It’s a rare hotel that takes pride in its mould. But then Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa in Cognac, southwestern France, is no ordinary hotel. And Baudoinia compniacensis is no ordinary mould. The fungus is attracted to the alcohol in the air – the evaporation from the brandy resting in the casks, known as the angels’ shares – and it gives the surrounding buildings a blackish appearance. Chais Monnet has embraced it.
The facade of the hotel’s modern glass blocks housing its guest bedrooms sports a similar dark hue, wrapped in ribbons of rusted metal to represent the vines growing in the surrounding Charente countryside.
Inside, the colour scheme of the decor is similarly understated and elegant in creamy tones and wood, and the bathroom, with bath and shower, is clad in smart, white tiles. Looking from our bedroom window, the tip of the hotel’s large, L-shaped swimming pool could be seen poking out into the lawn.
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In summer, this section of the pool is open air. The rest is covered year-round, beside the saunas, steam rooms and experience showers. Beyond the outdoor section of the pool and the grounds at the rear of the hotel, we could see a little public park with its preserved gabarre on display – a type of flat-bottomed barge that used to transport the cognac casks on the River Charente.
Some of the rooms look onto the lawn and pool
(Image credit: Chais Monnet)
The Monnet cognac-making business was founded by Jean-Gabriel Monnet in 1838. In transforming the property into a hotel 180 years later, the designers have been careful to hang on to the markers of its former existence.
The stylish and jazzy 1838 Bar is what used to be the old cooperage, for instance. And while the bedrooms and the building housing the lobby are new, even they incorporate the old aspects in clever ways. So, to get to the Michelin-starred restaurant Les Foudres, you start at ground level and descend past the huge, original wooden cognac barrels, after which the restaurant is named, into the old cellar.
The food here, as you might imagine, is simply top-notch. The salsify was sweet and earthy; the Brittany seabass, marinated in miso, was served with a delicious cauliflower purée and smoked butter; and the pigeon came with its liver and kidneys wrapped in a wonderful little samosa (€175 for the tasting menu with wine pairing).
Back up on street level, the hotel’s brasserie, La Distillerie, is a more laid-back affair, but the food here, too, is excellent and served with French flair. The medallion of slow-cooked veal, for example, arrived under a cloche containing its cherry wood smoke (€30).
The Bar 1838 is a jazzy space to enjoy a cocktail
(Image credit: Chais Monnet)
Jean Monnet: founding father of the EU
Chais Monnet may no longer be a true “chais”, meaning the place where the casks are stored. But you can still buy the house “Chais Monnet” single-cask cognac, made exclusively for the hotel by Hine (which continues to make “Monnet” cognac). It’s worth picking up a bottle (€135) for its warm, sweet-cherry notes, to take home with you – as I did.
As for why the Monnet family stopped making cognac, well, for that you really can blame Brussels. You see, the family business eventually passed to Jean-Gabriel Monnet’s son, Jean Monnet. But rather than seeking his ruin in drink, the younger Monnet sought it in politics, eventually selling the business in 1962 to raise funds for his pet project, the Action Committee for the United States of Europe.
From that grew what eventually became the European Union and, today, Jean Monnet’s bust can be admired in the town centre atop a proud ring of stars.
The house where Jean Monnet grew up
(Image credit: Chais Monnet)
You can visit the king’s birthplace at the Château de Cognac on the banks of the Charente by crossing the little park and walking along the river. In true Cognac fashion, the castle was, and still is, used to store Baron Otard cognac, although these days mostly for show.
It’s well worth taking a guided tour (€75, chateaudecognac.com) of the tenth-century castle, not only for the fascinating history, the chance to learn about cognac-making and to try a little of the famous spirit, but also to see the rooms in which English and Irish prisoners from the Seven Years’ War whiled away the long hours, etching their names and dates into the walls along with what they could see from the windows overlooking the river – lots of gabarres.
Happily, this Englishman was set at liberty to wander towards the town centre at Place Jean Monnet, and then back to the hotel, which takes about ten minutes. The terraces at Chais Monnet were closed for the winter when we stayed. But they must be glorious places in the summer to sit with a glass of wine or a cognac-based cocktail before dinner.
Chris was a guest of Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa. Nightly rates from €265 per room. Flights from London to Bordeaux or La Rochelle. For more information, please visit chaismonnethotel.com/en.
