Hotel Château du Grand-Lucé

The property itself is magnificent – a private enclave of eighty acres surrounded by the original medieval wall which itself is a piece of historic art. The grounds include perfectly manicured classic French gardens, the Jardin Anglais, set at a lower elevation and receiving the most warmth from the Loire Valley sunshine, the potager gardens and orchards, filled with vegetables, fruits and herbs for the hotel’s kitchen, a lake, fields and meadows, and a historic white oak forest where statues given as a gift from King Louis XV are secreted. The main château is forty-five thousand square feet built from creamy white tuffeau (a specific and unique French limestone quarried in the village of Le Grand-Lucé). There are numerous additional buildings, fabulous bâtiments, serving the main château well. The former stables have been converted to a stunning ballroom of grand proportions, what was once a laundry house is now an enchanting spa and fitness center with garden views and a private courtyard. Other buildings maintain the same use they have had for centuries – an orangerie, filled with citrus trees during the winter months and a spectacular inspiring space open to possibilities for any event in the warmer months. There are yet-to-be restored buildings that quite possibly are the most beautiful in their unassuming faded grandeur that inspires — with both a distant memory of what was and evoking thoughts of limitless possibilities.