In search of an intimate and stylish place to remain within the coronary heart of France’s Bordeaux wine area? There is a new possibility as of this week — one with a twist.
Avalon Artistry II is a 64-room boutique property and river ship that may transfer with you as you tour the realm’s many famed wineries, often known as „chateaux,“ and historic websites.
Operated by well-known river cruise firm Avalon Waterways, the small vessel will likely be based mostly alongside the riverfront of the town of Bordeaux beginning Tuesday for weeklong voyages on the Garonne and Dordogne rivers.
The dual waterways meander by way of the core of the vineyard-lined Bordeaux area, providing easy accessibility to a few of the world’s best-known wineries and wine cities, together with Saint-Emilion — the UNESCO World Heritage Web site-listed medieval village on the heart of the Bordeaux area’s Saint-Emilion wine space.
Initially designed to sail on Europe’s Rhine River, Avalon Artistry II is not newly constructed. It was launched on the Rhine in 2013 and sailed in Central Europe for the previous 12 years. Nevertheless it’s new to the Bordeaux area as of this month, and it underwent a serious makeover upfront of its redeployment.
TPG obtained a sneak peek at this makeover throughout a preview crusing for media and journey brokers. Here’s a first have a look at the vessel’s new design and what you’ll be able to anticipate on board should you e book a keep.
Trendy lounges
As is typical for small river ships that sail in Europe, Avalon Artistry II has only a handful of public areas — almost all of which had been revamped in an enormous manner throughout the ship’s makeover.
The ship’s important lounge (known as the Panorama Lounge) on the entrance of the vessel has all the time been a spacious, light-filled area with partitions of glass that supply gorgeous views of the passing surroundings. However now it options all-new decor with trendy up to date furnishings and flooring.
Serving as the primary gathering spot for passengers on the ship throughout the day and into the evening (you may simply name it the ship’s lounge), the Panorama Lounge is lined on its proper facet (when going through the entrance of the ship) with cozy seating clusters, excellent for a predinner drink with new pals.
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On the left facet of the room, a semicircular bar and teams of tables and chairs provide extra seating, with a small dance flooring between the 2 areas that may come alive at evening.
The Panorama Lounge typically hosts stay music at evening, and there is a devoted area for performers with a completely positioned piano and soundboard simply off the dance flooring.
There are extra lounge chairs towards the entrance of the room, and there is an space of tables and chairs that morphs into an off-the-cuff secondary eatery known as the Panorama Bistro for lunch and dinner. (See under for extra data on the ship’s important eatery.)
Notably, there may be sufficient seating within the Panorama Lounge to carry all Avalon Artistry II passengers directly, even when each room on the ship is full — one thing that is not true for all river ships.
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Situated behind the ship, the Membership Lounge is a quiet hideaway the place you may discover self-serve espresso drinks, snacks and video games. AVALON WATERWAYS
Simply in entrance of the Panorama Lounge, on the very entrance of the ship, is a forward-facing outside seating space with top-of-the-line views on the ship. As a part of the ship’s makeover, it obtained new table-and-chair units the place passengers can take their bistro lunch open air on sunny days.
Additionally getting an overhaul throughout the ship’s makeover was the back-of-the-vessel Membership Lounge, a smaller lounge area with a 24-hour self-serve beverage station providing complimentary espresso drinks, sizzling chocolate and teas. Cookies and different snacks additionally can be found all through the day.
If the Panorama Lounge is the ship’s lounge, the Membership Lounge is its household room — a laid-back and normally quiet area the place you may discover a small library of books and video games for group play, reminiscent of Apples to Apples and Scattergories.
Eateries
As famous above, a small secondary eatery known as the Panorama Bistro opens throughout lunchtime and dinnertime within the ship’s important lounge. However the primary eatery on the ship, the place passengers go for many meals, is the Panorama Eating Room on the entrance of the ship under the Panorama Lounge.
The restaurant is full of mild due to partitions of home windows alongside its sides. It provides buffet breakfasts and lunches augmented with table-served choices (you’ll be able to order eggs Benedict within the morning, as an example, and burgers at lunchtime out of your waiter). There is a extra formal, four-course, table-served dinner each evening.
