The best chateau hotels in the Dordogne

An insider's guide to the best chteau hotels in the Dordogne, including the best for striking forest views, romantic rooms with four-poster beds, Michelin-starred restaurants, destination spas, swimming pools, family-friendly facilities, tennis courts and golf courses.

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An insider's guide to the best château hotels in the Dordogne, including the best for striking forest views, romantic rooms with four-poster beds, Michelin-starred restaurants, destination spas, swimming pools, family-friendly facilities, tennis courts and golf courses.

This turreted fairytale chateau has an unbelievably magical setting on a cliff edge overhanging the Dordogne, surrounded by forest. It has history, it has drama, it has magnificent views of the Dordogne River. From its fairytale towers to its refined period interior and formal French gardens, the 14th-century castle is a brazen heart stealer. Several rooms have four-poster beds and striking original features: an incredible Gothic woodwork ceiling, a 14th-century spider web of exposed beams, polished Versailles parquet. A Michelin-starred restaurant and exquisite service ensure a happy ending every time. Read expert review From £ 140

The best hotels in the Dordogne

Live the French dream at this castle with smoky-blue shutters, traditional, pitched roof, and pea-green vines that have been around far longer than you or I. Lalande is bijou enough not to overwhelm and sufficiently stately to feel special, a flawless blend. Consider it the love child of Catherine and Yves Staebell who restored the chateau from a ruin. Public areas mirror a private home – no formal reception and books in the Grand Salon to make it feel reassuringly lived in. Yet features like the pool, wisteria-festooned terrace and contemporary outdoor sculptures ensure guests feel spoilt. Read expert review From £ 159

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My, what a rhapsody of Renaissance beauty and privilege this fairytale castle is! Château Le Mas de Montet is straight out of a picture book, appearing like a fictitious mirage amid a luxuriant cloak of velvet green lawn and century-old oaks, sequoias, chestnuts and linden trees. Muck about in the river, grab a bike to pedal around, trek on horseback, climb trees: hotel life here is buckets of outdoor fun. Oh, and the swimming pool (open April to October) is heated. In the 10 rooms, expect four-poster beds draped in soft Egyptian cotton, vintage fireplaces and thick floral draperies evocative of the very best of 19th-century chateau living. Read expert review From £ 133

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Gourmets, golfers and nature-lovers will be smitten by this grandiose château hotel with period and modern rooms, and sensational Michelin-starred dining courtesy of French chef Didier Casaguana. The 17th-century château cocoons guests in a magical haven of peace, serenity and old-fashioned romance. Service is more bespoke in the château, home to reception, a snooker room and three exquisitely furnished salons – one with library and wood-burning stove. Undoubtedly the big highlight is the 27-hole golf course wrapped around two lakes, plum orchard and 17th-century dovecot. Every hole has château view and the golf club has a driving range and golf school. Read expert review From £ 150

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The grande dame of château hotels, on wooded grounds a couple of miles west of Périgueux in the suburb of Chancelade. This address goes back to 1856, when a wealthy lawyer had a summer house built for the prestigious Comédie Française theatre in Paris. From the regal purple carpet in the entrance hall to the abundance of rich draperies and gold gilt-framed portraits in oil of moustached gentlemen, everything here is well tended. Go for a room in the castle; they have majestic high ceilings, opulent fabrics and the odd piece of interesting 19th-century furniture, such as the prie-dieu in the watch tower. Read expert review From £ 115

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Ever wondered what contemporary château living is really like? Go behind the scenes at Château de Mondésir, in the western Dordogne near Villefranche-de-Lonchat, and savour first-hand authentic Dordogne lifestyle in a château among vineyards. Autumn, when the black merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon grapes are being harvested, is a fascinating time to stay. The château has no cellar to visit, but Laurent Lutz delights in showing guests around and tasting wine with them. Every room feels exceedingly well lived-in. Dinner, a table d’hôte feast of homemade Périgord dishes married with wine from the estate, is a real treat. Read expert review From £ 70

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A refreshing change from the period norm; the 17th-century Château Les Merles plunges guests into an inviting world of sleek contemporary design offering savvy modern dining in a brazenly open kitchen. Sun loungers beneath black parasols surround the outdoor swimming pool, and there is a tennis court. A nine-hole golf course and driving range, open 8am to 8pm, is included in the nightly rates. Many rooms overlook the pristine pea-green lawns of the driving range and chestnut woods beyond. The restaurant, in a converted barn, is a dining address in its own right – book in advance. And for full effect end with un café on a cream sofa in front of the wood-burning stove. Read expert review From £ 124

Fabulous National Trust properties that are also hotels

Chambres d’hôte in France have just become even more sensational with these fanciful tree houses modelled on Dordogne châteaux in the sticks amid 25 acres of forest, meadow and grazing donkeys, nine miles west of Montpazier. Luxurious interiors, staggering countryside views and a soul-piercing tranquillity is what Castles in the Trees translates as. The chic, pine- and chestnut-wood houses with larch roofs are kitted out with every creature comfort imaginable. Both smaller treehouses have a hot tub on the terrace. Breakfast – organic fruit juice, jam, yoghurt, bread and warm croissants – is served from 9am, arriving in a wicker basket hooked to a pulley that guests tug up. Read expert review From £ 166
  • 9 Telegraph expert rating

    With an unbelievably magical setting, this turreted fairytale chateau is the belle of the ball. I... Read expert review From £ 140
  • 9 Telegraph expert rating

    Every stone and doorknob has history at Hôtel de Bouilhac, inside a 17th-century hôtel particulie... Read expert review
  • 9 Telegraph expert rating

    Arriving at this restored historic manor is like coming home to an ancestral family seat. The vas... Read expert review

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