Forty-five minutes from Paris, in the folds of the Chevreuse Valley, sits a Cistercian abbey that's been standing since 1118. The monks left after the Revolution, the roofs fell in, and then Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild bought the ruin in the 1880s and spent decades coaxing it back. What you get now is more estate than hotel, with rooms spread between the abbey itself, the old stables and a working farm down the lane, plus a lake, a Tata Harper spa, half a dozen places to eat and a kids' club stocked with miniature Range Rovers. Cordélia de Castellane did the interiors. You'll want a bicycle.
Mornings happen in the monks' old refectory, where light falls through mullioned windows onto 900-year-old stone and the croissants arrive on footed silver dishes. Les Chasses, the Baroness's former hunting lounge, is darker, paneled and heavy on game (Emily in Paris filmed here). James' Bar, named for her son, serves cigars and cocktails; Betty's has a piano and a fireplace. Outside, the church ruins the Rothschilds shored up stand open to the sky, alpacas graze, and the heated pool behind the old stables runs at 32°C in winter.
All rooms are different, which is quite the feat. The grandest sit in the abbey itself, wrapped in Pierre Frey wallpaper with leopard print thrown at tartan and shell-encrusted basins in the bathrooms. Les Haras gives you cosy attic rooms around a courtyard (cosy meaning small, so ask for one with a bit more floor space). Two pavilions in the trees give you a whole house to yourself. La Ferme's 38 are built for families, a kilometre away amongst the donkeys. Crisp white linen, patterned coverlets, Penhaligon's in the shower.
Start on the water, with pedalos, catch-and-release fishing and a rowing boat. On land you've got bikes (child sizes included), golf carts for the lazy, a shooting range and an art studio. Walk out into the Rambouillet forest and you'll reach the Cascades des Vaux de Cernay, a run of small waterfalls, in well under an hour. Wet afternoons go to the cinema, karaoke and vintage foosball, and Versailles is only thirty minutes up the road if you're feeling cultural. (Book the earliest weekend brunch sitting; the later ones get heaving.)
Padel courts that float on the lake, the only ones in France. You'll rally with a roofless 12th-century abbey church at your back and a pedalo drifting past the tramlines.
Seek out Saint Thibaut's spring in the woods, rebuilt in 1876 from cloister arches a previous owner had dynamited to sell off. Legend says the water helps with conceiving an heir. Sip at your own risk.
Air conditioning was deliberately left out, so a July heatwave in one of the attic rooms under the eaves is exactly as warm as it sounds. Spa access costs extra, too, which catches people out.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made France trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended France trips featuring Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay or get advice and suggestions from one of our France specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay start from around $280, or US$280, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Postcard-perfect architecture, world-class food and wine and all that unapologetic, effortless glamour.
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