Though they claim time travel is impossible, I recently experienced what seemed like it, journeying back to 18th-century France and living as a nobleman for a few days in a massive chateau. This 258-year-old Loire Valley estate fulfills all fantasies of luxurious, regal living with its plush surroundings and grandeur.
Welcome to Hotel Chateau du Grand-Luce.
This stunning neoclassical sanctuary, a miniature Versailles Palace set in 80 acres, takes its name from the village it resides in, just south of Le Mans: Le Grand-Luce.
Ted Thornhill checks into the Hotel Chateau du Grand-Luce in the Loire Valley, nestled in 80 acres of magnificent scenery.
The chateau was constructed in 1764 by Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay III, a trusted confidant of King Louis XV.
The curved outer medieval front wall seamlessly extends into the quintessentially French village of Le Grand-Luce. Inside, attentive staff offer welcome glasses of Champagne. But before we can grasp the stemware, we’re awestruck by the sheer magnificence of our home for the next two nights.
The property, which transitioned into a hotel in 2019 and boasts 17 guest rooms, is managed by San Diego-based Pilot Hotels. Their meticulous renovation of the property to hotel standards is so carefully executed that it’s almost impossible at times to discern whether you’re in a hotel at all, or even which century you’re in.
I half expect Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay to come waltzing through to join us for some bubbles.
There’s no reception desk or corporate hotel signage. It’s a world of dramatically high ceilings, grand fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, limestone, and French white-oak floors, adorned with incredible artwork.
One ground-floor room, the ‘Salon Chinois,’ part of the Baron’s Suite and accessible to the public when not booked, features a wall covered in a vast mural depicting a fanciful life in Asia in the chinoiserie style by artist Jean-Baptiste Pillement. There’s only one other place in the world where you’ll find a painted wall by this artist—the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s private garden palace at Versailles.
The hotel’s ‘Salon Chinois’ boasts a wall covered in a massive mural depicting a fanciful life in Asia in the chinoiserie style by artist Jean-Baptiste Pillement. There’s only one other place in the world where you’ll find a painted wall by this artist—the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s private garden palace at Versailles. And ‘sits in’ is no exaggeration—the curved outer medieval front wall extends forthrightly into the quintessentially French village.
Built in 1764 by Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay III, a trusted confidant of King Louis XV, the chateau replaced the fortified medieval castle on the family lands in Le Grand-Luce. Architect and engineer Mathieu Bayeux, renowned for designing the stunning Pont Wilson bridge in Tours, was commissioned to create something special.
Sadly, the baron never got to see the finished building; he passed away of a heart attack at the gate on his first visit. Nevertheless, Bayeux delivered in spades. Even in the chateau-laden Loire, it’s a standout property.
Upon the baron’s death, Chateau du Grand-Luce passed to his daughter, Louise Pineau de Viennay. Mademoiselle Pineau de Viennay was an aristocratic supporter of the arts and hosted erudite philosophers and artists during the Age of Enlightenment, including Voltaire, Rousseau, and Mozart, no less.
Arriving at the historic chateau is a thrill, the car wheels crunching along the gravel driveway to the stone steps that lead up into the entrance hall.
The first room that arriving guests step into is the entrance hall. It’s here that Ted and his partner are offered welcome glasses of fizz. A reception desk is conspicuously absent.
The property, boasting 17 guest rooms, transitioned into a hotel in 2019. Managed by San Diego-based Pilot Hotels, the property underwent renovations with such careful and sensitive attention that, as Ted writes, “it’s almost impossible at times to tell whether you’re in a hotel at all.”
Many of the rooms offer spectacular views overlooking the hotel’s magnificent gardens. Ted’s bathroom isn’t pictured here.
Pictured here is Ted’s room—a corner suite with a village view. He describes it as a ‘mini palace in its own right,’ adding, ‘The entrance is formed of a “petit salon” containing a beautiful blue sofa and writing desk; there’s a marble-clad ensuite with a rain shower, clawfoot bathtub, and luxury taps, and shower units by Lefroy Brooks; and a vast main bedroom with two queen-sized beds, flamboyant jewel-toned archival wallpaper, and two antique wardrobes.’
Mathieu Bayeux, the architect behind the chateau’s design, also designed the stunning Pont Wilson bridge in Tours. Pictured here is the main stairway leading from the entrance hall to the rooms above.
The hotel is regularly approached by film crews eager to use it as a location, but the answer is always no. “Because the property is filled with furniture and artwork that in the event of being damaged, is irreplaceable,” reveals the property’s chatty and amiable director, Ludovic Poirier.
Our bedroom, a corner suite with a village view, is a mini palace in its own right. The entrance is formed of a ‘petit salon’ containing a beautiful blue sofa and writing desk; there’s a marble-clad ensuite with a rain shower, clawfoot bathtub, and luxury taps, and shower units by Lefroy Brooks; and a vast main bedroom with two queen-sized beds, flamboyant jewel-toned archival wallpaper, and two antique wardrobes.