Rooms

Rooms are indulging: garden flowers, antique furniture and flea market finds, tear-drop chandeliers, then crisp linen, coffee machines and flawless bathrooms. All have pretty crockery for your tasse de thé.

The Meadow Suite, on the ground floor, has double aspect windows that flood the room with light and a door that opens onto the garden. A second bedroom has two sleigh beds for children and adults alike. No bath, just a vast walk-in shower.

The Garden Room has half-panelled walls and period art, plus views from the window across the lawn to an avenue of trees. The bathroom is not ensuite but it's only two steps across the hall, and very fancy, with a roll-top bath and white robes on hand to get you there.

The Honey Suite is great for couples wanting a bit more space: it has a lovely double aspect bedroom with views over the garden, a separate sitting room, a dressing room and a gorgeous bathroom with an inviting claw-foot bathtub.

Set in the chateau's grounds, Maurice's House is a character-filled cottage with its own private garden, ideal for two couples or a family. Downstairs is a big kitchen with French doors onto the terrace; ascend steep open stairs to a light-filled living room with views over the lake and gardens. This is bookended by two kingsize bedrooms, each with a rain shower in its ensuite; one bathroom also has a roll-top tub.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• WiFi

Eating

Breakfast is served in the sitting room. Choose from a tempting selection of yoghurt and granola, fresh baguettes, croissants and patisserie, cheese and charcuterie, homemade jams and local honey, tea and coffee.

Dinner is served by candlelight in the sitting room or out in the garden in summer. Rebecca whisks up four-course feasts by arrangement (not Wednesdays or Sundays), perhaps warm goats cheese with figs, chicken with rosemary and garden vegetables, a plate of French cheeses, then chocolate croissant pudding. For those with children, two-course dinners are served at the same time.

If you want to eat out, try the excellent Restaurant Mariette in Saint Marceau (10 mins) or head across to Beaumont-sur-Sarthe (12 mins) for good bistro fare at Auberge de la Croix Margot and family-friendly Aux Mille Pizzas. Some small gems open at weekends only - Tim and Rebecca can advise. Alternatively, head down to the old town in Le Mans (30 mins) for a good buzz and a wider choice: pizza to Michelin stars and everything in between.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Coffee maker
• Dinner by arrangement
• Fridge

Activities

• Head northwest into the national park for Saint-Ceneri-le-Gerei, said to be one of the most beautiful villages in France. It sits on the River Sarthe amid rolling hills: a beautiful area which locals call the 'Alpes Mancelles'
  
• In summer, try the sandy beach on the lake north of Sillé-Le-Guillaume. You’re surrounded by forest, with paths for feet and bikes, and good restaurants for lunch.
  
• The Loire’s famous chateaux and wine fields are an easy day trip for culture vultures: Tours and Angers are both about 1hr 15 mins' drive
  
• Check out local brocantes (flea markets), several of which helped furnish this chateau. Tim and Rebecca know them all and will point you in the right direction.
  
• Le Mans is more than a race track, its beautifully preserved old town home to an excellent market (Friday and Sunday) and St Julian’s Cathedral. Don’t miss the Musée de Tesse for fine art, the relaxing Jardins des Plantes and the various small theme parks and Go Ape-style adventure playgrounds - the latter a big hit with children.

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cycling

Kids

This is an extremely family-friendly B&B. Baby baths and cots are available. Outside, there’s a playground with swings, a trampoline and a treehouse, then the grounds and woods to explore – hide and seek would be great fun here!

Best for:

All ages

Family friendly accommodation:

For families of four: Maurice's House in the grounds has two double bedrooms, a big kitchen and a private garden. However it has steep open stairs so not ideal for infants or toddlers. For them, the ground floor Meadow Suite works well: it has a second bedroom that can sleep two children (or adults).
For a couple plus baby: A cot can be added to the Garden Room or Honey Suite on request.

Distances:

• Airport: 75-minute drive
• Hospital: 25-minute drive
• Supermarket: 10-minute drive

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Chateau de la Ruche is in the small village of Teillé, 20 mins north of Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire. It's a mile from the A28, one of the main autoroutes between northern and central France.

By Air:
Tours Airport (126km) is the closest, but most people fly into Nantes (215km) or Paris Charles de Gaulle (245km) and drive to the chateau.

By Car:
The chateau is very rural - its driveway is nearly 1km long! - so you'll almost certainly want a car. See our car rental recommendations.

By Train:
If you prefer to let the train take (most of) the strain, from the UK you can get the Eurostar to Gare du Nord in Paris, then a TGV fast train to Le Mans where you can hire a car at the station for the final leg (or hop in a taxi; 35 mins' drive).

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.