We spent seven days last month at the Chateau de Verrieres. We have rarely stayed at an hotel that has so completely lived up to very high expectations. Previous reviewers have been very generous in their praise but we feel they have all been justified. This is a lovely hotel, the bedrooms are very large, extremely comfortable and beautifully furnished. The quality of the bathrooms is equally good. The public rooms are delightful and never crowded. There is no restaurant but on one night, when there was a large party, we were asked if we wanted to dine in and we had an excellent dinner. We particularly appreciated having the dinner served in a separate, private room. Breakfasts are excellent and well served.

The rooms and bathrooms are cleaned immaculately and turned down in the evenings. We had the Zen suite and the adjoining red room and can recommend them both. The views from the suite towards the Saumur Chateau are breathtaking and neither room was affected by traffic noise. We were fortunate to have excellent weather and made good use of the swimming pool, very well kept and very peaceful.

Thierry and Yolaine are perfect hosts. We were greeted warmly and looked after like family guests but with no intrusiveness or fuss. We were given helpful advice on touring, on routes to take and on interesting but little-known sites within easy reach. All recommended restaurants were excellent, especially Gambetta, L'Escargot and L'Aromat. They are all within five minutes' walk. A final word: you do not have to be a dog-lover to enjoy the resident mongrel, Uno.

We would recommend the Chateau de Verrieres to our most demanding friends and we deliberately failed to visit a number of the Loire chateaux so that we should have an excuse to return.