Relais & Châteaux L'Assiette Champenoise

Had the pleasure of staying at this lovely hotel for just a short time while at Reims. There are many elements that make this hotel a unique and memorable experience. The hotel has been in the Lallement family and is currently run by Mr Arnauld (chef of the eponymous restaurant, his wife and his sister. And how, also their son, Brice, who is a chef at the restaurant. The hotel has a very friendly vibe, and delivers a true five star services. Throughout the property, there are many elements that make your stay at the chateau like home. In particular, many lounging areas on the first floor decorated with beautiful furniture for relaxation, a nice outdoor garden area for lounging, and a lovely outdoor garden with both vegetation and planted varieties for the kitchen. Rooms are exceptionally appointed, with careful attention to both design and utility. If you have done a high end renovation at your home, you can certainly appreciate all the details that went into it: from the placement of furniture, to the details such as the closet and the bathroom. We stayed in a terrace suite on the first floor, with a room that has separate bathroom, bedroom, a walk-in closet, a living room (adjacent to bedroom, with no door) + a separate kitchenette area for enjoying champagne and snacks. There is also a terrace which is made quite private by plants. The best way to describe the property is quiet luxury. The highlight of the trip was to dine at Arnauld Lallement / L'asiette Champenois restaurant, which is of the "worth a special journey" category, and it is indeed worth a special journey. I will write a separate review on the restaurant. But suffice it to say that in more traditional French cooking style, L'asiette dining experience is a homage to traditional French cooking, with many recipes coming from the family of the chef. The hotel also has the most wonderful french breakfast, which is a whole review worthy experience on it's own. Try a few unique French / local specialties such as the Mirabelle Prune Juice (I really think it is an apricot :), but we can call it a prune in french tradition). Both the hotel and the restaurant have a low key (non corporate) vibe, which is a welcome sign for weary travelers like us who prefer the personal touch. A very nice aspect of the hotel is that the hotel and the restaurant operate just 5 days a week: from Thu night to Tue morning (Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, and Monday). The reason is that there is no substitute staff, and every day you have the exact same staff (of course, depending on the hours). This gives the guests continuity in their service and also allows the staff to become experts in their respective positions. Come Tue noon, the entire staff has 2 days off, and they pick up again on Thu. This allows the staff: owners, managers, and rank and file, to work together, and rest together. They also take the entire month of February, and two weeks in August for vacation. Nice concept. We certainly appreciate it. I will try to post some pictures of the property I took when my technology works. Last, but not least, a shout out to Johanna at the front desk, who helped us with the planning, answered all our questions, recommended the Champagne Trail route to Champillion, and more. See you next time.

Good rooms and property. Kind staff. Suite room had issue with water pressure to the point where water would completely stop mid shower.

It is unfortunate that despite the large staff in this type of restaurant, the quality of service during my visit was not smooth. I tried the Emotion menu and the famous caviar dish and lobster dish were really great. However, the food overall was not to my taste and especially the chicken dish with quite a strong chicken smell as the last course and the non-alcoholic pairing was not very well done even considering the difference in taste. And while their cheese selection is good, the bread they serve does not seem to go well with the cheese. It is a shame that they do not have a separate type of bread for the cheese despite having such cheese. Overall, it does not seem to be worth the 395 euros. On the other hand, the only type of white tea they have is, fortunately, excellent.