Chateau d Etoges Review

	by Heather Holman on Tuesday, July 03, 2007
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Nestled in the rolling hills of the champagne region of France stand an elegant castle called Chateau d'Etoges. I had the privilege of visiting the estate with my husband, last summer. We drove through the beautiful country side and after stopping to ask better directions, arrived at a small medieval village. The chateau rose gloriously from the small skyline of red-roofed buildings. As we parked the car a few large chickens ran past reminding us just how far from the big cities we really were.


The chateau is about an hour and half from our destination of Paris and forty-five minutes from Reims. The previous few days my husband and I had spent in the city of Reims touring the champagne cellars and stopped at the chateau for a two night respite before entering the bustling city of Paris.


The chateau was built in the early 1600?s by the Count of Anglure and was visited by French royalty such as King Louis XIV, King Louis XVI and Napoleon. The chateau?s grounds are impeccably maintained; featuring fountains, ponds and plenty of greenery. The most stunning feature of the twenty acre estate is the large moat that surrounds the chateau complete with two huge swans that patrol the area and fend off any would be intruders. Though if you can make it past them (my husband and I bribed them away with bread from our breakfast) a boat ride around the moat is most romantic and gives you a stunning view of the chateau. But, I am getting a head of myself back to our check-in -


As we entered, we were greeted with a friendly bonjour from the young lady at the front desk. She sent the bellmen for our luggage from the car and guided us to our suite, granting us our first peek at the dazzling interior of the chateau. The décor was simple but elegant, fitting with the traditional french way of not having to try to be fabulous.

After winding up two staircases we arrived at our room which contained a king sized half canopy and a couple pieces of antique furniture. The aristocratic decor was of traditional 17th century French design featuring asian textiles, high ceilings and oil paintings. Beautiful floor to ceiling windows blew a gentle breeze in to the room and provided a breath taking view of the grounds. If one were to look straight down from the unscreened windows, you would see just how magnificent the castle moat is.



Before our dinner reservation I freshened up from our drive and changed in to evening wear in the bathroom. It was a simple bathroom with a very deep claw-footed tub, nothing too extravagant but nice. Although it should be noted there was a handheld shower. My husband tends to be picky about his showers, but he was so pleased with the rest of the service he didn't complain.


The chateau's orangerie has been transformed in to a sophisticated restaurant with gourmet cuisine. The ambiance is subtle but romantic, and though I am no connoisseur I can safely say that the food is Tres magnifique! Certainly one of, if not the best restaurant I've ever eaten. I was very surprised to not see it listed on the Zagat Survey because usually restaurants of this quality get noticed. The staff ratio was excellent and unlike most restaurants in France, the wait staff actually exceeded my expectations. I never once felt neglected and my needs were totally anticipated. The sommelier picked us a perfect bottle of Taittinger Champagne after we listed the cellars we had toured the previous week.

Though I can?t recall the exact names of the dishes, every course was marvelous. They were very accommodating to my husband?s vegan diet, preparing each course unique especially for him. My favorites of the evening were the perfectly cooked filet with potatoes two ways and seafood stuffed zucchinis which they recreated for my husband with ginger instead of seafood. My husband was also very excited about his protein which they went about in a quiet literal translation of roasted nuts served in a small iron pot.


After dinner we had our remaining champagne put on ice and sent up to our room. We strolled the beautiful grounds in the moonlight. It was very romantic except for the cheers and shouts coming from the near by town. It was after-all the evening of the world cup France vs. Italy. France sadly lost, but with hotels of such quality as this clearly France is the over-all winner.