Hostellerie la Briqueterie

Great spot in the Champagne country close to all the major champagne houses in Epernay, and a short drive to Reims to more champagne! This spot is incredibly convenient, just a quick drive to town. The staff is friendly and amenities are nice. If I were to book my trip again, I would have stayed here the whole time while in the Champagne area.

I can’t recommend Hostellerie la Briqueterie enough! We came here as a bit of a splurge on our final night in the region. We were told check-​in wasn’t until 3:00, but since our room hadn’t been used the night before, they let us check in early. They brought us to our room (on private stairs), and it was gorgeous. A bit old fashioned, red and flowery, but it was amazing. (We did splurge a bit I said). When the guy from the desk showed us around, he told us that he’d be right back. When someone came back, they had brought us a couple of free cakes. Yum! After returning from lunch, there was a bottle of Champagne waiting for us. Double yum!
There’s an amazing spa area as well. A huge pool (that no one else was using), a hot tub, a dry sauna and a steam room. We tried them all out. Unfortunately, I can’t handle steam rooms because it feels like I’m drowning on air, and the sauna was nice, but I overheated after a bit, so I stuck mainly to the pool, but I went back to the room early to try out the huge bathtub while he stayed behind to enjoy the things I can’t. We did just chill out in the room for the rest of the day and had a nice relaxing afternoon.
We also had dinner at the restaurant. We had a 7:30 booking, but they had no problem changing it until later as we had a bit of a late lunch. We went down to the bar to have a drink beforehand. The bar area is really gorgeous with huge seats. After bringing our drinks, they brought us a great selection of amuse bouche to enjoy. We also got the menus to decide what to have. We opted for the chef’s surprise menu, but most people seemed to go for the a la carte choices.
At the beginning of the meal, things went quite slow. We weren’t brought a wine menu for ages, and it felt like we were being slightly ignored. When we asked for one, they asked us if we wanted a wine pairing instead. Of course we did. We could go with Champagne only, or a mix of Champagne and wine. We went for the mix.
Food was amazing. The foie gras was excellent. We also had an asian style prawn dish that made me want to lick the bowl. The fish course was heavenly. I usually am not a fan of fish, but this place could make me a convert. I can’t fault the food here. The cheese course was amazing. A huge selection of cheeses that we could choose pretty much as much as we wanted. Although it did turn out to be too much cheese. The sweets at the end were great, and great petit fours to end the meal.
This hotel and restaurant are pretty fantastic. The rooms are amazing, the spa area wonderful and the food outstanding. I think we’ll definitely come back if we ever make it back to Champagne.

We are staying at the hotel and decided to have a light meal for dinner. After taking one look at the menu we were overwhelmed by the incredible options! Beautiful food (probably more than we had originally planned to eat or spend) but such a beautiful experience none the less!
The wine recommendations blew us away.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ for service!

We had stopped at the Hostellerie la Briqueterie on our way from Calais to Provence.
Location: The hotel is in Vinay which is a small town near Epernay. It was pretty central to the Epernay town centre, Avenue du Champagne and the big L. Leclerc if you needed anything.
Arrival: Don’t let the big wall on the street fool you. Once you turn into the driveway it’s beautiful.
Bellman: They were helpful and took our luggage to our room.
Reception/​Front Desk: Very friendly welcome.
Lobby: The lobby area is ok with a couple of small sitting areas.
Room: We were in room on the first floor. We booked a classic double room which was fine size wise and fit our needs for the stop over.
View: We had windows that opened up to the front garden of the hotel.
Bed: The queen size bed was very comfortable.
Bathroom: The bathroom was fine. The size wasn’t small, but it wasn’t big. The shower and bathtub was one.
Hair dryer: It was one of those which were attached to the walls. I am not a fan of these dryers because they’re slow and this one you had to keep your finger on the button to keep it going. It died after awhile.
Products: Etro products which were ok. If you want hair conditioner you need to call and ask housekeeping.
Closet: The closest was very small and hidden. At first I didn’t think we had one until we saw the small sliding door next to the mini bar.
Safe: Regular safe in room available.
Control Panel: N/​A. Just a remote for the TV.
Minibar: Very standard with the traditional options.
Mirrors: There was one mirror.
Housekeeping: Fine.
Wifi: The wifi speed was good.
Dining outlets we visited:
The hotel has a bar, a michelin star restaurant and a patio where you can eat breakfast.
1. The bar was very cozy where we had a glass of champagne. Definitely have a drink there.
2. We didn’t eat in the restaurant because we didn’t feel like doing a fancy restaurant while on holiday even though the hotel really pushes it.
3. The patio where we had breakfast was disappointing. The service was bad, the food was below average and it was expensive. Breakfast is not included in the room rate and is 22 Euros per person. I asked for soft boiled eggs and they came out in between soft and hard. My husband asked for baked eggs and they came out like frisbees.
Spa: Didn’t check out the spa.
Concierge: They did help us with reservations at Moet et Chandon and offered a few restaurant recommendations.
Style: The hotel is very old school.
Note: It was raining the two days were were in Champagne and unfortunately didn’t get to fully experience their garden which looked amazing. We did a quick walk in between rain showers and there were nice paths, herb garden and open space to walk.
Pet friendly: Dogs are welcome at 50 Euros per day — very expensive! They put a bed, water and food bowls in the room which is nice. Dogs are not allowed anywhere in the hotel except for the lobby area and the room. At 50 Euros you would think should be allowed everywhere in the hotel.
Would I go back? Probably not. The hotel was fine, but it wasn’t our style.

Décevant pour un restaurant étoilé
En effet, les plats sont bien, mais sans plus, mais les quantités sont insuffisantes, et il y a un nombre de détails qui fâchent, comme le pain qui est un peu dur car pas tout frais, le foie gras servi très chichement, le vin blanc, servi à température de la pièce c’est à dire 20°… Rien de grave, mais pour un restaurant qui a une étoile au guide rouge, c’est plus difficilement acceptable. La décoration est plutôt sympathique en revanche.

Que du bonheur !
J’ai eu la chance de déjeuner dans cette magnifique demeure, décorée avec soin, avec une terrasse et un jardin très soignés. La carte déjeuner a réveillé mes papilles: tartare de thon, filet de dorade au caviar d’aubergines, et le must: feuilleté au cacao (extra). A celà se sont ajoutées mises en bouches (pré-​entrés, pré-​desserts) extremement originales et délicieuses. Le rapport qualité-​prix est vraiment impressionnant. Merci pour ce moment inoubliable !