Earlier this summer, we were treated to a three-day visit of the Loire Valley by the local tourist board and stayed at a newly renovated 19th-century hotel, made famous by inventing a popular French dessert.
We took a 7 a.m. train from the Austerlitz station in Paris, and arrived at the small town of Lamotte Beuvron in the Sologne province two hours later. The Maison Tatin, the hotel we would be spending the next two nights in, was conveniently located across the street from the train station. At the foot of the railroad station, the words "PAYS DE LA TARTE TATIN" (in English: "Tarte Tatin Country") are printed in bold letters on a pale apricot wall.
After viewing the sign, we were already salivating, thinking about having a slice of the iconic French dessert, a caramelized, upside-down apple cake.
The original hotel was built in 1830, hosting guests who were arriving and departing the railroad station, and at one time was named Hotel Terminus. In the late 1800s, the hotel was owned by two sisters, Caroline and Stephanie Tatin, who made a local name for themselves on the reputation of the restaurant, and it was elevated to a new status when it was included in the first ever Michelin Guide. It was rated one of the top restaurants in the Sologne region.
Much like the beloved chocolate chip cookie in the U.S., the tarte Tatin was a culinary accident that went on to become a legendary dessert.
As the story goes: On the first Sunday of the busy hunting season (which is in October), the hotel was bustling with hungry hunters. While one of the sisters began preparing her classic apple pie, she got so busy with other duties in the hotel, she forgot that the apples were cooking in butter and sugar and upon her absent-minded return to the kitchen, much to her disappointment, she discovered that the apples were overcooked. In a last-minute ditch effort to salvage the cake, she quickly added the crust to the top of the pan and then slid it into the oven. Once it was baked, she turned it upside down on a plate and, voila!, the tarte Tatin was christened. Nowadays, almost every French restaurant has their version of the apple delight and is a popular favorite with home chefs and pastry-makers.
The hotel changed hands three times in the 1900s and in 2019, it was bought by a group of investors. The reason the name was changed from Hotel Tatin to Maison Tatin, was the new owners desired to give the property more of a homey atmosphere, rather than just checking into a hotel. Renovations began in 2019 and the rooms were modernized, the restaurant, bar,and the salon were redecorated, and a spa and tearoom were added in a separate building on the property. The hotel was originally supposed to open in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening was delayed until May 2021.
The quaint façade of plaster trimmed with bricks has been redone and new, midnight blue awnings adorn the windows. Once inside, we were warmly greeted by Mylan, the daytime manager of the hotel. The modest check-in area doubled as the bar of the hotel, and we were offered a welcome coffee. While waiting for our room to be prepared we perused the handsome dining room, decorated with tufted, velvet dining chairs in jewel tones of jade green and bright blue and silver, brass chandeliers with black lampshades, a fireplace with a pink marble mantle, and carpeting replicating the pattern of a wood parquet floor. The intimate salon room had mustard damask, tie-back drapes, Louis XV-style chairs upholstered in chocolate brown velvet, and a red oriental rug. The paintings and drawings of the salon and dining were on loan from a local gallery which specializes in works of arts with animals in them.
Maison Tatin has 14 rooms on three floors without an elevator. We stayed in Room 14 on the top floor, in the Cocoon category of rooms. It was a cozy, attic room with slanted ceilings, measuring almost 200 square feet. Although the room was small, it had a queen-size bed that was super comfortable and had an attractive bed cover and pillows in soothing colors. The room was very quiet and had a window overlooking a weeping willow tree in the garden. It was a warm, humid day when we arrived, about 88 degrees Fahrenheit, which is exceptionally warm for the region, and what we most appreciated about the room was the excellent air conditioning and the in-room thermostat to adjust it (French hotels in the past had a reputation for having either poor or no air conditioning at all).
We were given a tour of the other room types, including a Family Suite, Room 18, with a king size bed, a photo mural covering an entire wall, a step-down living room area with a sofa that converts to a double bed, and an oversized, flat-screen television. Tip: The suites are the only rooms with bathtubs. The other room we saw was a Superior, Room 8, which had similar interior details, including a king size bed; plus there’s ample room, so the hotel can add an extra single bed if requested. There are two rooms available with wheelchair access on the garden level.
One of the unique features of the spa is a shower experience where you have three different shower heads that dispense the water in different strengths, such as a warm mist, an immersive downpour, or a gentle rain, accompanied by seductive lighting and floral scents. Other services of the spa include a hammam-style steam bath, sauna, workout room and a dual treatment room, offering massages, body treatment and facials from the well renowned Maison Kos.
That evening, we had dinner at the Maison Tatin Restaurant outside in the verdant garden area behind the hotel. Even though it was 8 p.m. and the sun was still shining, we sat at a table that was embellished with towering, weeping willow trees nearby, creating some cool shade. We started with a glass of local Loire wine, a refreshing, 2016 red Reuilly from Les Demoiselles Tatin. A ceviche of dorade fish, decorated with edible, summer flowers was light and just right for the heat, and was followed by a lamb ragout topped with a crisp layer of a potato pancake, served with local mushrooms. Chef Olaf Pezard amply uses a rich variety of produce and other ingredients sourced from the Sologne and Loire Valley region purveyors, including a prestigious vinegar and mustard company and fresh honey from a bee farm nearby.
As good as the first two courses were, the whole time we were anticipating the piece de resistance—the tarte Tatin. The original recipe was handed down to family member Fanny Tatin, who passed it on to the next three owners who succeeded her in the 1900s. It was served almost unadorned, dotted with just a few droplets of caramel on an oversized white plate. The taste was sublime, a mix of sweet and slightly tart, melting smoothly over our palates with a buttery but light crust underneath; it went beyond our high expectations.
Good to know: The concierge at Maison Tatin is happy to assist guests in arranging local activities such as chateau visits and tours, horse riding (nearby is the headquarters of the French Equestrian Federation), nature hikes, and boat rides in the local lakes.
Please note that currently Maison Tatin is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
For booking info and concierge services, you can email or call Madame Mansouri, who is the English-speaking guest representative of the hotel at [email protected] or +33-2-54-88-00-03.
Next month we will continue the second part of this article about our trip to Loire with information about three off-the-beaten-track chateaus we visited.
For more information, visit www.lamaisontatin.fr.
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