“Guests enjoy really personal service” at this small hotel run by Marco Baumann and his wife, Danielle Haeberlin. Designed to accommodate guests of the Haeberlin family”s renowned restaurant L”Auberge de l”Ill, it has a pastoral setting on the river bank (berge) in a village north of Colmar. L”Auberge has long been the most distinguished restaurant in Alsace (three Michelin stars, 17 Gault Millau points), and the hotel “runs elegantly and effortlessly”. The building was once a barn for drying tobacco leaves (rooms are named after cigars); and the decor is “tasteful throughout”, says a visitor this year. “Our large room had a sitting area, wide balcony, views to the distant Vosges mountains, state-of-the-art bathroom.” In the grounds are vegetables, herbs and flowers; inside is a spacious country atmosphere, antiques, modern cane chairs, rough stone tile floors, modern lighting. Marc Haeberlin is chef de cuisine, after taking over from his father Paul – the fourth generation Haeberlin. The dining rooms open on to a terrace. “At night, the illuminated riverside complex looks fantastic.” Breakfast, “one of the best in France”, can be taken on a punt or by the water, “watching kingfishers darting between the willows”. A spa is planned for 2016.