Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa
Oak and taupe
VS to XO
Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa is a converted cognac distillery on the banks of the River Charente, with butter-soft interiors in an oak-beamed mansion and a fine-dining restaurant in the barrel-lined cellar. There’s an ultra-modern edge too, though – architect Didier Poignant’s striking glass pavilion sits above the pool and spa, and there’s a rooftop garden beneath a lattice of iron girders. The old cooperage has been transformed into a cocktail-shaking jazz bar, and there’s a brunch-serving bistro in a former warehouse refitted by local carpenters.
Facilities
Rooms
92, including 10 suites and (in a separate buildling) four apartments.
Checkout
Noon, and check-in is 3pm, but both are flexible, subject to availability. For apartments, 11am and check-in is 4pm.
More Details
Rates don’t include breakfast, but for €35 you can have your way with the breakfast buffet of sausages, bacon, omelettes-to-order, and a spread of cereals, fruit, yoghurt and freshly baked pastries.
Also
There are four rooms designed for wheelchair users, and all buildings at the hotel are accessible.
Fitness Center
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pet Friendly
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Gym, free WiFi, kids' club. In rooms: TV, Nespresso machine, minibar, air-conditioning, free bottled water, tea-making facilities, Fragonard bath products.
Our Favourite Rooms
A terrace is handy for room service in the sun, and request a room with original oak beams for an extra dose of ooh lah lah. The sumptuous Junior Suites have a living space furnished with a plush sofa and fauteuil armchairs.
Poolside
The heated pool (open from 7am to 9pm) is long enough for lengths and has a bubbling Jacuzzi at one end. On sunny days, swim out to the open-air section.
Spa
The impeccable spa (open from 9am to 8pm) and beauty salon offer a full suite of treatments, including massages and body scrubs using Codage and Kos products. There’s a fitness room, hammam and sauna, too.
Packing Tips
A journal, for taking tasting notes on the many cognacs you’ll sample – not that we’re necessarily saying you won’t remember…
Also
For longer stays, the hotel has four apartments, each fitted with a kitchen and dining room (but no room service). For apartment stays of seven days or more, housekeeping is included.
Children
All ages welcome. Extra beds and cots can be added to all suites.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Snag a table outside at La Distillerie, and enjoy a typically lengthy French lunch in the sun.
Dress Code
Dress down for La Distillerie, and up for Les Foudres.
Hotel Restaurant
Chef Marc-Antoine Lepage oversees two tantalising restaurants: La Distillerie – a buzzy, lantern-lit brasserie – and fine dining options Les Foudres, open just for dinner, where gourmet creations are served up in an intimate underground chamber lined with time-worn cognac barrels. Lepage sources farm-fresh produce from across southern France – expect creamy Poitou goats cheese, legendary Echiré butter, and fines de claire oysters from the Atlantic coast. On Saturdays, book in for the table d’hôtel, a seasonal set menu devised by the chef each week. If you’ve any appetite between meals, pop into Angélique Café for just-baked cakes and pastries from the talented pastry chef, alongside Le Parti du Thé tea and a bespoke blend of Merling coffee.
Hotel Bar
Live jazz takes centre stage under the vaulted ceiling at Le 1838, which is housed in the maison’s old cooperage (and open every evening from September to April from 5pm to 1pm). The cognac connoisseur can pick from several hundred local varieties behind the bar, or mix it up (literally) in a cocktail – go for The Road Jack if you like the sound of Cognac VS, white Pineau des Charentes, lemon thyme syrup, floral honey and a dash of sparkling water. And up at Rooftop Guinguet (named for the outdoor dance halls that fluorished in France in the Roaring Twenties), watch the sun set over the Cognac landscape, expertly mixed cocktail in hand.
Last Orders
La Distillerie is open daily for breakfast (6.30am to 10am), lunch (12pm to 2pm) and dinner (7pm to 10pm). Les Foudres serves dinner from 7pm to 9.30pm from Wednesday to Sunday. Angélique Café is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
Room Service
La Distillerie's menu is available as room service during restaurant hours seven days a week (excluding apartment stays); on Fridays and Saturdays, dinner from Les Foudres can be served in your room for a gastronomic feast with extra privacy.
Planes
Fly into Bordeaux airport (British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair have routes from nine cities in the UK), then head inland by car to Cognac. The 130km journey takes around two hours; a private hotel transfer can be arranged for €280 each way. You can also fly into La Rochelle-Ile de Ré Airport (there are routes from six cities in the UK), then head inland by car to Cognac; the 110km journey takes around 90 minutes.
Trains
You can take high-speed TGV trains to Angoulême from Bordeaux (35 minutes), Paris (two hours) and Strasbourg (six hours). Angoulême station is 45 minutes from the hotel by car; a hotel transfer is €95 each way. There are also trains connecting Angoulême Station to Cognac Station, which is five minutes from the hotel by car.
Automobiles
There’s a ready-made road trip from Bordeaux, taking in the wine regions, rolling countryside and Cognac – just make sure you’re not the only designated driver. At the hotel, pull up at reception and leave your wheels with the valet.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Go for a morning dip in the indoor-outdoor pool, cleanse your pores in the sauna and steam room, or work off last night’s brandy extravaganza in the gym. Pick a prettifying Codage or Kos treatment at the spa, or plump for the signature ‘Aroma of Chai’ massage and facial. Between lunch at La Distillerie and dinner at Les Foudres, take afternoon tea courtesy of the pastry chef at Angélique Café. Later, there’ll be live jazz and cocktails at Le 1838.
Cognac is not just about cognac, you know. Pineau des Charentes is the local fortified wine – try it as an apéritif, or stop at one of the many small-scale producers to find out how it’s made. Swap grape for grain at Brasserie des Gabariers (39 Rue de Bellefonds), a microbrewery specialising in hop-heavy pale ales and craft lagers. The Charente river is best experienced by boat – book a tour through the hotel concierge, and cruise through the picture-perfect valley, stopping at sleepy mediaeval villages and fairytale châteaux along the way. If you go as far as Angoulême, you’ll find the self-proclaimed ‘Comic strip capital of the world’ – check out the Comic Strip Museum for the full story (board). And for water sports lovers, you can canoe or paddle board to your heart's content on the Charente river, just ten minutes' walk from the hotel.
When in Cognac…you’re practically obliged to tour the cognac houses. Start with Hennessy (Rue de la Richonne, 16100), and compare it to Martell and Rémy Martin.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
