Unusual hotels listed by Gault&Millau

From tree houses and troglodyte suites to palaces on the water, we take a look at ten unique hotels that shake up luxury standards. These rare addresses are designed for those who prefer the unexpected to well-trodden paths.

Christine Robalo Published on 8/1/25 at 9:58 AM

Some nights feel like journeys. A door opens, and it's no longer a hotel room but a cave carved into the cliff, a cabin suspended from the peaks, a floating palace that the wind makes quiver. The bed creaks under the sheets, an owl hooting outside, or the Loire slowly flowing beneath the window. You forget the codes, the lobbies, the room numbers. These hotels tell us something else: a taste for silence, mystery and sometimes play.

L'EssenCiel - Domaine du Château des Pères, a futuristic night out

L'EssenCiel, at the Domaine du Château des Pères, just 25 minutes from Rennes, is a place where history flirts with contemporary audacity.perched on its branches, suspended bubbles house designer rooms, veritable cocoons nestled in a unique architectural setting. Extend the experience with a relaxing interlude in an exceptional spa, with nature as far as the eye can see. A confidential place, designed for those seeking the exceptional...

from 173 euros
Le Château des Pères, 35150 Piré-Chancé
Tel: 02 23 08 40 80
See Gault&Millau's review of L'EssenCiel

The cabin at Château d'Audrieu, a room high above the ground

Nothing moves, except perhaps a maple leaf in the wind. In the 25-hectare park of Château d'Audrieu, a wooden cabin sits high up, like a discreet nod to childhood. You sleep in soft sheets, wake up facing the peaks, all with private bathroom and 70 m² panoramic terrace. Meanwhile, just a few steps away: the château, its restaurant Le Séran, its period salons, its gardens designed by Louis Benech and the ghosts of Louis XV's court. The contrast is delicious: fall asleep in the trees, then come back down for a drink in a listed salon. An enchanted interlude, just ten minutes from the D-Day landing beaches.

from 343 euros
Château d'Audrieu, 14250 Audrieu
Tel: 02 31 80 21 52
See Gault&Millau's review of Château d'Audrieu

Les Hautes Roches, a room in the heart of the rock

Luxury here is not golden, but mineral. In this hotel set on a tufa cliff, a stone's throw from Tours and the Vouvray vineyards, twelve rooms are carved right into the rock. No folklore here, but studied sobriety: rough walls, cream-colored furniture, soft lighting and direct views of the Loire. Each room resembles a protective alcove, with just the right amount of refinement to flirt with perfection. upstairs, the 18th-century manor houses two classic rooms and a bistro, while the gourmet restaurant plays on the local and generous chord.

from €186
86 Quai de la Loire, 37210 Rochecorbon
Tel: 02 31 80 21 52
See Gault&Millau's review of Les Hautes Roches

Le Grand Contrôle - Airelles Château de Versailles, a night like the Sun King

Evening falls on the French garden. A lackey gently closes the shutters. Welcome to Le Grand Contrôle, the only hotel within the walls of the Château de Versailles. We sleep in the former apartments of the Sun King's comptroller of finances, in a room draped in silk, with curtains by Pierre Frey, under a tassel chandelier. The experience goes beyond the décor: period costumes, menus inspired by the feasts of Louis XIV (signed Alain Ducasse), treatments at the Valmont spa, and even a day "in the shoes of Marie-Antoinette". Everything is done to make you believe, for the duration of your stay, that you were born in the right century. Baroque, certainly, but never too much so. The address, restored over a period of six years with a keen eye for detail, is unanimously acclaimed: extravagance has its letters of nobility here.

from €2,600
12 Rue de l'Indépendance Américaine, 78000 Versailles
Tel: 01 85 36 05 50
See Gault&Millau's review of Airelles Château de Versailles

Château de Brindos, a room floating on the lake

There's the morning mist that caresses the lake, the silence that only the lapping of the water interrupts, and that rare sensation of being far from everything. a few kilometers from Biarritz, Château de Brindos reinvents Basque hospitality in an aquatic, poetic version. Guests sleep in floating lodges that can be reached by electric boat. inside: warm furnishings, a terrace with a view, sometimes a Nordic bath... and the absolute peace that envelops the premises. The rest of the estate doesn't disappoint: inspired gourmet restaurant, cosy bar, spa on stilts, artisanal chocolate factory and garden all around. Somewhere between a water fairy and a Relais & Châteaux, this extraordinary hotel makes you want to give in to the slow pace of life.

from 186 euros
1 allée Du Château, 64600 Anglet
Tel: 05 59 51 53 63
See Gault&Millau's review of Château de Brindos

gaelle Le Boulicaut

La toue cabanée du Relais de Chambord, a night in an ancient boat

as the last strollers leave the park, another experience begins: spending the night on the water, opposite the turrets of the Château de Chambord. Once used to transport goods and passengers on the Loire, the toue is a traditional flat-bottomed boat, adapted to the river's calm waters. Today, it has been reinvented as a floating suite. Moored on the Cosson canal, the Relais de Chambord toue cabanée offers overnight accommodation in a cocoon of blond wood and patinated leather designed by Stefania di Petrillo. Thirty square meters inside, a terrace of twenty more, everything has been thought out to prolong the dream. A breathtaking view of the Renaissance turrets and the unique feeling of having the château all to yourself. In the evening, you can welcome a chef on board, privatize the boat for a twelve-person aperitif, or simply listen to the ducks glide along the canal.

