Domaine du moulin de la plaine (L'île Ô reflets)

"L'Ile o reflects exceeded all our expectations, from the moment we were met by Dolly the dog and her owner Martial we felt we had found a very special place. Set among beautiful gardens on the site of an old mill this place is quite enchanting. The rooms are beautifully decorated in themes from Fontaine's fables, and attention to detail is exceptional. Martial is a perfect host, and gave us great suggestions to enjoy our stay in this most interesting and historical area. Fall asleep to the sound of the rushing river, wake to bird sounds, enjoy breakfast with bread and home made jams and the local cheese, then explore medieval churches, wineries, little villages....but you may not want to leave! Highly recommended."

"We stayed one night at L'Ile o Reflets on our way further south in France, but the moment we arrived we wished we were staying longer. Our host Martial had transformed the buildings of an old mill spread along the banks and two small islands of the Loir into a series of guest rooms and self catering cottages set within a surprising and charming series of gardens. And there are tennis courts and a pool as well. The rooms are themed according to the fables of La Fontaine, and ours came on two levels with a fantastic bed and sittting area and a well-equipped bathroom. And Martial was an attentive, but discreet host - with a deep knowledge (and love) for the region. I could definitely have stayed several days, or even a week, in this beautiful and fascinating countryside that is so often overlooked for the more obvious sites of the Loire."

"We stayed at L'ille O Reflets for three nights. The welcome was warm and friendly and our host Martial couldn't do enough to help and make recommendations for places to visit and restaurants in which to eat. During our stay we were able to relax on the small island opposite the main house and recover from our long hot drive. The house is old and large with a very pleasant quaint fable theme throughout. We had a large room with comfortable bed. Breakfast was of the continental variety as you would expect, with delicious croissant, home made jams local cheeses and fresh fruit. Troo is a pretty village with a couple of basic auberge eating places and walks around cave dwellings. But the icing on the cake for us was a superb meal at Le Cheval Blanc... For 28E we had the best meal we have had for a long time..just try it for yourselves. We used this as a base for visiting Montoire and Lavardin before commencing a trip to the chateaux of the Loire.|"

"We have family in the Loire Valley so knew the area quite well when we selected this Holiday Accommodation. We weren’t looking for anything spectacular, just a bed and preferably a pool. What we got was spectacular.||||We arrived in France early on the ferry from Dieppe. The drive was easy on the toll roads and we got to the house much earlier than we thought, and much much earlier than our check in time. We parked our car in the nice shaded car park and made our way to the houses to introduce ourselves.||||Our first thought was how beautiful the location was. We were nice and secure behind key coded gates, the river runs through the land and the whole place is so green! We found the owner, Martial and apologised for being so early. He suggested we visit the market in Montoire whilst we waited, but after such an early start we were happy to curl up and sleep in the car.||||After about 10 minutes, Martial came over and invited us to use the facilities, he showed us a wonderful area, over the bridge onto one of the islands, where there were hammocks and loungers. We slept soundly until we were allowed to go in.||||The “complex” is made up of a bed and breakfast which Martial lives in and runs, a 2 bedroom Gite and a 4 bedroom gite. We stayed in the 4 bed, Le Corbeau et La Renard. The house was spotlessly clean and beautifully decorated. Our group was made up of 2 couples and one single. We were very comfortable in the house with lots of space upstairs and down. Two bathrooms with showers, kitchen diner and a lounge. The outside patio area was lovely and we spent every evening sitting out in the warm air with a bottle of wine (or two). When we asked him to let us know if we got too loud, Martials attitude was that this was our house for the time we were staying, and we should treat it like home.||||Every morning Martial went for fresh bread from the local bakeries for his guests in the B & B and was more than happy for one of us to accompany him there to get our own and share his local knowledge.||||La Chartre is about 25 minutes away for those who wish to explore a bit further and is very pretty with shops and restaurants. This part of France is not so much about shopping and rural France really does not cater for those who wish to eat out for every meal (more than once we tried to find food and failed!) but if your French is better than ours I’m sure you would be fine! If you were staying in the Bed & Breakfast I’m sure Martial would be happy to sort out reservations If needed. There are plenty of supermarkets nearby for your shop.||||The swimming pool is well sized for about 3 people at once, the tennis court is full sized and there is a ping pong table in a covered area nearby. Martial will even let you borrow his boat if you wish to explore the Loire!||||The kitchen was well equipped with nearly everything we needed, although we did have to search for a few things (The glasses are in the cupboard in the lounge!) We had some cleaning equipment, and an iron, and only ended up purchasing a new corkscrew and a sharp knife to have everything we needed to prepare food. The coffee filter was a fabulous benefit and we all enjoyed fresh filter coffee every day.||||Martial was a fantastic host. He lives with his cat (Yoda) and his dog (Dolly) in the bed and breakfast. He used to be an interior designer in Paris and you can tell from the way the place is set out and the little touches like the sculptures. He took us round the bed and breakfast on our penultimate day as he had no other guests staying and every room is spectacular, as is the smaller gite. Beautiful and tasteful with every room following the Aesop’s Fable theme. On the morning we left we had an early start and he appeared with fresh coffee, apple juice and cake for our breakfast to see us on our way.||||If you come to stay, you must go and visit Troo. Although not the cheapest to eat, it is beautiful to walk round. We saved this for our last day and if you can make it to the top, the views are fantastic. Also fascinating to see the houses cut into the rocks and to go even near the wine cellar (the temperature drop as you get nearby is incredible)||||We could happily have spent a month here and not been bored. I would recommend this part of France to anyone, and the L’ile o reflets is the perfect location. It’s a wonderful place to stay and even if you never left the complex, you would go away feeling relaxed and refreshed. Would recommend to anyone"

"We stayed in the "chambre d'hôte" part of the property with our 2 children. The rooms are in a beautiful old house full of character. Our room was pretty and very comfortable, we had everything we needed. Our two kids loved the billiard table and books in the shared living room. The gardens are stunning: peaceful & atmospheric, really special. We came from a big city just 2 hours away, and yet we felt transported to another world. Martial, the owner of the property, was very welcoming and thoughtful with our 2 children, coming up with lots of ideas of things to interest them. He really made us feel at home. There is lots to keep kids amused here: tennis, the pool (weather permitting), boules, exploring the little islands, a rowing boat. If you're looking for somewhere peaceful, full of charm and history I can't recommend this place enough."