One of the roads stops at Bagnols, a little village of houses clustered down turning lanes, a small church, market, restaurant, post office, and set apart behind stone walls, an imposing chateau. At once  medieval castle, renaissance palace, bourgeoisie manor and 21st century hotel and restaurant, it is a place where past and present blend so effortlessly, one can easily lose his sense of time.

Built beside an enclosed yard shaded by ancient oaks, the rectangular-shaped stone castle sits on a knoll looking out onto carefully tended lawns and gardens, hedges of yews surrounding a grove of cherry trees, an avenue of lime trees bordering a romantic dining terrace, and a swimming pool overlooking a panorama of vineyards that stops at the foothills of distant mountains. Within are twenty four guest rooms/suites, accessed via original and highly irregular castle steps (or, for the less hardy, an inconspicuously located elevator). Another seven rooms are located in the adjacent structure facing the yard (at one time they were stables) beside a huge banquet hall that was once a functioning winery. All are furnished with authentic 17th and 18th century antique pieces, original works of art, and luxurious fabrics. There is a vast kitchen in the castle beneath a ceiling painted with swirls, a massive dining room, an elegant library, and as one would expect of any medieval castle, a drawbridge straddling a moat that in time gone by, horse-drawn carriages would cross to enter the long narrow courtyard at the castle’s center. Today it is a less chivalric but equally impressive entrance to a splendid and singular hotel.

A splendid entrance to a singular hotel

The history of the Château from its medieval origins through the present is a reflection of the larger history of Beaujolais. It evolved from 13th century defense fortress when the region was situated at the very edge of France to palatial 16th and 17th century manor house belonging to rich merchants from a Lyon that had become the banking capital of France and silk capital of the world. Over the centuries, successive owners added embellishments: large windows cut into exterior walls (previously the only lookouts had been narrow slits in the castle’s towers designed to spot approaching attackers), expanded residential quarters, mullioned windows along the walls of the inner court, trompe-l’oeil decorations, wall paintings.

In its long life as stately mansion, the Château had two staircases, one leading to private another to ceremonial rooms, a vaulted loggia, an Italian arcade overlooking the inner court, rooms filled with extravagant furnishings and tapestries from Flanders and Rouen, and a collection of paintings reportedly the most extensive and of the highest quality of any French provincial chateau.

All guest rooms are furnished with exquisite antiques and luxurious fabrics

Such opulence fell out of favor in the wake of the French Revolution, however, and the property lapsed into obscurity. For many years, the Château was a working farm and profitable vineyard. But through the 19th and 20th centuries, rooms were divided, treasures sold or stored away. By the time of the Second World War when works of art from local museums were sequestered within its walls to keep them from the occupying Germans, the building was showing signs of neglect. More than forty years after the war’s end, it was in a ruinous state when an English couple happened upon it.

Appreciative of the Château’s past and at the same time able to envision its future, Lord Paul and Lady Helen Hamlyn purchased the property in 1987 and began an extensive and exacting restoration project that involved 400 artisans and lasted four years. Everything was renovated, yet nothing was changed. The plan was to make of the decrepit structure a hotel with all manner of modern conveniences and, at the same time, retain and restore its many historic and artistic features. Theirs was an adventure filled with surprises like the discovery of precious 16th and 17th wall paintings hidden behind non-descript wood paneling.

Lady Hamlyn’s credo of paying the greatest attention to even the smallest detail is apparent in the huge, high-ceilinged dining hall that positively gleams from a great array of silver candelabras and accessories. The white tablecloths made by the old Irish firm Lidell are embroidered with designs that echo themes from the paintings on the walls. The blue and white china made by Raynaud, one of the traditional manufacturers in Limoges, bears an apt heraldic design. Glasses made by Hartzviller in Alsace are copies of 18th century originals. Chairs are covered in silk made by Prelle of Lyon.

Creators of the Château’s exceptional cuisine

This charming server was emblematic of the dining room's enthusiastic and capable staff

The classic French menu of this one-star Michelin restaurant opens with a statement that the preparations are made with the best products obtained directly from market gardens, fish purveyors and breeders of the region. And it does not disappoint. Every course is like an act in a show expertly performed by three servers: one holds the tray, while the other two place the dish before a pair of diners at exactly the same moment. A rectangle of duck foie gras is served with chopped pistachio nuts on top and fresh figs on the side. Ravioli is filled with seasonal mushrooms. Turbot that comes with escarole and cauliflower  arrives in a pot. The lid is lifted, and a wonderful aroma of thyme and rosemary is released. Scallops are served on a heraldic spear accompanied by a frothy arrangement of watercress. Selections from an elaborate cheese board are followed by marvelous desserts: tiramisu with espresso, mango with passion sauce and ice cream, Mandarin plum tart with bananas, grapes and pears, a honeycombed cracker made of spun sugar and bound with honey. By any measure, this was a superb autumnal repast accompanied, as one might expect, by a bottle of fresh and young Beaujolais.

Perhaps it is because the Beaujolais countryside is so reminiscent of Tuscany that it came as no surprise to learn the general manager of the Château de Bagnols is a Tuscan native. After working in Parisian hotels for many years, Franco Mora decided to take on a very different kind of challenge when he moved to Bagnols in December, 2003. “Being here is like being at home,” he told us.

The Château’s general manager Franco Mora

“I knew about the place before I came here,” he added. “We would suggest it to our guests in Paris. So when Lady Hamlyn contacted me, I was interested in coming down. “I discovered the Château’s guests are mainly people from the States, England, Belgium but not local people. So I decided to have a cocktail party for about 300 local people, an open house. That was a real Italian touch – the hospitality.

Château de Bagnols
Managed and marketed by Rocco Forte Hotels
69620 Bagnols, France

Phone: +33 4 74 71 40 00
Email: info@bangols

Photos by Harvey Frommer