Created from an old farm, this unusual hotel is run with brio by its owner, Jérôme Emery. Spacious grounds with mature trees and hedges protect it from the “industrial surroundings”. Most reviews remain positive: “All our visits have been first class: the bedrooms, the staff, the grounds, the food.” “We loved it.” “We felt pleasurably pampered.” The open-plan foyer/salon/restaurant has a decor of beams, old candlesticks, tapestries, a big fireplace and, at one end, a small swimming pool with Roman statuary: you can dine beside it, looking through picture windows to a floodlit lake with swans and ducks. Summer meals are taken on a terrace. The restaurant gastronomique has chef Anthony Bisquerra at the helm. One couple, while finding the food reasonably priced, was “astounded” by the prices of water, aperitifs and coffee. The bistro, La Table du Bois, produces “delicious, lighter food”. Bedrooms in the older wing are well equipped (music system, etc): some face the lake. In the newer block are themed rooms: Carnet de voyage, Country life, etc. Saintes has narrow streets, medieval houses and the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.