CONDRIEU

HÔTELLERIE BEAU RIVAGE

There is one establishment essential to civilized motor travel on the Continent: the good stopover hotel. These places are the unsung heroes of the hospitality industry. Without them, we independent travellers would find our journeys miserable and uncomfortable. With them, we can actually look forward to the overnight pause en route to the Swiss lake or to the Mediterranean resort. The best of them offer us a friendly welcome, comfortable accommodation, hearty food and fine wine and send us off on our way cheered by a tip-top breakfast. All this I found at the Hôtellerie Beau Rivage in Condrieu.

You will know the name of Condrieu. From the vineyards on its remarkably steep hills above the mighty River Rhone comes one of France’s most distinctive and distinguished white wines. Significantly for the motorist, it is very close to the A7 autoroute and, as a result, is but a comfortable day’s driving from the French Riviera. Thus it is the perfect location for a stopover of high quality.

And that is precisely what the Beau Rivage is. Owned by the Humann-Donet family, this old fisherman’s house (with a modern wing) has 28 rooms. Those rooms, particularly at weekends, are often full, so it is advisable to book well in advance. Visitors are drawn not only because of its convenient position, but also because its restaurant has a Michelin star.

I arrived tired after a long drive, for even the Royce cannot keep motorway fatigue at bay forever. The old dear was carefully manoeuvred into the secure car park, and then I sought (and found) restoration with a pot of Lapsang on the hotel terrace, right next to the swirling dark waters of the Rhone. Why we mortals find the presence of water so soothing I do not know. Perhaps it has to do with our submerged memories of the womb. But soothe it does, and soon I had found the energy to seek out my billet and unpack my bags.

Room 21 was on the first floor of the older building. With bright red walls and air conditioning, this accommodation was clean and bright and certainly not expensive at 159 euros a night, bed and breakfast for two. I would strongly advise, however, that you go for one of the larger and costlier rooms with a river view in the new block for 259 euros (pictured). For my own apartment was rather short of space. It also had a strange  system of automatic lighting in the bathroom. This meant that I was plunged into darkness while I was in the bath… Still, I did manage eventually to complete my pre-prandial ablutions, and then it was down for dinner.

The restaurant is a room of large windows and elegant furniture. Its carpet is red and patterned, its tablecloths are light yellow, its porcelain is from Limoges and its waiters and waitresses wear dark suits. As I arrived, my fellow guests were all deep in animated conversation, so there was a pleased hum of contentment about the place.

This is a bastion of traditional French cuisine, and the kitchen of Chef Reynald Donet is famous for its adherence to the Old Ways. That might be why it is so popular. Sadly, there are not many places left which still serve quenelle de brochet au salpicon de homard. Here it was absolutely terrific. Given a touch of modernity by its presentation on a rectangular plate, the sausage of pike mousse and the accompanying lobster sauce were exactly as they should have been: robustly balanced in the richness of their flavours and yet still light and exquisitely delicate. A great dish.

After such gastronomic heights, it was perhaps inevitable that the following courses should inhabit a more ordinary culinary plane. But I still enjoyed the red mullet with parmesan and girolles, the lamb chops with thyme and the hot passion fruit soufflé wth orange and ginger sorbet. These four courses from the carte were 112 euros. A four course set meal is 56 euros, and a five course set menu is 77 euros.

Some interesting older clarets at attractive prices can be found in the cellar – like 1971 Margaux (420 euros), 1978 Haut brion (265 euros) and 1983 Latour (325 euros) – but, as you would expect, the list is strongest in bottles from Condrieu and Côte Rôtie. There are 35 of the former (from a 2005 by Chirat at 52 euros to a 2003 by Guigal, La Doriane, at 135 euros), and 64 of the latter (from a 2001 by Gérard F at 60 euros to the 1983 La Landonne by Guigal at 355 euros).

Into the Schott glasses on my table I had poured the 2005 Condrieu by Perret (58 euros), and was pleased to find it the typical Condrieu mix of apricots, peaches and cream. My Côte Rôtie was from the 1999 vintage (Burgaud – 75 euros). It proved young, tannic and green, with many years of development ahead of it.

The following morning I cleaned the windscreen of the Silver Cloud and checked her oil level before going to breakfast, served in the smaller of the two dining rooms. At my table overlooking the river (it certainly does dominate these parts), I tucked into meats, cheeses, fruit salad and croissants, washed down by good coffee – poured from a Space Age glass container.

Then it was off on the next leg of my journey. As I settled back into the Royce’s pleated leather, I felt grateful to the hotel in Condrieu. Solid, sustaining hospitality is exactly what I want in a good stopover hotel. And the Hôtellerie Beau Rivage is a good – a very good – stopover hotel.

ADDRESSES

HÔTELLERIE BEAU RIVAGE
2 rue du Beau-Rivage, 69420 Condrieu, France.
Telephone +33 (0)4 74 56 82 82
Fax +33 (0)4 74 59 59 36
Email: infos@hotel-beaurivage.com
www.hotel-beaurivage.com
Double rooms from 110 euros, breakfast extra (17 euros each)