We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
From boutique boltholes surrounded by the city sights to rolling wine estates offering dining in the midst of the vines, these are our favourite Bordeaux hotels
If you like wine, impressive architecture and the laidback lifestyle found in France’s south west, then a trip to one of the best cities in Europe is a must – and we’ve rounded up the loveliest Bordeaux hotels to help you visit the Eurostar destination in style.
BEST BORDEAUX HOTELS
The main city of the Gironde department of France, this thrilling river port sits at the heart of one of the world’s most revered wine-growing regions. Oenophiles flock here, as do those who love French gastronomy and culture in general.
The city’s rich heritage abounds in architectural wonders in styles including Gothic and neo-classical, but this is also a resolutely 21st-century city with stunning contemporary buildings, among them the undulating metallic Cité du Vin where you can learn all you need to know about the city’s most famous output.
While here, you’ll want to stay somewhere stylish to soak up the sights and flavours of the city. Some of the best Bordeaux hotels invite you to hole up in their own restaurants for wonderful local cuisine, some of it Michelin-starred – as is the case with the Les Sources de Caudalie with its wine-themed spa treatments, and the history-drenched InterContinental Bordeaux – Le Grand.
Others have cosy private dining spaces presided over by their passionate hosts keen to showcase simple local ingredients, such as oysters.
In keeping with a region very much focused on the concept of ‘slow food’ based on traditional local produce, the best way to get to Bordeaux is by Eurostar, taking you from the heart of London to the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in just under six hours in style, comfort and the anticipation of an unforgettable stay.
Check out our pick of the best Bordeaux hotels for a French city break.
Combining a vinotherapy spa offering treatments based on local wines, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, a country inn, and a wine bar and deli, this Bordeaux hotel sits amidst the Grand Cru vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte just south of the city.
Designed by Yves Collet, who used recycled local materials to create state-of-the-art buildings in harmony with their surroundings, Les Sources de Caudalie includes a bee garden, a kitchen garden and a henhouse for fresh eggs (kids, who are welcome, love to feed them). If you can be lured out of this splendid cocoon, the resort’s BMW i3 can be hired to venture out to the likes of Arcachon Bay with its teetering sand dune or medieval Saint-Emilion with its globally revered wineries.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
From a hidden wine cellar hosting tastings to bike loan for exploring the city, this delightful guesthouse does all it can to make you feel welcome. La Course‘s seven sophisticated yet cosy rooms are individually decorated with quirky touches. La Palombe Bleue, for instance, is gently themed to call to mind a luxury train carriage, with sliding doors to the bathroom and an over-bed luggage rack, while Les Voiles has the airy, nautical feel of a sailing boat.
Lovebirds has a circular freestanding bathtub for dips à deux, and Nautilus with its shell-shaped shower includes the sweetest cabin bunk-room for kids. But the top spot in every sense is Manon des Etoiles, with its roof terrace with plunge pool, perfect for stargazing.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Run by two generations of the same family, this restored 18th-century mansion a stone’s throw from the Bordeaux Opéra has its own golf course on a nearby riverside, exclusively for guest use. The decor at Hote Seze differs across its 55 rooms; all have a classic feel but some stand out for flamboyant wallpaper featuring fish or luxuriant vegetation.
Especially romantic is the Marie-Antoinette Suite with its silk canopy framing the bedhead. The spa features a Jacuzzi, a hammam, a sauna and a sensory shower, and there’s a sleek bistro including daily set menus based on what’s best at the city markets, plus a fumoir and cigar cabinet.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
In a village overlooking the city from the east, this member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux group is a reinvention of an 18th-century longère (farmhouse) by world-famous architect Jean Nouvel. Connecting four contemporary pavilions to the main building, and retaining the rusted and chipped appearance of local tobacco barns, he created an architectural icon that’s now heritage-listed by the Ministry of Culture.
The 18 rooms are bold and minimalist; other offerings are an outdoor pool (also by Nouvel), a sauna, in-room massages and a cookery school where you can learn to emulate the cuisine served in the superb restaurant with its innovative dishes including scallops with caviar and sea herbs.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
This listed building overlooking the sweeping expanse of the Italian-style Place du Parlement combines 18th-century aesthetics with contemporary designer touches and 21st-century modern comforts in three striking apartments sleeping four or six apiece.
One is embellished with bright feathers referencing the nearby Ile aux Oiseaux bird reserve, and another – a duplex for families – has natural hues echoing local sand and driftwood. Full kitchens can be found in each apartment, including wine fridges and coffee machines, hearty breakfast baskets can be delivered to your door, and there’s a sauna for guest use, too.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
A fresh – and even quite eccentric – take on a luxury hotel, Yndo Hotel is a former mansion blends time-honoured French elegance with contemporary furnishings including velvet seats with fish-tail backs and and bronze chandeliers. Most of the 12 rooms are more pared back, but all bear surprises such as cowhide-print floor coverings, neon wall hangings or abstract modern artworks.
One has a raised corner bath; some of the other features slipper baths for extra-deep soaks. The restaurant is a guest-only affair serving the likes of Parc de l’Impératrice sourced oysters and a dream of a lemon pie, accompanied by hand-picked local vintages.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
With an illustrious history going back more than 200 years, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant among its duo of eateries, a rooftop bar with panoramic skyline views and a Guerlain spa including a relaxation pool, a sauna, a hammam and a tea room, the InterContinental Bordeaux – Le Grand Hôtel is a force to be reckoned with.
The rooms and suites offer total immersion in the Belle Epoque; some offer lovely opera house views. The main restaurant, Le Pressoir d’Argent Gordon Ramsay, is a special-occasion venue in which the celebrity chef has focused to breathtaking effect on French culinary heritage and local produce including Gironde black truffles and Brittany lobster.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Its name a pun (hôtels particuliers were not hotels but grand townhouses), this handsome property has just five rooms and suites – some with beautiful fireplaces – together with studio, family and loft apartments sleeping up to four. Décor varies from an elegant simplicity in many to a more colourful modern look in others.
A home-made breakfast is served in a period dining room with contemporary features, while the concierge can make insider recommendations for and reservations at the city’s best restaurants – as well as vineyard visits and other outings.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
On the edge of Bordeaux, this self-described ‘urban village’ has three restaurants, a cocktail bar modelled on an English club, a lakeside wellbeing area with an indoor pool and a massage pavilion that seems to float on the water, and a cinema complete with a popcorn cart.
Its five pretty, rustic-chic rooms are squirrelled away in the old winery and feature such idiosyncrasies as round shuttered windows and bedheads crafted from logs. Alternatively, the four wooden lodges dotted around the grounds – inspired by Napoleonic camps – are cosy nests ideal for immersing yourself in nature.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Around 25 miles south-east of the city in the Sauternes region, this Grand Cru Classé wine estate added a sumptuous hotel – also a Relais & Châteaux property – in 2018, on the occasion of its 400th anniversary. At Hotel & Restaurant LALIQUE at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, there’s an 18-hole golf course on site, but wine and champagne are quite naturally the focal points of any stay, and there’s spectacular Michelin-starred dining by Jérôme Schilling.
Couples and small groups can even book dinner int the midst of the 36 hectares of vines, accompanied by wine pairings by the hotel sommelier and sunset views.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
About gracia
