Nestled in the green rolling French countryside, you’ll find Domaine des Etangs – a luxury hotel in a perfectly restored 11th-century château. With 2,500 acres of land and seven lakes, you can easily while away your afternoons in nature. And the setting couldn’t be more romantic, complete with picturesque turrets, sweeping gardens and castle interiors straight from a fairytale. Bicycles are on hand, you can explore on horseback, or just spend your days around one of the two large heated swimming pools (indoor and outdoor). The castle is home to a Michelin starred restaurant, offering fabulous wines and great service, along with their menu supplied with locally sourced ingredients and a large amount of produce coming straight from their organic farm garden. Breakfast is also sure to set you up for each day, with hot dishes freshly cooked and served in the wood-panelled setting of the castle. Each accommodation option is unique, including seven rooms and suites housed in the château itself (some even nestled in the turrets), four suites in the Longère restored outbuildings, and six further farmhouse cottages dotted around the grounds. From romantic suites for two, to multi-bedroom cottages with plenty of private space for a family, each room is tastefully decorated and celebrates the stone-built historical structures.A relaxing stay isn’t complete without making full use of the spa, and the Moulin des Etangs spa draws from its surroundings. Nut oil is produced from the mill’s heritage equipment, plants and ingredients used from the garden and surrounding landscape, ground wheat is used in their body scrubs, and Charentes salt in the footbaths. Choose to stay here in the summer for days exploring the grounds, rowing across lakes, enjoying the pool and relaxing in the warm glow of the evening light. Or visit in winter for hearty fires in the stone castle, rejuvenation in the spa and of course a wine glass in hand at the end of the day.
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