Some restaurants have superb cuisine, some hotels are like private palaces and others provide charm and a warm welcome. The Chateau Boyer is a rare combination of all three .....

Any chef who has been awarded three Michelin Stars is considered a culinary virtuoso - a Pavarotti of the appetiser, a Bernstein of the main course and a Menuhin of the dessert. Gerard Boyer has not only risen to this standard, he has surpassed it. With his charming wife Elyane, he has set out not simply to create the perfect restaurant but to combine it with the ultimate in accommodation. The end result commands an atmosphere that makes their guests feel as family friends spending time in an elegant home of French nobility.

As your car arrives at the long, gravel driveway and passes through the massive wrought iron gates, the Chateau Boyer Les Crayeres appears in the distance as one of the most beautiful and elegant chateaux in Champagne. Indeed, the Boyer was once a palace built at the turn of the century for the Prince of Puligny.

Lining the borders of the property are tall and gracious chestnut, fir and maple trees encircling beautifully manicured gardens. The building is a splendid, cream-coloured classic chateau design with a slate-clad Mansard roof supporting statues and chimneys which sit atop the two stately 'wings' of the building. Between them, a round, columned portico belies a hint of the style and elegance that awaits you inside.