Passiflore Room

A family room, a proper one

The Passiflore room is furnished with period Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture, an 18th-century solid mahogany castle wardrobe, and family portraits that make this room a truly unique space. Its window overlooks the château’s pond and orangery – a calm and orderly, typically French view that immediately makes you want to stay. Just two hours from Paris, this is the sort of room where you drop your suitcase and immediately feel as though you’re somewhere else entirely.

Yvonne and the crew of La Brosse

As you enter the room, your gaze will meet that of Yvonne – the Countess of La Chapelle-Crosville, the host’s grandmother – in a large portrait dating from the 1930s. As the daughter and granddaughter of hunting masters, she embodies a tradition of French hunting passed down from generation to generation. There is something calm and self-assured about her features.

All the mementoes belonging to the crew of La Brosse – paintings, hunting trophies, photographs – are displayed in the castle’s stairwell. It’s well worth taking a quick detour to have a look.

Putsy et Douglas

Yvonne was very fond of dogs. The room bears witness to this with portraits of Putsi and Douglas, her two companions, painted with the same affection once reserved for family members. These paintings lend the room a warmth that no decoration can truly replicate.

The engravings by Louise de La Vallière

On the walls, a series of romantic engravings recounts the life of Louise de La Vallière, a favourite of Louis XIV who renounced court life to spend her final days at the Carmelite convent. These gentle, melancholic images, in the style of the 19th century, blend naturally with the atmosphere of the room. Hodebert est, en effet, au centre de l’ancien duché pairie de la Vallière créé par Louis XIV pour sa maîtresse et les enfants qu’il avait eus avec elle. Elle était née et originaire de Touraine.

The bathroom

It has been completely renovated in a 1920s style, with a cast-iron claw-foot bath as the centrepiece. The result is elegant without being ostentatious – perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the château.

Two hours from Paris

Nos chambres sont décorées avec soin, chacune avec sa propre personnalité. La Passiflore est sans doute celle qui raconte le plus d’histoires. Le matin, la vue sur le bassin et l’orangerie achève de faire oublier Paris – et pourtant, on n’en est qu’à deux heures.

Breakfast

An organic breakfast is provided. It is served in the dining room with all the refinement and art de vivre of the French. Most of the dishes are prepared in Hodebert’s kitchen by the hostess using high-quality organic ingredients. The spelt bread is made according to a recipe by Saint Hildegard of Bingen using non-hybridised organic flour. The jams are cooked in organic cane sugar using fruit from Hodebert or neighbouring orchards. Organic cheeses or those from nearby farms, homemade organic yoghurt with orange blossom…