There are really only good things to say about Chateau de Guignes and its hosts Jean-Marie and Jocelyn Bouhier. I always take great pleasure in writing a review for a property I thoroughly enjoyed and can recommend to the highest degree.
This B&B is situated in Tavers which is a small village just south of Beaugency along the Loire River about 30 minutes drive north of Blois. It is a wonderfully central location from which to explore and tour the Chateaux of the upper Loire Valley.
The chateau (large manor house) is beautifully set on a large walled estate consisting of lovely gardens, forest, fountains and a bordering steam. The rooms (we stayed in the Napoleon suite) are large and extremely tastefully and expertly renovated to the highest standards. Our suite consisted of a very large bedroom, a good-sized sitting room and fantastic bathroom The bathroom was unbelievably beautiful and luxurious with a large freestanding bathtub and separate large shower enclosure as well as "his and her" sinks.
Our bed was one of the most comfortable we have experienced in a hotel and the solitude and quiet unbelievable. It was so unbelievably quiet that the hooting owls could be considered the loudest sound to be heard at night.
The owners are very forthcoming and helpful as well as wonderfully gracious hosts.
Our breakfasts were served in a nice dining room and consisted of fresh bread, croissants, delicious home-baked goods as well as home-made jams and conserves, cheese and yogurt, which the owners serve with great price. These are accompanied by coffee / tea or hot chocolate and orange juice.
As we did not have a mobile "cell" phone, Jean-Marie was kind enough to help facilitate and arrange our special event of flying over a Loire Valley chateau and countryside in a hot air balloon with Aérocom Montgolfières . We could not have arranged this so well without his involvement and assistance.
I can highly recommend staying here. I might add that due to the wonderfully remote and quiet location, it would be necessary to have your own means of transportation. The sound-proofing between the rooms is excellent, thus ensuring a wonderfully peaceful and private stay and sleeping experience.
We took advantage of an excellently delicious "in house" dinner prepared by our hosts which consisted of 3-4 courses (appetizer, main, cheese and dessert) and included 3 tasty local wines and cost 29 Euro p/p. Very good value for the money. What we also appreciated was that we enjoyed our meal together with Jean-Marie and Jocelyn and had the opportunity to get to know them a little better.
I might also add our thanks and appreciation to Jean Marie for finding an item we had accidentally thrown into the garbage. He took it upon himself to search and successfully find it for us.
We were sorry when our one week was over and would love to stay there if we were ever to be touring that part of France again.