Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa Named First Palace in Champagne, France

In the vineyards between Reims and Épernay, the five-star hotel earns France's highest hospitality distinction - the first Palace in Champagne.

CHAMPILLON, CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE, June 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa, the five-star hotel set in the heart of the vineyards halfway between Reims and Épernay, has just been awarded France's coveted “Palace” distinction. With this honor, the Royal Champagne becomes the first hotel in Champagne - and the first in the entire Grand Est region - to join the most exclusive circle in French hospitality.

Created in 2010 by Atout France, the country's national tourism development agency, the Palace distinction sits above the five-star classification and is reserved for a handful of hotels judged to embody French excellence, savoir-faire and art de vivre, and to extend the international influence of French culture. Fewer than three dozen establishments in all of France currently hold the title - the vast majority of them concentrated in Paris, the French Alps and the French Riviera. Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa is the first ever to earn it in Champagne, placing this storied wine country on the map of the world's most rarefied destinations.

Perched on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims within a protected Natura 2000 area, the five-star hotel overlooks an endless sea of vines - the Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural landscape. Its setting, midway between the cathedral city of Reims and Épernay - the capital of Champagne and home to the UNESCO-listed Avenue de Champagne - places guests at the very source of the world's most celebrated sparkling wine. Just 45 minutes from Paris by high-speed train to Reims, Champagne is one of France's most accessible great wine countries - and a perfect long-weekend escape from Paris into the beauty of French terroir.

Royal Champagne's story stretches back to the 19th century, when an inn was built on this sun-drenched ridge between Reims and Épernay, prized for offering the finest panorama in the region. It grew into a coaching inn on the post road, welcoming illustrious travelers - Napoleon himself stopped here after the 1814 Battle of Reims - and later took the name “Royal Champagne” in homage to the Royal-Champagne cavalry regiments of the Ancien Régime. After decades within the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection, the property was acquired in 2014 by Denise Dupré and Mark Nunnelly, the American owners of the pioneering Champagne house Leclerc Briant. Following a four-year restoration that preserved two historic façades and added a luminous contemporary wing, the hotel reopened in 2018 and joined The Leading Hotels of the World.

More than a place to stay, the five-star hotel sees itself as an ambassador for Champagne - both the land and the wine. Its dedicated Guest Experience Makers craft bespoke journeys for guests, from private tastings and encounters with independent winegrowers across the Reims and Épernay vineyards to visits otherwise closed to the public at celebrated French Champagne houses such as Louis Roederer. The hotel's cellar holds some 200,000 bottles and its wine program has been honored as a Gold Star Winner 2025 in France and a world finalist by Star Wine List, overseen by a chef sommelier ranked among France's top five for 2024.

True to its ambition to be a genuine place of life and connection, Royal Champagne was conceived as an immersive destination for lovers of Champagne, of nature and of wide-open spaces, with deep local and historical roots. Two restaurants tell the story of Champagne: Le Royal, set in the building's historic wing and inspired by the Napoleonic legend, and the all-day brasserie Le Bellevue - both led by Michelin-starred chef Christophe Raoux, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France. The hotel's spa, named Best Spa in Europe 2025, unfolds across nine treatment rooms with indoor and outdoor pools, hammam, sauna and yoga studio, while an exclusive signature fragrance - created with a former master perfumer of Maison Guerlain - scents the entire property.

The Palace distinction joins an already remarkable collection of accolades. In October 2025, the five-star hotel renewed its three Michelin Keys, the guide's highest hotel honor, shared with only a select few properties in France, and it has been recognized as a Forbes Travel Guide five-star hotel for three consecutive years, while Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure have repeatedly ranked it among the finest hotels in France and Europe. In September 2025, the hotel earned Green Globe certification, one of the most demanding international standards for sustainable tourism - a reflection of its year-round commitment to its environment and its community.

With the Palace distinction, Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa confirms its standing not only as an exceptional five-star hotel, but as an immersive gateway to the champenois art de vivre - and as a proud ambassador carrying the very best of France, and of Champagne, to the world.

About Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa – Located among the Champagne vineyards between Reims and Épernay, Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa is a five-star hotel and member of The Leading Hotels of the World. With 47 suites, two restaurants led by a Michelin-starred chef, an award-winning spa and a cellar of some 200,000 bottles, it offers an immersive journey into the art de vivre of Champagne. In 2026, it becomes the first Palace-distinguished hotel in Champagne, France's Grand Est.

Press contacts:
Douzal - Blandine Sanson - bsanson@douzal.com
Perowne International - royalchampagne@perowneinternational.com
Decker/Royal - royalchampagne@deckerroyal.com

Jennifer Delord
Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa
marketing@royalchampagne.com

Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa - Come for the bubbles, stay for the journey!

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