Hotel de France (Le Mans / La Chartre sur le Loir)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hotel de France | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Pays de la Loire | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | La Chartre-sur-le-Loir, France |
| Coordinates | 47°43′41″N 0°34′33″E / 47.7280°N 0.5759°E |
| Completed | 1890 |
| Opening | 1905 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 22 |
| Number of restaurants | 1[1] |
| Parking | Yes |
| Website | |
| http://www.lhoteldefrance.fr/ | |
The Hotel de France is a historic hotel in the centre of the town of La Chartre Sur Le Loir. The 22 room hotel, with its Art Deco facade, is located at 20, Place de la République, 27 miles south of Le Mans. It is famous for its long association with the drivers, teams and cars of the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
The hotel opened for business in 1905,[2] having been run by the Pasteau family for the past four generations, before a change of ownership at the end of 2013. From 1953, it was used as headquarters for Le Mans racing teams, most notably by teams managed by John Wyer.[3] Wyer ran the victorious Aston Martin[4][5] and Gulf Oil teams from the hotel, his first Le Mans victory, celebrated at the hotel, coming in 1959.[6] As a consequence, the hotel is full of motor racing history.
The garage to the side of the hotel and what is now a car park at the rear were used by mechanics to work on the race cars, which would then be driven on public roads to and from the circuit until the early 1970s.[7] The hotel is a mecca for fans of the Le Mans 24 Hours race.[8] The bar walls are covered with photos of past and present racing drivers, many of them signed by the drivers themselves.To date, the hotel has hosted numerous notable guests, including internationally recognized racing drivers, film actors, heads of state, and members of royal families.
The hotel underwent an extensive refurbishment at the start of 2014, retaining and highlighting its motor sport heritage.