One notable function of the Panorama Eating Room is that it provides many two-person tables, so single vacationers and {couples} by no means have to take a seat with strangers if they do not wish to — one thing that is not all the time the case on river ships. That mentioned, the seating is organized in a manner that permits for these tables of two to be pushed collectively into larger items to permit for bigger teams.
There are also set tables for 4 and 6 within the room.
With its transfer to the Bordeaux area, Avalon Artistry II can even provide extra mild alfresco lunches on its prime deck, often known as the Sky Deck, the place a brand new Sky Bistro space has been configured simply behind the vessel’s bridge.
The Sky Deck additionally encompasses a new seating space at its entrance, which was initially used to retailer bicycles for passenger use. An all-new fleet of bikes now sits in an space farther again on the highest deck.
Cabins and suites
Cabins and suites on Avalon Artistry II obtained a lightweight refresh upfront of the ship’s transfer to Bordeaux, together with all-new mattresses.
Just like the cabins and suites on all 16 vessels presently within the Avalon fleet, these rooms had been already among the many highest-rated in river cruising. In truth, TPG has known as Avalon’s normal cabin the best in river cruising.
Avalon Artistry II is a part of Avalon’s Suite Class of ships — recognized for his or her massive variety of extra-wide cabins known as Panorama Suites. These suites present a extra panoramic view of passing surroundings than the usual rooms you may discover on many different river ships.
Avalon Artistry II has 50 of those Panorama Suites, which provide 200 sq. toes of dwelling area. That is about 30% extra sq. footage than the usual river ship cabin.
The suites make up almost 80% of the cabins on the ship and have a number of uncommon options. Amongst them are floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall panoramic home windows that stretch 11 toes large and open up 7 toes large.
Two even bigger suites on the vessel, known as Royal Suites, are 50% larger than the ship’s Panorama Suites at 300 sq. toes, they usually boast a good wider wall of glass.
Maybe probably the most notable function of all these suites is that the beds are configured to face the view — one thing that’s uncommon in river cruising. Most river ship cabins are designed with sideways beds going through an inside wall.
All of the Panorama and Royal suites even have small seating areas subsequent to the partitions of glass. If you slide the glass wall open and chill out within the seating space on the fringe of the now-open wall, you get the sensation of being on a balcony.
It is an „open-air balcony,“ as Avalon calls it.
One other standout function: The ship’s Panorama Suite cabins have larger-than-normal showers. The dimensions is made doable by a slight outward angling of one of many partitions of the lavatory, simply sufficient to create a wider area for the bathe.
The wall angled outward is shared with the bed room space, and it cuts into the area accessible on the facet of the mattress within the bed room space farthest from the door. Nevertheless it’s a reallocation of area that basically is not noticeable to somebody on the bed room facet of the wall.
An up to date health room
Along with different revamped areas, vacationers reserving a visit on Avalon Artistry II this yr will discover an up to date health room.
The largest change to the small area, which has a working machine and sit-down bicycle, is the addition of a Speediance Fitness center Monster, an all-in-one coaching machine that permits customers to do a variety of workout routines.
Backside line
The river ship Avalon Artistry II is the most recent possibility for a multiday keep in France’s Bordeaux wine area. It provides all of the onboard comforts of a small boutique resort whereas transferring you from place to position when you sleep.
Whereas not newly constructed, the 64-room vessel — the primary that Avalon has based mostly within the Bordeaux area — underwent a serious overhaul earlier than its redeployment to the realm from Central Europe, which has left it wanting nearly like new.
As is all the time the case for vacationers who e book journeys with Avalon Waterways, a keep on Avalon Artistry II comes with extra than simply your lodging. Bought as seven-night journeys, the Bordeaux voyages that Avalon is launching this week additionally embody all meals, most drinks and, maybe most notably, a variety of guided tour choices for every single day you are on board. All of that is included within the fare.
For somebody in search of an intimate and stylish possibility for a weeklong keep within the Bordeaux area that features visits to the realm’s famed wineries and different websites, it is an excellent new alternative.
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