Amboise is getting its biggest hotel opening in years. In late September 2026, Relais d'Amboise will bring together two beloved local properties — Le Choiseul and Le Manoir des Minimes — into a single five-star estate stretched along Quai Charles Guinot, right on the Loire's banks beneath the Royal Château. It's the second Loire project from Frédéric Jousset's Artnova fund, which follows the well-received Relais de Chambord.
What makes the estate unusual is how much variety is packed into one address. Across 63 rooms and suites, guests can sleep in former noble residences, in rooms framing the château's Renaissance skyline, or — the pick of the crop — in one of four suites carved straight into the limestone rock. The grounds add restored gardens, terraces, riverside viewpoints and genuine troglodyte caves, a feature of the region's tuffeau stone landscape.
The food and drink set-up is serious. Le Choiseul restaurant pairs Michelin-starred chef Nicolas Aubry (of Restaurant Ezia) with executive chef Vincent Léger Blanchard for seasonal, Loire-focused French cooking. Up top, Le Turner Bar becomes Amboise's only rooftop, with cocktails, Champagne and local wines against panoramic views of the river and château towers at sunset.
The caves get their own spotlight too. Spa des Roches is a wellness space hewn from the tuffeau galleries, run with Clarins and myBlend, with facials, massages, a sauna, steam room, cold bath and a heated outdoor pool plus a yoga platform looking over the Loire. Meanwhile, Les Greniers de César — more restored cave galleries — will host exhibitions, private dinners and wine tastings, with a major site-specific Bernar Venet exhibition planned in partnership with the Château du Clos Lucé and the Royal Château.
For travellers, the location is hard to beat: Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci's final home, is a short stroll away, and the château is essentially next door. If you've been waiting for a reason to base yourself in Amboise rather than day-trip from Tours or Paris, this is it.