Hotel near Reims fit for a king (make that a président!)

And, as you revel in each and every one of its 4 stars, you’ll find that this glorious chateau hotel near Reims is just about everything you could want a romantic weekend break in Northern France to be. For one thing, a heavenly sense of isolation builds on an approach so very long, and in such wraparound rural splendour, that you could be forgiven for thinking that the hotel had been plonked in the middle of its own enchanting island, like a microcosm of all things chic and gallic in the (blissful) middle of nowhere. Wrought iron gates, a reassuring crunch of gravel underfoot, white stone facade, and gleaming windows reflecting perfectly-sculpted box hedges and fountains in the courtyard – how’s that for a heightened sense of anticipation?

Nicely juxtaposed with this traditional looking exterior, double rooms on your French chateau holiday have individual styles and contemporary décors, from subtle metallics to vibrant colour blocks and statement artwork. For total comfort, each also has a lounge area and a lovely bathroom too ‒ with Domaine-de-Barive emblazoned towels, luxury branded toiletries, and ‒ oooh ‒ spa slippers.

So let mind, body and slippers wander to the hotel’s luxury indoor heated pool, sauna and hot-tub ‒ plus if you’ve decided to go for it by treating yourselves, a massage for two (isn’t it amazing how energising doing very little on a romantic weekend break can be?). Get all active too, working up an appetite at the tennis courts or working out in the gym. And so to dinner at the chateau restaurant, but just how do we go about describing it when dishes look so much like carefully curated art forms? Let’s just let ‘langoustines with avocado and grapefruit’, or ‘roasted Saint Pierre fish fillet with artichokes and truffles’ do the talking, shall we…?

After breakfast on your French chateau holiday ‒ where the jam, just for the record, is ‘Marie Maryns’ jam, the same high-end stuff served up at the Elysée Palace (that’s Monsieur le Président’s residence, just so you know) ‒ heading out and about can be as simple as borrowing Domaine-de-Barive’s bikes or heading off on the Northern France Champagne trail: the famous fizz of Reims is only a 40-minute drive away. There’s the medieval city of Laon too, closer still, with historic tunnels, cobbled ramparts, famous chocs and a magnificent cathedral perched on the hillside. That said, there’s no law around here to say you have to explore, is there? It might be a struggle, that’s all, after a lie-in, another dip, that hearty French breakfast... Romantic weekend break… it’s a wrap.