For 200 years or so, Le Bon Laboureur at Chenonceaux has been a close neighbour of the Château de Chenonceaux, so its proprietors, the Jeudi family, know a thing or two about receiving visitors. The first priority, of course, is to have somewhere to put them. So, as the popularity of this 18thC coaching inn increased (the châteaux of Amboise, Chambord and Chaumont are all close by), it has absorbed several other buildings, expanding sideways and even across to the other side of the road. A swimming pool in the pleasant garden and a tree-shaded terrace for outside dining have increased its appeal, and two sitting rooms and a capacious bar offer plenty of uncrowded space indoors. A pair of dining rooms, one an elegant period room and the other a more relaxed area, gives you a chance to ring the changes and, if travelling with children, to lengthen their leashes a little.

It would be difficult to shorten the supply chain for many of the vegetables used in the hotel's competent kitchen: their own kitchen garden is right next door. Several of the generally light, attractive bedrooms are well set up as family rooms, with those in 'The Manor? furthest from the general bustle of the hotel. An amiable spot.