Le Beaugency

Our tour of the main wine-producing areas of the Loire Valley continued with Stage 2: Ouistreham to Beaugency (Day 1 in France). We were now based in Beaugency. After lunching very well at a local restaurant, we took-in some views with an extended walk around the town. Eventually it was time to move our car from the (fortunately) free public carpark, to our hotel’s private carpark (latter not opened until 15:30). We were pulled-in in front of the full height wooden door-gates to the hotel carpark precisely at 15:30. I went to reception and confirmed our arrival, and the gates were promptly manually opened from inside by the hotelier. The hotel reception was clean and uncluttered; I noticed the smart dining-room was off to the left as we entered. We were pleasantly and efficiently checked in. We then followed the hotelier through to the back of the ground-floor, and out into a walled garden. Our room was one of about seven ivy-covered ground-floor rooms all opening out onto this garden. There were also further ivy-covered rooms above on the first-floor (obviously without direct access to the garden). The garden was a wonderful private space for residents to enjoy. A few deckchairs were on the lawn amongst the pot plants, flower beds and a small water fountain. A child’s swing was in the top left corner. In the garden, in front of the doorway to/from the main hotel building, there was a reasonably-sized tiled patio with about a dozen tables, all with comfortable chairs. Being a sunny and warm day, we made an instant decision to order some wine, and sit awhile to relax after our long drive, and our substantial walks around Beaugency. So, I went to the reception area and hit the service bell. I ordered two glasses of dry white wine (it tuned out to be a very pleasant Touraine from the ‘Vallée des Rois’ winery). The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc with good tree-fruit notes (particularly apple) and citrus on the front of the tongue. Not able study the bottle I assumed the wine was a 100% Sauvignon Blanc, but I later noted that there is also a Chardonnay cuvée produced by this winery. We both had another glass before returning to our room (no. 5) to rest-up and prepare for our evening-out. Our one-night stay here was very enjoyable; the room and bed were satisfactorily comfortable, and the sleep quality was excellent. The shower was good and the towels and linen were clean and smelled fresh. The rather stupid large flat bottomed bathroom sink however had to be substantially filled in which to wash your face (form over function!) The TV would not switch-on, but it was certain to be in French anyway, so we didn’t bother the hotelier. We did breakfast here, overlooking the garden; this (for us) was a simple artisan baton with ham and (rather taste-free) cheese, plus hot drinks. We were treated to a hot-air balloon flypast as we took our luggage to our car. The secure parking area here is long and narrow with a turning area at the top. We gathered that the supervision of parking is a source of concern for the hotelier. We felt obliged to promptly move our car which was already packed and loaded; thus we were soon on our way after our quick breakfast, and I suspect that was a relief to all (parking-wise). Service was prompt and obliging; we would certainly stay here again in any future visits to Beaugency.