Château Saint-Jean in Montluçon: a 5-star hotel in a former Templar commandery
Just a few years ago, in Montluçon, the walls of this former Templar commandery seemed doomed to silence. Today, behind the restored stonework, a five-star hotel, a spa, a bistro, and a gourmet restaurant breathe new life into this exceptional place, blending medieval heritage with contemporary elegance.
Let’s go back several centuries. South of Montluçon (Allier), between the Cher Valley and the ancient Roman road connecting Bourges to Néris-les-Bains, there is a site that could serve as a stop for pilgrims. The Order of the Temple—a religious and military order rooted in Christian chivalry—established the Saint-Jean d’entre les Vignes commandery in the 12th century, a place of residence and training for brothers, knights, and affiliates… Despite the Order’s dissolution in 1312, the Knights Hospitaller continued to welcome pilgrims until the French Revolution. Transformed into private property, the chapel—still standing but deconsecrated—and the castle became a hotel and restaurant in 1929. Weddings, baptisms, First Communions, and birthdays took place there one after another for several decades. In 2016, those happy days were long gone. Left to decay, the castle had suffered extensive damage. Vandalized and squatted in, it was now a mere shadow of its former self.
The Rebirth
In the Alpes-Maritimes region, near Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Jean-Claude and Nicole Delion, owners of the hotel-restaurant La Réserve de Beaulieu, could not bear to see this Montluçon institution disappear. And for good reason! Jean-Claude had proposed to his future wife in that very chapel nearly fifty years earlier...
