Château De Fère Hôtel & Spa

My husband and I spent an enjoyable two nights in November at Château de Fère Hôtel & Spa. The hotel is lovely and beautifully decorated. The staff is exceptionally welcoming: friendly, thoughtful, and quick-to-respond. The front desk staff happily called around to find and book a champagne tasting for us, recommended restaurants, quickly resolved minor problems in our room. Service in the excellent dining room was also very attentive, but never aloof. We were greeted warmly on arrival and upgraded as Hyatt members, something not required by our status at this partner hotel, but much appreciated. The hotel was not full during this off period and the weather was chilly, so we didn't use the pool, nor did we try the spa. Instead, we enjoyed the crackling fires in the fireplaces and the cozy atmosphere of the hotel and dining room. The location is absolutely magical with the adjacent castle ruins. The only reason I give the location 4-stars is merely that it is isolated and a minimum 30-minute drive on unlit rural roads to other restaurants, sights, etc. This wouldn't be a drawback for some, but is worth noting. The drive to explore neighboring areas is worth it, though, and we had fun exploring on our little getaway from our Paris home: Château-Thierry, Pierrefonds, the new Cité International de la Langue Française are all easy and doable drives. [Tip: If you go in off-season when many area restaurants near Château de Fère are closed, we found the restaurant at Auberge de l'Abbaye in Longpont, a 30-min. drive, to be open, charmingly decorated and serving excellent traditional fare at reasonable prices.]