Royal Champagne | Champillon, France

The Vibe: The luxury hotel Champagne was missing.

The Area: Near the village of Champillon, perched high above rolling vineyards with sweeping, far reaching views over the Marne Valley. Nearby, Epernay (Champagne’s capital), and the city of Reims, are just a short drive away.

The DNA: Spread across a Modernist wing and a 19th-century Post House, the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa embraces the lush bounty of the wineries and the UNESCO World Heritage Site that surrounds it. Interiors are light and effervescent, the food is sensational and the spa is a destination in its own right. The whole design re-imagines the perfect wine-country retreat. It draws on local quartz stones coming from Euville, known for its hardness and its homogeneity but also for its pinky beige color which calls to mind the Champagne’s hue. The use of glass emphasises the verdant valley outside and imbuing the building with an overwhelming feeling of lightness. The façade curves cleverly to make different terraces for the swimming pool, the spa, the herb garden and the restaurant. Elegant interiors weave references to the twigs and flowers from the grapevines on the walls, while bubbles are found in the metal work, the lights suspended from the ceiling by Giampato & Coombes and scattered across the walls of the treatment rooms in the spa. Natural materials of oak and stone used throughout root the building in its rural surroundings.

Suite-Me-Up: The spacious rooms all look onto the vineyards and have outdoor terraces (with no view on the neighbouring rooms) on which to soak up the views. Interiors are muted in colour with natural oak floors, oak desks, hand-crafted sofas and fabric wallpapers on which flowers have been shaded in yellows or blues. Bathrooms have limestone basins, free-standing tubs and rain showers. The suites are designed in mirror symmetry and can be coupled on request thanks to a discrete corridor in the dressings.

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 47 rooms & suites (44-107m2) (474-1,152 sq ft) • hotel opened: 2018 • architecture: PACE Architects (Reims) • interior design: Sybille de Margerie • bathroom amenities: Hermès ✅ free on-site parking • pets allowed • 24-hour front desk • wheelchair accessible

Leave a Reply