Great small hotel, very close to centre of town (2 or 3 blocks) Clean rooms, we stayed in main building overlooking the gardens and didn't hear any outside noises.

Cozy rooms, nicely decorated but very, very bad service and believe me, we found a mouse in the room !

My daughter and I stayed for almost an hour locked in the bathroom, while a bad tempered front desk worker tried to find the rat.

We requested another room, which was emphatically denied.

Then, we tryed to move to another hotel, also without success. The front desk guy seemed not to care about our situation, suggesting a motel and to our surprise, at our costs.

We had to spend the rest of the night in my cousin's room, with his wife and his daughter
.
We were five people in a room that only fits two adults and one child.

Unfortunately, this was not our only disappointment. On our checkout day, I met another rude employee: Maxime.

That morning I had lost my reading glasses in the lobby and I asked if he had seen them. He aswered that he was too busy to help me and that he wasn't a thief.
In addition he said : " Besides, helping you with this is not part of my job "

After we paid the bill in full, the owner appeared asking what was happening. He did know about nothing ? !

I think he just showed up because I said to my daughter, in front of one of the employees, that I would write a review on trip advisor mentioning our very unpleasant experience.

Le Clos d'Amboise is in a wonderful location, withing walking distance to Clos Luce (Da Vinci's house) and many places to eat. Free car parking is available, and if the on-site parking - which can get a bit cramped and awkward to manouver in - is full, there is free parking about 50m up the road. It might depend on when you go how much competition there is for the free public parking!

I had a beautiful room, comfortable bed, big modern bathroom, overlooking the garden in the annexe (there are two parts to Le Clos Amboise). It was quiet, save for the wind in the trees and the occasional crunch of feet on gravel paths. The windows in the bathroom were screened only by those thin internal curtains, which is a bit odd, esp when you are in the shower at night - I just hung a towel up when I was showering, as I was not sure if the curtains would offer sufficient privacy!

The breakfast was very good, with a nice variety on offer, although be aware it is an extra charge. Free WiFi in all areas, and a beautifully furnished place to sit and read papers at the end of the day. There is a pool, but I didn't use it, as the weather was a bit cool by October.

Amboise is a great base for exploring chateaux, as some are 50km east and some 50km west of Amboise, which is central to all. I would absolutely NOT stay in Tours, its too big and if you have a car (which in my view is much better for exploring chateaux than going on a tour), I would not want to navigate in and out of there unless you are very familiar with the city.

Minor thing, more for traveller's advice than a criticism of the hotel - the sign identifying Le Clos D'amboise on the road has the world 'hotel' in very large letters, but the crucial words 'Clos D'amboise' are small and hard to read for those trying to find the place for the first time. The sign is fine if you are walking, but tricky when driving, as it is a one way road and if you have traffic up behind you, you can overshoot the driveway and have to do a lap out and around (5 mins) to get back.

This is a lovely and genuine place to stay in the centre of Amboise. The rooms are spotlessly clean, the beds comfortable and quiet ensuring a good nights sleep. My husband and I stayed in September for three nights and were able to walk to restaurants for dinner, the Castle and Da Vinci's house. It is also a very short drive to Chateaux Chenonceau. The hotel staff, especially Guilliamo, were very helpful. There is parking on site behind the coach house - a little difficult if you have a large car, but achievable. We were lucky enough to enjoy the delights of the secluded pool area almost to ourselves during our stay and a good wine on the verandah in the evening. Would happily stay again.