned posters and creatively coloured photos of the hotel’s local suppliers…

Anyway, on our arrival Madame came out to greet us then took us up to our room via the lovely old creaky staircase, leading us through a series of gorgeous old ante rooms – where frankly, I just wanted to stay and pretend I was Balzac.

I think this is the kind of place that my muse would enjoy…. What shall I write? Blockbuster or intellectually obscure critique of modern society à la Houllebecq? So many possibilities.

Our room was cosy, clean, functional and understated with a view of the courtyard and a pleasantly emphatic bed head !

Dinner isn’t served here, but that doesn’t matter because you can stroll to all kinds of restaurants in no time. But we HAD read that the breakfast here was excellent, so our expectations were high next morning.

And the hotel Diderot delivered. You sit down in the ancient panelled breakfast room and you are immediately given a basket of the freshest croissants, bread and toasted brioche, with steaming and delicious coffee arriving soon after. (Hooray, no blasted stupid uncivilised coffee machine where you press buttons to be given a cup of tepid dark liquid tasting of old socks.)

… and a huge choice of home-made jams, for which the hotel is famous.

What a fabulous way to start your day, and in our case with a 7 hour drive ahead of us it set us up just perfectly, simultaneously achieving the establishment of a good mood and benevolent outlook on the world, along with absolutely no need to eat again for several hours.

Thank you, Hotel Diderot, we loved your generosity of spirit, your blending of old and new, our comfortable night’s sleep and your calm welcome– I hope we return soon!