from 145 euros
Place Saint Louis, 41250 Chambord
Tel: 02 54 81 01 01
See Gault&Millau's review of Le Relais de Chambord

Hôtel & Spa Oceania Les Augustins, an Art Deco bank turned hotel

Under the period glass roof, the former hall of the Scalbert-Dupont bank has retained its volumes and pure lines. On Rue du Molinel, a stone's throw from Lille-Flandres station, this hotel opened by Oceania is astonishing from the moment you enter: a counter-like bar, a lounge wrapped in velvet, and above all a swimming pool dug into the former vault, visible behind imposing glass windows. You can swim in it as if you were stealing a secret. Upstairs, 87 rooms in warm, muted tones, all different, prolong this singular atmosphere. The restaurant, under the leadership of chef Jayson Clément and barman Nicolas Perez, cultivates both rigor and pleasure. The restaurant is also distinguished by its commitment to the environment, with low-carbon renovation, an anti-waste policy and a commitment to short supply chains.

from 125 euros
37 Rue du Molinel, 59800 Lille
Tel: 03 67 25 11 11
www.oceaniahotels.com/oceania-les-augustins-lille

ama Studio / Garance Dumon

Château Louise de La Vallière in Touraine, a room in royal calm

Under the Renaissance vaults of this residence surrounded by ancient forests, time seems to have bent the knee. This is where the young Louise de La Vallière lived before becoming Louis XIV's favorite. The château features machicolations, a medieval tower, velvets, antique furniture and sumptuous tapestries, all designed by the master of the genre: Jacques Garcia. The 20 keys open onto unspoilt nature, the waiters at the L'Amphitryon restaurant are dressed in period costume, and the La Rosée spa offers treatments in regal calm. Even the swimming pool seems to have been there forever. Here, we dine under the gilding, drink vintage champagne at the Bar Saint-Évremond, and find ourselves talking in hushed tones, as if in an empty theater after the last scene.

from 317 euros
Château de La Vallière, 37380 Reugny
Tel: 02 42 06 02 00
See Gault&Millau's review of Château Louise de la Vallière

Hôtel Louvre-Lens, a night steeped in history

Opposite the museum, the former miners' houses have been given a new lease of life under the Esprit de France banner. Architect Guillaume Da Silva has taken a modest row of corons and turned it into an auteur hotel, respectful of the working-class soul of the mining basin. Here, the brick has retained its wrinkles, the volumes are clean, the light filtered as in a workshop, and every detail seems to pay homage to the memory of the place: dense carpets, muted fabrics, hanging lamps like gallery lamps. The Le Galibot restaurant, with its railway sleepers, cement tiles and revitalized bistronomic cuisine, is full of nods to the world of mining. The museum is only three minutes away, but you'll be glad to linger in the bar under the coal-black earthenware.

from 92 euros
168 Rue Paul Bert, 62300 Lens
Tel: 03 66 98 10 40
See Gault&Millau's review ofHôtel Louvre-Lens

Le Couvent, living like a local

You have to climb the narrow streets of the Panier to come across this blond building, with the discreet air of a Mediterranean fortress. It was once a royal foundry, a Jesuit convent, and then a simple, forgotten wall. Now meticulously restored, the Couvent houses ten suites with lilting names, featuring designer furnishings, antique timbers, mottled fabrics and objects by Paola Navone or Le Corbusier. There's no reception here: you enter as if you were at home, and live as an adopted Marseillais. Each apartment is autonomous, but the standard is that of a refined hotel. Place de Lenche is just a stone's throw away, as is the MUCEM, and the sea is never far away. A secret address for curious travelers or artists on a stopover.

from 170 euros
6 rue Fonderie Vieille, 13002 Marseille
Tel: 06 18 29 56 90
See Gault&Millau's review of Le Couvent

Maison Souquet in Paris, a room like a stage set

Subdued lighting, a brass door handle, and suddenly Pigalle fades away. We enter a hushed world where the walls still whisper of the pleasures of yesteryear. A former Belle Époque brothel, now a confidential five-star hotel, Maison Souquet cultivates mystery and excess with a rare delicacy. Each room is a theatrical setting: Napoleon III velvet, 18th-century furniture, precious fabrics and fragrant alcoves. The salon-library opens onto a winter garden and a hidden bar, where guests sip forgotten cocktails beneath the carved woodwork. The highlight? A secret spa with an Oriental flair, bookable on request, starry vault included. Here, everything evokes voluptuousness, literature and a taste for the forbidden. a stone's throw from the Moulin Rouge, but a thousand leagues from the hustle and bustle, Maison Souquet invents the art of elopement.