Moulin du Ru — Hotel in Meaux

This is an amazing and very enjoyable experience particularly if you are used to more conventional British B&B places. If we had been told what to expect we may not have booked in, such is our view of communal dining and we would have missed out on a very memorable stay. I hope we don't deter anyone with our comments and would encourage everyone to stay here - it is fantastic. We were met on arrival by Christoph who was washing a pathway and was very excited to see us arrive in our 1961 Morris Minor Convertible. In jibberish and Franglais we exchanged information about the car, the journey,the intended journey and his very beautifully restored old house. A bell on a rope summoned Isobel who was not expecting us for another couple of hours due in part to a misunderstanding about the time we wanted to eat and time we expected to arrive!||||We went for a look around the area whilst our room was prepared and returned to an old friend type welcome. The house is around 17th Century and Cristoph, now retired from building, has restored it all himself over the past 12 years. He has retained all of the original character and features with modern up grades to the bathrooms and added some really quirky artefacts . We were offered drinks in the garden and Isobel made it clear that we could have the complete run of the house. The couple have two sons who both live and work in Paris but Roman comes home at the week end to see his girlfriend who lives locally.||||He spoke better English than we did French and helped this made conversation easier. ||Dinner was later that expected (booked) but that is part of the charm. We all ate together at the big central table and were plied with generous portions of food and copious quantities of really good wine. Lovely informal atmosphere and Christoph kept bobbing up and down to check the tennis score on the TV. ||Cherry pie followed the course of delicious local cheeses (close to Brie) and then we retired to our huge, gorgeous room with large French window overlooking the orchard garden.|| A generous breakfast greeted us next morning. Before leaving, we spent a bit of time looking around the house and the many interesting articles and scenes depicted in numerous ways before loading up the car. Isobel packed up the remaining cherry cake and a croissant left over from breakfast so that we could have a snack on the next leg of our journey to the South Coast .||||We loved our stay with Isobel, Christoph and Roman and will make sure that we stay over with them again. We were the only guests this time but we understand that lots of interesting people stay there from all over the world. Even if the idea of sharing meals and conversation with people you have not met before does not appeal to you, this is well worth a try. With such great hosts it will only ever be entertaining, interesting and informative. It was for us, be the most memorable of the 10 places we will stay at on our 1561 mile journey.||||Another Dog and...

My wife and I stayed in Moulin du Ru on a short break, which is situated about 3km north of Coulommiers. This chambre d’hotes was truly exceptional, in a wondefully restored water mill. It is located in the middle of the country, in large grounds, far from any noise, and has been quite beautifully restored. The downstairs bedroom for instance used to be the stables, and has the racks for animal feed to match. The rooms were well equipped and modern, with good quality bedding, as well as good bathroom fittings. Breakfast was typically French, with freshly made coffee, and bread and croissants, bought in that morning. We took the dinner (note no choice in a chambre d'hotes - you eat what is cooked), and Isabelle showed herself to be a splendid cook. Meals were 4 courses, starter, main course, local cheeses (fantastic Brie’s), and deserts. Everything was homemade or local, and extraordinary value at just 25€ including aperitif and wine. We joined our hosts (Isabelle and Christophe) for dinner, and were made to feel so welcome, we felt to be part of the family.||The Moulin du Ru is an easy 25 minutes drive to EuroDisney, but is also in a wonderful location for exploring the beautiful Brie countryside. The mill is perfect for children, with plenty of outside areas to play in. Although Isabelle and Christophe are not fluent in English, they have enough to make most people...

I went to Moulin du Ru for a 5 day countryside getaway with my partner. I chose the place because of the good reviews and their website. ||From we arrived till we left we were treated exceptionally well, and the charm of the place itself is amazing! Its a 400 year old mill restored by the lovely couple isabelle and Christophe who also run the place with great hospitality. It has a feel of french countryside romantique and the living room and dining room are full of curious antiquities, and both inside and outside are full of charming sculptures made as part of the restoration. ||We didn't have a car which was a bit silly, but Isabelle was very kind to pick us up from the train station and also driving us around many times through out our stay. We also borrowed some bicycles from them and had a good days ride around the beautiful Morin Valley.||The breakfast is very nice, with frash bread, fruit and home made jams. I would also highly recommend to have dinner with them, Isabelle serves lovely french home cooking with their own and local ingredients, and lots of it too!||Everything about the place has a relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere. All in all a great place, and we would highly...