Just recently we had occasion to stay overnight in a lovely
chambre d'hôtes at Fondettes. The
Closerie de la Bruzette is run by a local family, who have lived in the house for several generations. Charmingly, they have furnished the rooms with pieces that were handed down from the current owner's great-grandmother. It is in the fashionable style of her day, known as Henri II (which is 19th century, but in a renaissance revival style). This type of furniture tends to be huge, and quite robustly decorated with ornate carving and elaborate cornices. I think it is often made from chestnut, and is generally way too big to fit in a modern room with any degree of comfort or elegance.
Bedroom.
The furniture at Closerie de la Bruzette was quite the nicest examples of this style that I have seen and I liked the way the owner had sensitively modified some of it to fit modern bathrooms. He had also had a staircase built of reclaimed timber, and had bought a few modern pieces of art from a local wood sculptor which made a nice link between past and present.
Bathroom.
The family are friendly and all speak some English. They very kindly offered a garage for Célestine, and discreetly warned us that the other group staying there all talked very loudly, so they hoped we would not be disturbed. A shared kitchen / dining room, equipped with fridge, sink and hotplate, is made available to the guests so you don't have to go out to dinner if you don't wish to. Likewise, one of the enormous sideboards is full of cutlery and crockery for the guests' use.
Communal dining room.
The place is in a very quiet area, with plenty of private parking and a large garden to enjoy. The only warning I would issue is to make sure you have a very good map or GPS, as the back blocks of Fondettes is not the easiest area to negotiate if you are unfamiliar with it. It does make a very good base to explore Tours and the area to the west of that city once you get your bearings though.
Closerie de la Bruzette.
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Botany Club Outing: There is an outing to look at Red Helleborine
orchids at Panzoult on Sunday 16 June. Meet at 2.30 pm in the car park
in front of the Mairie at L'Ile Bouchard (to the right, between the two
bridges).
3 comments:
What a charming place. We would not have been disappointed had we booked to stay there - we never stayed in a chambre d'hôtes, only in a tent, hotel room or gite.
Henri II is usually made of solid oak with the more expensive pieces made of walnut.
Has the "lit bateau" in the bathroom been turned into a bench? It looks like it's tiled which is interesting.
For Jean, we used to stay in hotels until we discovered our first "chambre d'hôte de charme" and were instantly converted. There are some really lovely places and they are always cheaper than the equivalent accommodation in a hotel.
Fraussie: I thought of you when we stayed here -- you would have been able to tell me much more about them as I know you collect this style of furniture and have some nice pieces yourself. I guess they are probably oak then, but I didn't notice the grain. The piece that has been used for the washstand might be walnut as it is darker. The lit bateau has indeed been tiled and turned into a bench. I thought it was a very practical and sympathetically done reuse.
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