Grand Hôtel Mercure Hôtel de Bourbon et Abbaye St-Ambroix

Description:

• This is the finest hotel in Bourges, and its cuisine is the best in the area. In the early 1990s, the Mercure chain converted a 17th-century abbey and a stately home into this first-class hotel. The cheerful rooms are well appointed and comfortable (except for the half-timbered units beneath the sloping mansard roof on the third floor, which are a bit cramped). The stonework of the exterior and the public areas is beautiful and artfully cadenced to reflect the site's historic origins. The setting, almost adjacent to the rail station, is convenient for train travelers.

  The cuisine at Abbaye St-Ambroix is prepared by chef François Adamski. Menu items change with the seasons, but may include scallops cooked in tarragon butter with French caviar; foie gras fried with dried fruit, fresh pears, and a reduction of red wine; or roasted John Dory with vegetable lasagna.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010