Hostellerie des Ruats***, Avallon, Burgundy, France.

Tucked away in a slender river valley in Burgundy near Avallon, the three star hostellerie Moulin des Ruats offers old fashioned ambiance with modern comforts and facilities at modest prices in story book surroundings.

Over the last ten years, the charming husband and wife team Jean Pierre and Jocelyne Rossi have been upgrading the establishment with modern bathrooms, simple country interior decorations and furnishings in low key taste bringing the best of traditional Burgundian country hostellerie to us without sacrificing the standards of comfort to which we have become accustomed.

© 2000 photos Peter D'Aprix

The short valley is dominated by the lovely river Le Cousin which winds its way through a tunnel of overhanging trees, green with moss. It is a mecca for trout fishermen. Shallow and fast flowing, it supplies the water for several mills along its route from Avallon which lies at the far end of the valley. The huge mill wheel still turns reminding us that this hotel was indeed at one time a productive mill that today relaxes us as we view it turning we while enjoying the cuisine of M. Rossi in the dining room.

While Madam Rossi is from the region, M. Rossi is from Corsica and brings some of the lightness of the Mediterranean to his Burgundian cuisine. We enjoyed a light and flavorful first course of asparagus and smoked salmon marinated in olive oil with a small green salad as a surrounding fringe. We tried his trout fresh from the river which had been lightly poached and was served in a delicious wine and butter sauce. You will find him in the kitchen the next morning to prepare whatever you want for breakfast from simple coffee and patisserie to muesli or egg dishes.

The prices are reasonable and the rooms range from spacious with old fashioned high ceilings and private porches to cozy sanctuaries tucked into the top floor under the sloping roof beams illuminated with gabled windows. Each has its own theme and all the beds are very comfortable. Satellite TV is in all rooms with BBC as well as French and German programing.

For those with an eye on their pocket book yet who want good quality accommodations with a taste of the Burgundian life, this is an excellent choice for exploring this corner of Burgundy, a corner that has some interesting micro-wine regions such as nearby Vezelay. This part of Burgundy is very different from the famous wine region of Beaune and Dijon with it’s wide open valley or the gently rolling countryside of the Chablis area. It is a landscape reminiscent of the Perigord Noir in the Dordogne with miniature valleys each with its own river or stream. Even the golden lime stone houses with steeply pitched roofs have something in common with the Dordogne.