My wife Monique, the light of my life, pasted away on the 23rd December 2023 at 17:00. Starting in spring 2024 I drove alone down to the south of Spain, and in the summer I drove back north alone.
In January 2025, always and forevermore alone, I again drove south to Spain, but this time also stopping in a couple of Paradors we had visited in the past, namely Aiguablava and Lorca.
But my first stop was at the Cottage de Clairefontaine, in Chonas l’Amballan, about 40 km south of Lyon. An easy drive of about 600 km.
Check out my Roadtrip Winter 2024, which actually took place in early January 2025.
The route was not difficult, direction South on the French autoroute A31, then the A6 and A7 (Autoroute du Soleil).
I would stay one night, and continue on to Aiguablava, another 600 km drive into Spain (A7 and then the A9, part of the European route E15).
As I entered the parking I suddenly remembered that Monique and I had stayed there twice before, i.e. the night of the 20 March and the night of the 30 October, 2015. The buildings, rooms, services have remained the same through to today.
I’ve not included a map, because the GPS (both my Mercedes and my TomTom) found the location easily.
Chonas-l’Amballan is a commune located in the Isère department in southeastern France. It’s like 1,000’s of French communes with less than 2,000 residents, a quiet country hamlet predominately focussed on agriculture. But in this case its also strongly influenced by its location just south of Lyon, France’s second largest metropolitan area (2.5 million inhabitants).
Chonas-l’Amballan is in the arrondissement of Vienne, which has a reputation for good cuisine and well-known wines, including Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.
I remember when working in the region, some 40-odd years ago, that Condrieu was the preferred local wine, and was not well known in the rest of France. I also remember drinking and buying the Cotes de Rhone Village Chusclan, and the Vacqueyras, which are still relatively unknown outside the region.
The Domaine de Clairefontaine is a 17th-century manor house featuring six rooms, and set in a 3-hectare park.
With the Domaine there is a 1-star Michelin restaurant run by Philippe Girardon, a recipient of the prestigious “Meilleur Ouvrier de France“.
Les Jardins is a 4-star hotel fashioned after a traditional Dauphiné walnut dryer, situated near the main Domaine estate.
Walnut trees grow abundantly all over the south of France, from the west to the east, making France the largest producer in Europe. Originally grown in the Persian empire, today archaeologists have found in the Périgord remnants of these nuts from 17,000 years ago. However, most sources state that it was the Romans that brought the walnut to France, and they certainly documented the growth and care of walnut trees in their agricultural texts. The Romans valued walnuts for their nutritional and medicinal properties, and they spread their walnut-based traditions throughout their empire. In Roman times, walnuts were associated with Jupiter, the king of the gods, for example the Latin name for walnuts, Juglans regia, translates to “Jupiter’s royal acorn”. Also walnuts were often used in Roman weddings as symbols of fertility. It was customary to scatter walnuts to signify good fortune and fertility for the newlyweds.
Le Cottage is located 800 meters from the main Domaine estate, and is a former Dauphiné farmhouse transformed into a 3-star hotel with 12 rooms set within a 1-hectare park. The Cottage also houses a bistro serving local cuisine rich in flavours. The Bistro at Le Cottage has a more relaxed atmosphere, and is open seven days a week.
As we can see above the reception area to the hotel and bistro was warm and welcoming, as were the staff.
One of my key criteria is the secure parking. And this hotel has an ample sized closed parking with video surveillance.
The room
I know this might sound a bit strange, but my assessment of the room, will be different now that I’m travelling alone, than when Monique and I stayed in the same hotel as a couple.
In both situations the choice was based upon convenience of location, the secure parking, and the on-site restaurant.
However, in the past I was left with an overall negative impression of the hotel, because I felt that my wife Monique merited a better quality hotel room, with a more luxurious and spacious bathroom with a walk-in shower. Even if this meant choosing a less convenient location, but still looking for secure parking and the on-site restaurant.
Now travelling alone, this room was perfectly acceptable. It was a simple space, with an entrance corridor with wardrobe and luggage rack, bathroom, separate WC, and bedroom. There was a sitting area with a small table, a TV, plenty of lighting, sockets, etc., and a free bottle of water. There was no minibar or fridge, or wall safe (shame), and had a useless view, but it was spotlessly clean and the heating worked and was fast in heating up the limited space.
However, I didn’t sleep well at all, and I woke with a backache. The bed felt comfortable, but it was perhaps a little soft for my liking. I prefer a hard mattress with a soft topper.
The bathroom
The bathroom looked fine, and was again spotlessly clean. The heated towel-rail worked.
The one negative is the shower. There is no shower screen, only a single shower hook on the wall, and the water intensity wasn’t (intense that is). You climbed in, washed, but there was no pleasure. And after a long day in the car, a walk-in, hot, intense shower is one of the world’s great gifts.
The bistro
The atmosphere was more functional than warm and welcoming. I remember my wife calling it modern-boring. For me the seats were functional, for her they were uncomfortable. She didn’t like eating off the table top, without a table cloth.
The space was almost empty, a table of five, another table of four, and myself.
The bistro offered a 3-course menu “Les Fontanettes” for 37€, and a reasonable à la carte option.
I don’t know why the menu was called “Les Fontanettes“, which usually means a small locality, often associated with alpine regions in France or Switzerland. A locality that can be as small as a chalet or a simple lodging.
I went for the 3-course menu and picked:-
- La Bruschetta moelleuse, potimarron, oignons caramélisés, chèvre frais et mesclun (“soft” Bruschetta, pumpkin, caramelised onions, fresh goat cheese and mesclun)
- Les Ravioles de Royans aux champignons et simples du jardin (Royans Ravioles with mushrooms and herbs)
- Le pain perdu à la vanille, marmelade de pommes et poires, glace vanille (Vanilla French toast, apple and pear marmalade, vanilla ice cream).
Ravioles du Royans, also known as “Ravioles de Romans“, are a type of delicate filled pasta originating from the Dauphiné region of southeastern France, particularly around the town of Romans-sur-Isère and the Pont-en-Royans area. As we can see, ravioles are smaller and thinner than Italian ravioli and are known for their unique flavour and texture. Often the filling is made of fresh cow’s cheese (such as Comté or Saint Marcellin), parsley, and occasionally a hint of nutmeg, creating a creamy centre. In this case the filling was mushrooms.
Ravioles du Royans have a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, highlighting their regional heritage and traditional production methods.
I was really impressed by the ravioles and by the unusual “soft” bruschetta, but I was not a fan of the pain perdu.
Breakfast
Breakfast was a decent continental version. Nothing to write home about, except the orange slices and the freshly pressed orange juice.
My guess, based upon the breakfast guests, is that 8 of the 12 rooms were occupied.
It was nice that dinner was served from 19:00, and breakfast was served from 08:00. In Spain dinner was from either 20:00 or 20:30.
