The Auberge du Jeu de Paume: A Golfer’s Royal Retreat
All Square 7min read •
6 May
There is a particular category of hotel that doesn’t merely accommodate you — it transports you. The Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly belongs firmly in that rare company. Set within one of the most storied royal estates in France, honoured with a Michelin Clé for two consecutive years, and offering some of the most quietly theatrical surroundings in all of European golf travel, this five-star Relais & Châteaux is not simply somewhere to sleep between rounds. It is the reason to come in the first place.
A Name Rooted in Royal History
Before a single room was decorated or a table set, the building that gives the hotel its identity had already lived several extraordinary lives. In the 16th century, the sport of jeu de paume — also known as real tennis — was in its heyday, proving hugely popular with royalty and commoners alike. It wasn’t until 1757 that Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, one of the top fifty amateur players, commissioned the construction of the ChantillyJeu de Paume, one of the last princely jeu de paume facilities to be built. The sculpted decorations on the façade were the work of silversmith Cousinet.
The Jeu de Paume was later left to abandonment, and in the 19th century it became an exhibition hall, its huge spaces providing the perfect setting for monumental paintings. Today, that same building stands alongside the hotel, still undergoing careful restoration — a living reminder that what surrounds the Auberge is not backdrop but biography.
The Auberge du Jeu de Paume was established in 2012 to offer accommodations to those who truly appreciate culture, horse riding, the finest dining and the wonders of nature. One of the two main façades, with portions listed as historic constructions, overlooks the grounds of the Château and the Fountain of Beauvais — a view that no amount of renovation could improve upon.
Location: Inside the Domaine Itself
Most luxury hotels claim proximity to something remarkable. The Auberge du Jeu de Paume simply opens its doors, and you step inside. The hotel is located in the gardens of the Château de Chantilly, placing guests not outside the walls of the Domaine de Chantilly but within them — a distinction that matters enormously when you consider what the Domaine actually contains.
Spread over 7,800 hectares, the Domaine de Chantilly is peppered with historical monuments, prestigious sporting venues and natural landscapes, each proudly parading an illustrious history, imposing architecture and opulent splendour. The Château currently houses the Condé Museum, with 1,000 paintings, 5,000 drawings and engravings, as well as 3,000 works in the Library — names that read like an anthology of European masters from the 15th to the 19th century: Raphaël, Delacroix, Ingres, Watteau, Poussin.
There is riding, polo and racing at the 160-acre horse stables and racecourse, and in June the racecourse hosts the prestigious Prix de Diane — particularly strong evidence that aristocratic leisure is alive and well. For the golfer, five golf courses lie within 20 minutes of the hotel, including the two celebrated 18-hole layouts at Golf de Chantilly, just two kilometres away. The hotel’s Clefs d’Or concierge team handles tee time arrangements directly.
92 Rooms That Live Up to Their Address
The Auberge du Jeu de Paume features 67 guestrooms and 25 suites offering a perfect alliance of luxury and refinement. Each category has been conceived with a different relationship to its surroundings in mind.
Classic rooms offer a view of the city or courtyard. Deluxe rooms are spacious and refined, looking out onto the courtyard or the town of Chantilly, evoking the elegant French-style mansions of the eighteenth century — everything delicate and of noble materials, with Louis XV armchairs and sophisticated drapes. Deluxe rooms with Park View offer a wonderful outlook over the Chantilly estate gardens, characterised by Jouy fabrics, rich draperies and antique furniture. Prestige Terrace rooms feature private terraces overlooking the Fountain of Beauvais and the Domaine gardens.
Select suites offer terraces, marble-clad bathrooms, and equestrian-inspired décor that evokes the timeless charm of Chantilly. Throughout all categories, every room includes 24-hour room service, premium bedding, laptop-compatible safes and air conditioning, and a welcome tray with tea and coffee-making facilities, with breakfast available to be served in the room. Suites additionally feature a Nespresso machine and a separate living room — small details that shift a stay from comfortable to genuinely indulgent.
La Table du Connétable: Dining With a View of the Château
No golf trip to the Auberge is complete without an evening at its flagship restaurant, and few dining rooms in France earn their setting as completely as this one. La Table du Connétable offers a view of the beautiful lawns and gardens of the Château de Chantilly, with windows opening onto the gardens and the Fountain of Beauvais.
Diners sample unabashedly creative cuisine with a weakness for vegetables and seafood — from gyoza-style veal and eels with tarragon-flavoured labneh, to wild turbot with salsify, za’atar and cognac, finishing with a peat-flavoured roast chocolate extravaganza. Executive Chef Clément Le Norcy invites guests on a French seasonal culinary journey where authenticity with a personal twist surprises at every turn. The restaurant operates Thursday to Saturday evenings, with formal dress required — a policy that feels entirely appropriate in these surroundings.
For evenings when the impulse is toward something warmer and less ceremonial, Le Jardin d’Hiver provides an excellent alternative. At this chic bistro, traditional and seasonal dishes are served in the gallery or on the pretty patio. It is open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner, making it the natural home for the kind of long, unhurried post-round meal that French cuisine was invented for.
For a relaxed pause, the Lounge Bar offers a glass of wine, a signature cocktail, and refined snacks in a warmly furnished space with velvet chairs, book-lined walls, and a fireplace. On weekends, afternoon tea is served here — a civilised ritual that slots perfectly into the rhythm of a day divided between the golf course and the Château gardens.
Spa Valmont: Swiss Expertise in a Royal Setting
After two rounds at Golf de Chantilly, the body deserves more than an ice bath. The hotel’s spa partnership with Valmont — a Swiss maison with over 25 years of expertise in anti-ageing skincare and wellness — is one of the most distinctive in French luxury hospitality.
Located in the heart of the Chantilly estate, Spa Valmont draws on the unspoiled natural resources of Switzerland and the latest cellular cosmetic research to formulate anti-ageing treatments with visible, long-lasting results. Spanning 600 square metres, the Spa Valmont offers a swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam bath, fitness room and five treatment rooms.
What makes the spa genuinely distinctive is its connection to the estate itself. Two treatments — the Mille & Une Chantilly and the Cavaliers — were designed exclusively for the Auberge, inspired by the history of Chantilly. The first speaks to the town’s centuries-old association with crème Chantilly, while the second nods to the equestrian culture that permeates every corner of the Domaine. This is not generic spa programming — it is a wellness experience rooted in the identity of a very specific place.
The Michelin Recognition — and What It Signals
The Auberge du Jeu de Paume has earned a Clé Michelin for the second consecutive year, a distinction awarded by the same inspectors who award stars to restaurants — and one that evaluates the totality of the hotel experience, from the quality of the rooms and service to the calibre of the dining and the character of the surroundings. Consecutive recognition is the detail that matters: it signals consistency, not a single exceptional inspection.
For the golf traveller deciding between France’s many fine hotel options, this is meaningful context. The Auberge is not coasting on its extraordinary address. It is earning its recognition year after year, in every department, at every service interaction.
Book It Before Someone Else Does
The Auberge du Jeu de Paume is the kind of hotel that guests return to — not because they didn’t see it the first time enough, but because they saw too much to process in a single stay. A morning walk through the Château gardens before a round at Golf de Chantilly, an afternoon in Spa Valmont, an evening at La Table du Connétable with the fountain lit beyond the windows: there is a rhythm to life here that is very easy to fall into and surprisingly difficult to leave behind. This is a five-star hotel that happens to sit beside a world-class golf destination, in a royal estate that has been drawing the most discerning visitors in Europe for three centuries. Book early, pack your blazer for dinner, and plan to stay longer than you think you need to.
