Relais & Chateaux Expands Family of Luxury Hotels and Restaurants

Relais & Chateaux expands family of luxury hotels andrestaurants

Luxury hotel association Relais & Chateaux hasadmitted 36 new members into the family including seven new properties fromFrance, three each from China and Japan as well as hotels and restaurants fromIndia, Canada and the US.

The newest additions were announced at the association’s60th anniversary congress held in Paris in November and expand the group’spresence around the world, which previously stood at 520 hotels in 64countries.

Much like the Michelin label, Relais & Chateaux toutsitself as a standard-bearer for the hotel and restaurant industry. Members areoften historic or heritage landmarks like castles or manors and are set in someof the most bucolic areas of the world.

Hotels are admitted based on factors such as charm,character and the terroir of their cuisine.

In the latest Relais & Chateaux guide, France leadsthe charge with seven new hotels and restaurants including French culinary starMarc Veyrat’s La Maison des Bois (External link) , described as a mountain hamlet set atan altitude of 1,650 meters across from Mont Blanc in France's Haute-Savoieregion.

At one time Veyrat boasted six Michelin stars -- threestars for two restaurants which he helmed but later left or handed over due tohealth reasons.

“Savoy architecture meets the modern age to createsomething truly unique. Marc Veyrat is back to offer us his new pastoral,mineral cuisine," reads a Relais & Chateaux description.

Other notable additions include Pierre Gagnairerestaurant in Paris; the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in British Columbia,Canada; the Hartwell House in England; Otowa Restaurant in Utsunomiya, Japan;and the Yihe Mansions in Nanjing, China.

The full list of new members can be found at http://bit.ly/1xHBIuO (External link) .