Fontevraud Abbey is certainly not your average hotel. It’s by the far the most unique place I’ve ever visited and I hope to one day return. Boy was it a treat! Scroll through the pictures below to see more of this amazing place.
I’ve always been fascinated by old buildings, especially cathedrals, churches, castles and abbeys (etc). So when I read about Fontevraud, I just had to make it my mission to visit. I think I shrieked out loud when we were invited to spend the night.
We stayed overnight in December en-route from Portugal to England and it was the perfect stop-over point (about mid-way between Bordeaux and Caen, where we picked up the ferry).
With the abbey being completely enclosed, once you’re inside, you do feel completely closed off from the rest of the world and that’s just one of the many things I LOVED about this place. And believe me, there are some amazing things to love about it. It’s unique, quirky and full of history and yet the hotel itself is done out in the most amazing, simple contemporary style – making it one of those places you must visit at least once in your life. Not only that, but the grounds of the abbey remain open to guests of the hotel 24 hours a day. Yes, that means if you fancy wandering around the abbey itself at 3am, you can do just that. And it’s very likely you won’t bump into anyone during your walk – unless you count the ghosts of course 😉
(Don’t worry, I am joking – well, we didn’t encounter any, not that we noticed!)
We were fortunate enough to be given a full guided tour of the Fontevraud Royal Abbey as as well as the entire grounds just as the sun was going down so we ended up walking around at dusk which was a beautiful time of day to do so. However, after we’d been wined and dined, we decided to have a walk around the grounds after 10pm – just the two of us. Boy was it spooky! And wonderfully inspiring for an author like myself who often writes about urban fantasy. I could barely contain myself. However, I declined to wander back down into the pitch black cellars at that time of night though (it had been super creepy even in daylight). I was already on edge, just a little bit, because my imagination was going into overdrive. You can see I’m a little freaked out by this video I tried to do below…
The entire experience was freaking incredible. There’s just no other way of describing it. I absolutely loved it. LOVED it! (Can you tell?) Seriously, if you’re ever in France, you need to visit this place. It’s astonishing to have the chance of staying overnight somewhere like that – AND to be given an all access pass to such an important site. WOW, that’s all I can say. My photos do not do this place justice. You’ve got to see it to believe it.
“We did not ‘simply’ want to open a hotel and restaurant here. Infinitely more substantial, our scope was much larger. Embracing the essence of the place, the project is in part about looking for meaning, in part about creating emotions. An ambitious aim, certainly, almost a dream! A vision commensurate with the entrancing beauty of this abbey and its 1000 years of history.” David Martin, Managing director
Here’s a little bit of back-story about the Fontevraud Abbey itself:
‘Founded in 1101 by Robert d’Abrissel, an itinerant preacher, reformer and defender of the poor, the Abbey was from its very beginning conceived of as ‘unusual’. It was different from other religious communities because it was run by a series of Abbesses (36 in total) and because it welcomed into the same monastery both men and women, from all walks of life….
… At the end of the 18th century, the French revolution destroyed and plundered the religious establishment. The Fontevraud order, one of the most powerful, and highly centralised, collapsed when the religious community left the Abbey. In 1804, Napoleon transformed the site into a prison…
… The prison was closed in 1963, with the last prisoners finally leaving the site in 1985. Fontevraud then became an enormous restoration project and was developed into a tourist destination.’
A mention should also go to the frequent art exhibits that are held within the grounds, as well as special musical and cultural events throughout the year. It’s certainly a great excuse to return.
As for my visit, I shall never forget it. The architecture, the history, the surroundings, even the staff, oh and I must give special mention to the food. We had a very special meal in the restaurant. We decided to splash out because we’d been told it was rather special – and boy was it special. Wine, numerous exquisite courses and more wine later, we stumbled out (ok, so Michael doesn’t drink, so I was the only one doing the stumbling) of the gorgeous restaurant out into the grounds of the Fontevraud Abbey, after having spoken to the head waiter about the chef’s hopes of obtaining a Michelin Star. In our opinion, it was certainly worthy of numerous Michelin stars. It truly was exquisite wining and dining in such a fine location. I should also mention the breakfast the following morning, which was laid out within the same restaurant (surrounding the cloisters, I might add) and was simply divine (Nespresso coffee always goes down well in my book!).
Like I said before, absolutely memorable in so many ways.
Staying at the Fontevraud Abbey is one of those experiences that is difficult to really describe in order to do it justice. Magical, memorable, amazing, ethereal, even. This (very) clearly tops my list of the best ever hotels.
Check out some of the Fontevraud’s own videos to get an even better view…
