The Loire Valley Lodges hotel in Touraine, France: our full review of its treetop lodges with hot tubs

At Loire Valley Lodges, you sleep 4 metres above the ground, deep in a 300-hectare private forest, with a hot tub on your terrace and a restaurant listed by the Michelin Guide a short walk away. The founder of La Revue des Hôtels tested this hotel in Esvres-sur-Indre in October 2026, staying in a lodge suite with a hot tub. Here is our full review: the lodge, Ardent restaurant, breakfast, what there is to do on site and our detailed score.

300 hectares of forest, under 2 hours from Paris

Opened in July 2020, Loire Valley Lodges sits in the Duporterie forest, a 300-hectare private forest open only to guests, in Esvres-sur-Indre, south-east of Tours. You leave your car in the car park: the hotel is car-free, and electric buggies carry your luggage up to the lodges.

At reception, beneath the Virginia creeper, a hundred-year-old oak shelters a circular bench; all around are the herb courtyard, the permaculture kitchen garden and a concept store devoted to nature and art. What strikes you first is the silence: once the lodge door is closed, all you can hear is the forest.

The hotel holds one MICHELIN Key, the guide’s hotel selection. We had already picked it among the unusual hotels of France and among our hotels with a private spa.

Our lodge 4 metres up, hot tub included

Each lodge is perched 4 metres high, on stilts, among the treetops. Built from Douglas fir, chestnut and oak from the surrounding forest to plans by architect Isabelle Poulain, they offer 35 m² of living space, wide picture windows and a 25 m² terrace.

Ours, a lodge suite in warm shades of orange, ochre and yellow, was spotlessly clean and remarkably well equipped: a 180 x 200 king-size bed, a dining area facing the forest, an espresso machine, a kettle and herbal teas, a safe, air conditioning, blinds on the windows and a walkie-talkie linked to reception. The bathroom has a walk-in shower and the toilet is separate.

The private hot tub on the terrace is the highlight of the stay: you slip in facing the tree trunks, overlooked by nothing but the trees. There is no WiFi and no television in the lodges, a deliberate choice to help guests switch off; WiFi remains free in the communal areas.

Which of the 21 lodges should you choose?

All 21 lodges are signed by a contemporary artist, who designed their look, and every one has a hot tub on its terrace. The official website divides them into three categories:

Our tip: a Spa+ lodge for long winter evenings, when the private sauna extends the hot tub. Efflorescences, the only lodge at ground level, is suitable for guests with reduced mobility and has two terraces, one of them above a pond. For more ideas in the heart of nature, see our report on unusual stays in France.

Ardent, chef Rémi Berment’s restaurant

Ardent is one of the great successes of Loire Valley Lodges. The restaurant, listed by the Michelin Guide, occupies an old stone barn: a dining room under the beams, an arch, woven pendant lights, and outside a terrace lit with string lights around a corten-steel fire kitchen. In the evening, the setting is superb.

Chef Rémi Berment works with the vegetables and poultry from LaFerme, the estate’s farm: 30 hectares certified organic, less than 500 metres from the lodges, where heritage breeds such as the Noire du Berry are raised. The autumn menu lines up venison tartare, a variation on squash from the farm, einkorn risotto with burnt leeks, trout from the Moulin de Langeais with pil-pil sauce and a Ghana 80% chocolate brownie: cooking we found remarkable, with impeccable service.

À la carte, starters cost €17 to €21, mains €24 to €35 and desserts €14 to €16; a five-course tasting menu is offered at €85, to be taken by the whole table. Ardent serves dinner from Thursday to Monday and lunch at weekends; from 26 October, a more bistro-style Carte Buissonnière takes over at lunch from Monday to Friday. To dine in, the In Room Dining service is delivered to the lodge between 7pm and 8pm; the bar, in the old farmhouse, has its own fireplace.

Breakfast arrives at the lodge by pulley

In the morning, breakfast arrives in a basket hung from a pulley, at the foot of the lodge: you hoist it up whenever you like. You choose it in advance on an order form: breads, fresh juice, honey from the estate, jam, homemade spread, cheese, gravlax salmon, seasonal fruit, and always a flaky brioche for two.

It is natural, organic and very good. Our only reservation concerns the sweet options: we would have liked more pastries and bakery treats alongside the brioche.

A 20 m pool, artworks and forest bathing

Behind the old farmhouse, a 20-metre swimming pool, unheated, is open from May to September, 10am to 7pm; in winter, it is joined by a Nordic bath, bookable by time slot. An art trail scatters monumental works through the forest, including a bronze by Philippe Pasqua, an angel by Michel Audiard, a totem by Aurèle and a Cow Parade cow painted by Jacques Bosser.

For wellbeing, massages are given in the lodge, on the terrace or in the room (€120 for 60 minutes), and the hotel offers forest bathing, guided relaxation, a dream tent and bikes to hire. On the other hand, there is no gym or tennis court: the more active will head out to the Loire châteaux, golf or canoeing nearby. To extend your trip, see our Loire château hotels and the future Six Senses Loire Valley, in Sologne.

Why 9.2 out of 10

Loire Valley Lodges scores 9.2 out of 10: a magnificent setting, total silence and a real connection with nature, an impeccable and perfectly equipped lodge, and a restaurant, Ardent, that is worth the trip on its own. The score loses a few tenths for the range of activities and the sweet options at breakfast; for a getaway for two, deep in nature, it is an address we recommend.