Hôtel Rive Sud

I'm surprised by the high overall rating of this place. While the hotel is modern and well-designed, the rooms are quite small and offer little to no privacy. If you’re traveling with someone, make sure you’re comfortable with them, as the layout lacks intimacy. Additionally, noise is an issue—you can hear your neighbors easily, even when they’re chatting outside your room late at night. The internet connection was poor throughout the hotel—slow and constantly disconnecting—and the TV wasn’t working. Check-in is only available after 16:30, so if you arrive earlier, you'll need to carry your luggage around. If you fancy a glass of wine, be aware that service stops at 20:00 when the reception closes. We ordered one and charged it to our room, yet the next morning at breakfast, the receptionist was already asking us to settle the €7 bill, which felt a bit excessive. Breakfast was good, but the space was small and overcrowded, making it a bit overwhelming. Overall, this place is fine for a one-night stay, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a longer visit.

Charming hotel on the south side of the Vienne river, tucked away in the old quarter so reasonably quiet. No onsite parking (pick up/drop off only) put plenty within a short walk. Rooms finished to a high standard, comfortable bed and a good shower! A very nice restaurant/ bar area for breakfast and/ or an evening drink (no other meal service) Buffet breakfast is an extra charge and only continental, but a good variety of home made and local items. Croissants were disappointing, however, as appeared baked from frozen and therefore not cooked in the middle :( Staff very friendly and helpful. Check in only possible from 16.30 (doors are locked until then) so if you arrive early it's best to head across the river to the centre of town or up to the castle to explore, or just chill out in one of the many local hostelries and savour the local grape juice!

Our tour of the main wine-producing areas of the Loire Valley continued with Stage 5: Amboise to Chinon (Day 6 in France). We were now based in Chinon. We had arrived in Chinon just before mid-afternoon and we felt very fortunate to be able to park up in the street (with no parking restrictions) whilst we were out in the town. We had been sampling wine, whilst we walked extensively in the town, so moving our car into the hotel carpark was a definite no-no. We had stayed before in 2017 on our ‘Grand Tour of France’, and liked the hotel then. Now, under new ownership, we liked it a whole lot more. The restaurant area has been extended into a multi-purpose area where breakfast can be enjoyed looking our onto the cleverly designed garden that used picture-window sized mirrors. The building next to the property has been converted into additional rooms, including a top floor luxury honeymoon style suite. We couldn’t recall much of the bar and dining room area from our last visit, but it looks very smart and shouts quality. We stayed in a first floor room last time and recall how good it was then. This time we stayed in a ground floor room that looked out over the garden. Yes, there is still things to do, but what has been done is really good. After unpacking a freshening up we took drinks in the new multi-purpose garden-facing room. The wine (a Jean-Maurice Raffault 2022 Chinon Blanc) was excellent: very light and dry with melon and green apple on the nose, good minerality on the palate with a slightly short finish. Our room was excellent and sleep quality was perfect as it was far quieter here on the south side of the river. The good shower was most welcome in the morning. We took breakfast which was buffet style and very good. Mine host was very helpful, engaging and spoke good English. We would stay here again, sans doute.