The former cognac warehouses of Jean-Gabriel Monnet — built in the nineteenth century on the banks of the Charente and used for decades to age some of France's most celebrated spirits — give Hotel Chais Monnet & Spa its architectural identity and its name. The conversion, completed in 2017, preserved the original chai buildings with their pale limestone walls, terracotta rooflines, and arched openings visible in the forecourt, where a pair of vintage Citroën 2CVs parked on gravel reinforce the property's affection for French patrimony. A striking contemporary spa pavilion in corten steel and floor-to-ceiling glazing, its serpentine structural ribs curving across the facade, was added alongside the historic fabric — an architectural counterpoint that makes no attempt to blend in. Inside, the interiors move between two registers. The bar, fitted into a high-ceilinged warehouse volume, retains exposed timber trusses and rough-cut stone walls, furnished with tufted leather Chesterfield sofas, Thonet-style bentwood stools, and a mezzanine wine and spirits gallery behind dark timber balustrades — the whole effect closer to a Bordeaux négociant's counting house than a conventional hotel lounge. The 92 rooms take a softer approach: pale oak floors, Louis XVI-influenced carved wooden bed frames and upholstered benches, walls finished in warm greige, and curtains in a delicate geometric print layered against sheer linen. Terracotta and olive accent cushions connect the palette to the Charente landscape just outside.

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Classified as an industrial heritage in France and created in 1838 on more than two hectares in the heart of Cognac, the Monnet cellars are among the most impressive sites in the country. Bordered by the Charente and close to the most beautiful cognac houses, the Chais Monnet & Spa Hotel invites you to live a unique experience in a contemporary establishment of character. Opened in 2018, the hotel offers 92 rooms and suites spread over four buildings, a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, a contemporary brasserie, a Jazz bar, a rooftop lounge, as well as a spa with 25m pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and treatment rooms. In the heart of the hotel, the Grand Chai des Foudres is home to the brasserie La Distillerie and the restaurant Les Foudres. In this setting steeped in history, under centuries-old wrath, Chef Paolo Boscaro has been orchestrating since 2021 a starred cuisine celebrating the gastronomic riches of the Charentaise region.