good for you

Surrounded by picturesque countryside and sheltered by high stone walls hiding spacious gardens at the centre of a delightful French village, Les Orangeries is a beautiful 18th century country hotel and France's first accredited Ecolabel hotel. It's the perfect way to experience French village life, rural culture and the country's rich history.

Spanning 21/2 acres, Les Orangeries opens onto the 'jardin ˆ l'anglaise' a beautiful walled garden created by English garden designer Patsy Boughton that includes fragrant orchards, beautiful flower beds, an amazing 35-metre pool with deck area, as well as resident animals such as squirrels, birds and the hotel's donkey, sheep and the Labrador, too. There is also an outdoor summer lounge and plenty of traditional French games like croquet and petanque. If the weather's wet, you can head to the hotel's attic games room for billiards or chess, while the cosy lounge offers an inviting atmosphere for reading or relaxing in front of an open fire.

About halfway between Paris and Bordeaux in the La Vienne region, Lussac les Chateaux is famous for its archaeological and historical treasures, while the village is very lively, boasting local markets, beautiful gardens and many delightful bars and cafes.

The food is delicious, seasonal and mostly organic, with gorgeous breakfasts and dinners, as well as packed picnic lunches. The 10 rooms in the restored 18th century building are all eco-friendly and individually designed, decorated with rustic charm. In all, Les Orangeries is the perfect place to relax and rejuvenate while getting to know this fascinating and beautiful corner of France.

good for france

The 1st hotel in France to receive the European Commission's 'Ecolabel', this hotel is a model of green-ness - it runs on 100% renewable energy, rooms are all equipped with energy and water-saving devices and guests are encouraged to do their bit to keep the hotel green during their stay.

The 18th century building has been sensitively restored to preserve original features such as stone fireplaces, oak panelling and parquet flooring, beautiful flagstones and window surrounds, and decorative ironwork. The hotel makes every effort to buy fair trade, organic, non-polluting, recyclable and recycled products - all from local suppliers where possible. Guests can even visit local suppliers and sample their special cheeses and wines, while the birds who live in Les Orangeries' grounds are protected by France's Bird Protection League. Accessible by rail, the hotel lends guests electro-powered bikes, so you can explore nearby villages and surroundings while staying pollution-free!

Rooms

Food

The self-service breakfast, taken in the beautiful garden, offers freshly squeezed citrus fruit or hand-crafted local apple juice, regional products such as butter of Charentes, the tourteau fromager or goat's cheese, and Les Orangeries' home-made products with jam buffet, cake of the day and fruits from the garden.

At your request, organic eggs, cheese and meats are also available.

The morning coffee is fair trade, Carazao Max Havelaar, as are the brown cane sugar cubes.

The hot chocolate is prepared in the old fashioned way with rich melted cacao. The cacao beans come from the fair trade plantation Los Ancones in Saint Domingues.

The hotel's herb teas and aromatic herbs come from the organic farm of Philippe MassiŽres, Phytovienne, a few kilometres away from the hotel.

Breakfast can be taken at any time of day - the buffet is open until 10:30 but if you are still in bed into the late morning, it can be delivered - just call the reception desk.

Breakfast is included in the rates. Picnic lunches can be ordered from the kitchen, or you can lunch in any of the cafes in the village.

At dinner, the hotel offers a single menu in order to give priority to quality ingredients and seasonal products, with pride of place given to the vegetables from the gardens of Lussac. In order to serve you best, the hotel asks that you reserve your dinner before 5.00pm, advising staff of any special requirements (allergies, vegetarian meals, etc). Dinner is served in the hotel's handsome dining room, with its lovingly-polished antique sideboards.

Features & Facilities

• A beautiful pool and sun deck
• A summer lounge with hammocks and shade
• A playground set for children
• An enormous and well-equipped games room, complete with billiards tables and a range of board games. The hotel also has also outdoor games like croquet and petanque.
• Beautiful Historical gardens to wander around.
• Free wireless internet
• Electric Bikes for rent at 5 Euro for 2 hours

Local Info & Activities

Both the hotel grounds and the village and surrounding area offer an enormous variety of things to see and do - enough to keep guests occupied for several days.

at les orangeries

The hotel's park has been extended and now includes several gardens, covering a total surface of one hectare. The park includes a landscaped garden around the house (by landscape designer, Patsy Boughton, who also designed the "Jardin des Rosiers" or rose garden, nearby); an ancient orchard; a wooded area and the meadow (home of Manon the young donkey and Lilly the sheep). The French garden is, for the moment, private.

The more observant guest will be able to spot the hotel's resident squirrel family, especially visible at the end of the summer, which lives close to the walnut tree and the hazel trees.

beyond the hotel and its grounds

The hotel offers guests maps, itineraries and excursion kits. While picnicking is not encouraged in the hotel grounds, your hosts will recommend trips and picnic places around the lake in Lussac - guests are reminded to leave the area free of litter. The hotel has electro-powered bikes to lend to guests to explore the neighbourhood.

Les Orangeries is in the heart of Lussac-les-Ch‰teaux, a small village full of charm, with plenty of shops, cafŽs and restaurants and summer entertainment. The Lussac-les-Ch‰teaux Fair is on the first Thursday of the month, while the local market is on Friday mornings.

There are more than 20 footpaths in and around Montmorillon, offering more than 800km of walks in the countryside, leading you through picturesque landscapes and pretty villages.

There are numerous natural sites to discover in the area. Specialising in old roses and David Austin varieties, perennials and mixed-borders, Patsy Boughton's magnificent garden, Le Jardin des Rosiers at La Puye, can be visited from late spring to mid-August.

