Château Louise de La Vallière — Hotel in Tours

I spent 3 nights at Château Louise De La Vallière Reugny|and had high expectations for a Relais & Chateaux property, having stayed at many in the past with consistently excellent stays. We were disappointed with this property and it did not meet our expectations. While the restaurant itself is pretty and well serviced, it severely lacks flexibility for casual dining. There are no alternatives to the formal, high-end tasting menu, which made the experience frustrating. When we asked for a simple chicken dish or any off-menu option, the staff accommodated my daughter without issue. However, when my husband requested something similar, they refused. As a result, he ended up eating nothing that evening, and we left the restaurant disappointed. The rooms are lovely and you feel like you step back in time, but of course with that comes old things, damage and wear and tear. When we checked in, we noticed these things and I didn’t want to complain which was my mistake. Our bathroom floor was not clean, and there was a pill on the floor from the last occupant. The lights in room are difficult to turn off. There was extensive drapery covering all surfaces and in order for the lights to go off in the open closet/shelving area, all the drapes need to be adherent perfectly with magnets. If there is crack in the alignment of the drapes, the light stays on. So if you walk by or air drifts, the lights would go on. It was warm when we were there and the website states that there was air cooling units to max cooling of 69 Degrees. We asked to turn on the unit, and they said there were no cooling units in the rooms. After a few phone calls, finally they said that we did have a cooling unit, but the owner doesn’t like them turned on. We turned it on, but it was making a loud clanking noise which was unbearable. We called a few times and the butler came over and hit it a few times but that didn’t help. We did not sleep well while there because of these issues. Also on the website, they state that they welcome ages 14 and up. So we assumed no young kids would be at the property and when we checked in and while at dinner there was a family with a newborn and toddler. I love kids, so I wasn’t upset about it, but regardless, it isn’t what I expected. We spent one of our days lounging by the pool. Not one staff person was there for towels or any assistance. I went into the spa to look for towels, no one was there, and found some in a closet so I helped myself. I was there from noon to 3:30 pm on Saturday and never did any staff come by to check in, clean up lounges chairs, or offer any beverages or any assistance. So this is where it gets weird. We check out. The next day I got a letter stating that there was a damaged nightstand and pitcher in the room and I was being charged 350 euros to replace these items. This is completely false, these items were like this when I checked in and I noticed them upon check in, but chose not to complain or say anything which was my mistake. In all my years of extensive traveling and staying at 5 star properties, I have never been accused of anything like this before! I was so upset, it really ruined the rest of my trip. My husband called and told them that we did not break these things, they were like that and that we expected a reversal of the charges and an apology. Thankfully the next day, we did receive that. But the whole thing really upset us and put a damper on our trip and a negative impression...

We arrived to the hotel a rainy afternoon in early June 2025. We struggled with finding the right entrance but managed in the end. We learned that the hotel does not have reception staff, instead there are butlers. Likewise, we were friends of the hotel, not guests. That was fun. The staff was dressed in I think 17th century costumes. ||The hotel is newly renovated, and to a very high standard, keeping through to the period experience they clearly want to create. Checkin was done in the hotel bar with a glass of Champagne in the hands. We were given a quick round of the place and shown to our room, where our luggage had already been brought up (and our car was valet parked). ||The room was very well appointed, with all the necessities, great beds, nice shower, a totally separate toilet room, which was nice. While we had dinner there was a turn down service. On the beds they had left period nightgowns, which was a fun feature.||After the turn down service the room was a bit dark, and at night time navigating to the toilet, which was down four steps, was a bit difficult, a bit if led lighting would help immensely there.||We had dinner in the restaurant. Initially we thought the menu looked a bit boring, but actually it turned out to be really well made. We were given three canapes each to start us up, and there was a nice amuse bouche before the main course. The wine list was impressive, with rather expensive wines. We managed to find some good reasonably priced ones. The sommelier explained to us to keep the traditions of the era, i.e. 17th century, they would decant the wines. For a white Chablis that is not necessary, but we kept with tradition. The wines were then put on a table sufficiently far away that we could not reach them, and the waiters would come around and pour, but rather small amounts. This was definitely a case of form over function. The waiters could in general not keep up with the guests consumption pace, so we saw customer with empty glasses trying to get a waiters attention. We had the same problem, and it was annoying. ||If the restaurant wants to keep that style they need more waiters. But frankly, they should pour more into the glasses, leave the wine on the table, or some third. Because it also added a real loading on the waiters having to fill up their thirsty guests all the time. Time that could have been spend better. It did drive some dissatisfaction. One couple who had stayed there a few days had gotten the hang of the place insisted that the wine was left on their table within easy reach.||Most of the guests staying were American tourists, that were staying for a few days. We were there for just one night. Several nights, and we would probably had been crawling the rafters, but one night was really nice and I can only wish the hotel all the best. It is really charming, and does feel like a fun step back in time. After a short while, though, the 21st...

I have been lucky enough to visit top hotels around the world from Iceland to Aspen to Manila and beyond. This is now among the top 10 in my experience. From the moment you wait for the heavy iron gates to open, this property exudes luxury, authenticity, and top-notch service. The common areas are incredibly decorated with period-appropriate everything from shelf after shelf of ancient books in the bar to the fresh-cut flowers on every table in the dining room that are changed throughout the day. I missed in my research that the staff dress in 18th-19th century apparel. While everywhere else i have seen this seemed a bit cheesy, here i could not imagine them dressing any other way to avoid conflicting with the dedication to the period of everything else. My American friends, there are no elevators (only 2 flights) and the A/C is not what you might be used to, (works, but not strong) but these are minor matters for this truly unique step back. The rooms are spacious and remain true to the theme. They expertly hide all modern amenities in closets and the bathrooms have all mod cons. Our room had 3 oil paintings and a 10-foot velvet headrest with 18 electric candles around the room. Oh, and a fireplace. Truly special. |Instead of concierge, they have butlers on duty 24 hours a day. From calling us to check on us when we were running late for a reservation to double checking our train tickets because the departure time did not seem usual to them, the detail-orientation is world-class. |I will close with also recommending the spa treatments where we had truly expert treatments from clearly expert technicians and the restaurant where traditional dishes like frog and pigeon are expertly prepared in interesting and flavorful ways. I will say one area they might adjust is the multiple duties it appears staff have in the restaurant/bar that sometimes left guests wanting attention. But when it arrives it is truly...