Loire Valley Lodges, Loire Valley

Think of a Loire Valley hotel, and you will likely picture a centuries-old château with enfilade rooms, musty decor, and old paintings. The Loire Valley Lodges could not be further from that archetype — except for the location, right in the heart of the region.

Chateau hotels can be wonderful, but their rooms may come with drafts and antiquated plumbing, even if adapted to modern standards. In contrast, the Loire Valley Lodges was created as a collection of raised “tree houses” open to the forest canopy, with bedrooms decorated by contemporary artists.

Art in the forest

You may be familiar with the famous passage from Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, in which the author explains that “the real voyage of discovery” is about gaining “new eyes.” The popular version of that quote omits a vital point. Later in the passage, Proust pointed to great artists as people through whom we gain that new perspective. And the Valley Lodges hotel takes this wisdom to heart.

The common grounds of the hotel and the surrounding forest are studded with striking art installations. Nothing prepares the visitor for suddenly discovering a giant sculpture of a dog emerging from among the trees. One can also find an oversized skull blended with gilded butterflies by the main hotel building (formerly a farmhouse), a herd of metalwork deer, and a polar bear. And a fifteen-minute hike away, you’ll find a giant ant on the site of five dead oak trees, their trunks sticking from the center of a dark pond. All this makes the guests look at the surroundings with new eyes.

Loire Valley Lodges = Treehouses

The hotel’s eighteen lodges are raised on stilts, each with a unique style envisioned by a different artist. The decor uses pop-culture motifs, mid-century furniture, and original art pieces to create a deeply personal style.

One lodge’s minimal interior is a perfect canvas to display the ethereal photo prints of Cédric Porchez; the Lucien Suite is dedicated to Serge Gainsbourg’s music (turntable and vinyl records included). And there is a lodge featuring work from street artist JonOne, who used graffiti script on walls and furniture.

We stayed at the treehouse called Moodywood, decorated by French designer Cédric Marcillac. The curious details included a handmade lamp made from Barbie doll legs and fabrics with exotic Mexican pop-art.

Open to nature

The lodges are designed to bring the outside in. The bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows, with a single sheet of glass making the massive wall opposite the bed. It made us feels like waking up in the forest canopy.

The lodges are also purposefully designed to provide a sense of disconnection. Our phones displayed no signal, and we finally got a break from those social media notifications — and from posting our Instagram stories from the stay, which we normally always do.

in our opinion

We did not expect a tree house hotel in the heart of the chateau region of France — but the surprise is integral to the experience of Loire Valley Lodges. It's one of a kind place that blends art, nature, and the feeling of complete isolation.

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What we love

• The concept store and the whole interior of the main hotel building provide a sense of discovery, awakening curiosity from the first moments we walked in. This experience expands through the big-format art installations and sculptures planted on the site and among the trees.
• The lodge delivers on the promise of immersion in nature. It occupies a small corner of a forest that stretches on a whopping 300 hectares of land, and the feeling of disconnection from the civilization is total. The lodges are placed deep among the trees, and there is no TV, telephones, or internet. Perfect! (Each lodge does have a walkie-talkie to reach the front desk though. Free WiFi is available in the main building.)
• The concept of the "tree houses" is lovely. The raised lodges are cozy and comfortable, with a private jacuzzi on spacious terraces.
• Our favorite detail was the picnic-basket breakfast. It is delivered at 8.30 AM and left suspended from a rope, which guests must pull up using a pulley.
• The place is perfect for a couple of nights or a weekend stay, and the excellent onsite restaurant has only a small menu. This permits the Michelin-starred chef to focus on creating exquisite flavors from simple, local ingredients.
• The nature-centric nature of the hotel extends to activities and small details, such as water in glass carafes with an immersed piece of charcoal. It's a natural way of purifying water.

What you should know

• For safety reasons, the hotel can't accept families with children under 14. This rule is adhered to rigorously, and guests who ignore it when booking will be turned away (!). Also, pets aren't allowed on the property, though a "daycare" can be arranged.
• The art choices and the selection of design furniture are heavily personal — after all, they are the product of creative artists. Make sure to research and pick the room that feels like you.
• The treehouses are built four meters above ground and can be entered only by steep stairs. They are also purposely spaced apart, which creates privacy, but it places many rooms far away from the main hotel building. Bikes are available, but the hotel may not be ideal for guests with disabilities.
• There's no spa proper, but the hotel offers massages in the privacy of the guest lodges, and there is a Nordic Tub (available from October to May). The 20-meter swimming pool is also open seasonally, from April to September. The front office opens from 08 AM to 10 PM.
• The hotel can arrange a range of activities, including various "sensory immersion" walks in the forest, hot air balloon or helicopter flights, and boat trips on the Loire or canoe hire.
• The ideal way to explore the region and get to the hotel is by car, especially if you want to visit multiple châteaux (it's what we've done). The closest palaces are Villandry and Chenonceau, each less than half an hour from the Lodges. We recommend rentalcars.com if you need to rent a car.