For wine lovers, Les Orangeries can arrange a tour to Ampelidae, an organic vineyard where you can learn the tricks of the trade from Frederic Brochet, known as a talent of the new generation, a Doctor in wine tasting and owner of the Manoir de Lavauguyot and its famous cuvee Ampelidae. The hotel also organise a personal visit from its organic local suppliers, who can talk you through the rich French culinary tradition and offer a cheese tasting.

Other sites include an educational farm in Montmorillon and Lathus (the latter is also a centre of initiatives for the environment), "VallŽe des singes", rambling in kayak on La Gartempe or boat sightseeing on the Vienne river, and potholing exploration of the underground river in Lussac.

There is no shortage of cultural sites, either. The famous medieval route along the river is not to be missed, and leads to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Abbey-Church of Saint-Savin. Known as the 'Romanesque Sistine Chapel', the church contains many beautiful 11th- and 12th-century murals which are still in a remarkable state of preservation.

There are some fascinating prehistoric cave paintings at Le Marche, not far from Lussac Les Chateaux. The town also has a Stone Age Museum.

Sustainability

the building

The Les Orangeries building, dating from the end of the 18th century, has benefited from sympathetic renovation, according to high environmental quality criteria: preservation of parquet floors & original paving, hemp insulation, lime and country sand coating, natural paints based on pigments & lime milk. The building features rich and lasting materials such as wood and wrought iron, and is North-South orientated and benefits from thick walls.

the gardens

The whole park comprising Les Orangeries' gardens and orchard has been designated an LPO (League for Bird Protection) sanctuary. The hotel takes care to use only environmentally friendly products when caring for the gardens. The fruits of the orchard, the orange trees and the vines are used for the production of desserts and jams for the hotel.

energy

All rooms are fitted with thermostatic heating and insulated by double glazed window to prevent energy waste.

Each room is fitted with a "boitier coupe-contact" activated by the card attached to the key. This system stops the electrical supply except to the plugs marked by red spots, which allows guests to re-charge mobiles and cameras.

100% of the hotel's electricity comes from renewable energy sources. The hotel uses green petrol and low consumption electrical bulbs.

In partnership with the company Veloscoot, Hotel les Orangeries acquired 3 electric bicycles, enabling its customers to discover the region in a quiet and less polluting manner.

water

The hotel's view is that limitation of water consumption is a priority as the Poitou-Charentes region is in severe shortage since the heat wave of 2003.

Taps, shower and flushes are fitted out with water saving devices in order to adapt the flow to the hotel's needs. Guests are asked to report any leaks and take showers rather than baths, and not to let taps flow unnecessarily. Linens are changed only twice a week unless guests request otherwise.

waste

The town has a waste sorting system managed by the Eco-pole, the local waste value centre and all Les Orangeries' waste goes there. Organic kitchen waste is composted and used on the garden, and the hotel takes part in the village's organic waste project.

food and hotel products

All Les Orangeries' drinks are served in glass bottles, most of which are returnable, and guests are encouraged to hand them in to staff.

The hotel has selected local products, produced by the passionate and rigorous work of professionals, who are willing to obtain the best from their land while treating it with respect. Most of the hotel's suppliers are organic producers, providing products like herbal teas, vegetables, organic meats, cheeses, fruit, honey and wine. The suppliers' lands and farms are near the hotel, and most of them open to visit. Please ask the hotel, and they will arrange this for you. Fair trade coffee is supplied.

Getting There

Les Orangeries is about halfway between Paris and Bordeaux in the Dordogne region - only 2 hours from Paris door to door.

Poitiers is a 90minute train ride from Paris Montparnasse (Euro 19 one way). Then it's a 30-min local train from Poitiers to Lussac. Les Orangeries are happy to collect guests from the train station.

The local trains from Lussac to Poitiers link up with the TGV service to Paris at Potiers. There are three trains a day from Lussac

Car hire is available near Lussac.

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

Seasons

Low Season: 31 Jan - 18 March, 7 Oct - 15 Dec

Shoulder Season: 19 Mar - 31 May, 11 Sep - 6 Oct

High Season: 1 June - 10 Sep

village view

Low Season: Euro75

Shoulder Season: Euro80

High Season: Euro95

garden view

Low Season: Euro95

Shoulder Season: Euro100

High Season: Euro115

Apartment without balcony - sleeps 4/5

Low Season: Euro105

Shoulder Season: Euro115

High Season: Euro145

Apartment with balcony - sleeps 4/5

Low Season: Euro120

Shoulder Season: Euro130

High Season: Euro170

• Rates are per room / apartment based on double occupancy and do not include breakfast or any other meals
• Breakfast is charged at Euro12.50 p/person.
• Other meals are charged at Euro30 for the set menu or Euro15 for a child.
• An extra bed for a child is charged at Euro15
• A baby's cot is charged at Euro10

booking & cancellation

• A booking is confirmed on the payment of 2 separate deposits: (1) 30% of the cost of the stay and (2) 15% of the total cost of stay. This 15% is non-refundable in the case of cancellation.
• The remaining cost of stay is payable on departure from the hotel.
• In the case of a cancellation at any time up until 30days before the date of arrival, the 15% deposit will be charged as a cancellation fee.
• In the case of a cancellation after 30 days prior to arrival both deposits will be charged as a cancellation fee.
• In case of cancellation less than 7 days before arrival, a cancellation fee of one nights accommodation will be charged, as well as 15% of total cost of stay (if the stay was for more than one night).

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.