The Place
They do things properly at this top-end B & B in Burgundy’s Morvan natural park. Catherine and Coen Stork are friendly hosts who give their beautifully proportioned, elegant 18thC house an informal feel. They live with their children in a private wing, so guests and owners are separate, but you will (more or less) feel you are staying in a private family home.
Public rooms and bedrooms are stylish, with expensive fabrics, canopied four-poster beds, top-quality linen – a nice balance between masculine and feminine. The style is English country house meets French château. Some of the bathrooms have been carved out of slightly awkward spaces, but that’s normal in a house of this age and they are all comfortable, and sparkling.
If booked in advance, a five-course dinner is available for guests, prepared by Catherine herself using locally sourced ingredients. Our reporter describes Catherine as “easily a Michelin star cook”. Otherwise, Catherine and Coen have plenty of local restaurant recommendations.
An 18thC cottage in the grounds, La Grenouillère, provides further accommodation to the six rooms in the house, and extra privacy. Close to the house is a classic, sheltered, formal garden – and then the 500ha grounds open out. They may have been designed by Le Notre himself and are a wildlife haven. ‘An extraordinary find’, reports one satisfied guest.
Things to do in the area? See our sister website, www.tripdog.co.uk, at https://tripdog.co.uk/france/exploring-locally-france/undiscovered-burgundy-the-morvan/. Check it out – you’ll get an extra dimension to your stay.