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The France real estate for sale by owner, Hotel de France
and Relais du Roy Restaurant, is a uniquely historic property, located in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, northern France.
Dating back to 1578, the Hotel de France and Relais du Roy restaurant remain structurally unchanged, with huge original coaching
doors and cobble-stoned courtyard, still bearing testimony to the era when horse drawn carriages were the only means of long
distance travel. Now a Grade 1 listed building, it is the oldest Coaching Inn in Montreuil-sur-Mer and has been lovingly restored. In this same cobblestoned courtyard, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte stepped
from his coach to stay at the hotel en route to one of his many battles. During 1765 the writer Laurence Stern spent time
at the hotel while writing his famous book Sentimental Journey. Staying in the hotel in 1812, while writing Les Miserables,
Victor Hugo took breakfast in the courtyard. The Hotel de France was the coaching inn featured in his play. Towards the end
of World War I, Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig used the hotel as his operations headquarters. In the hotel courtyard he chose
the body of the soldier who was to be buried in the tomb of the "Unknown Soldier". The arrival of the casket at
Victoria Station London is marked to this day with a plaque on Platform six. Other eminent visitors to the Hotel de France
and Relais du Roy include, Gerard Depardieu (French actor), Midge Ure (electronic musician), Lester Piggott (jockey) and Mel
Smith, of British Comedy fame who gave the Hotel de France its motto, "a place of sleep and dreams". The Hotel de France can sleep 40 guests in 14 distinctive and individually
decorated bedrooms en suite and an apartment, fully equipped with 2 double bedrooms en suite, surrounding a charming and historic
cobblestoned courtyard. The rooms are done in traditional french with armours and french antique beds. The 3 storied property
has a total 2,500 square feet of living space, patio, balcony/terrace, laundry room, internet access, a ballroom, stage, as
well as private parking facilities and is being sold fully furnished with appliances.
Full of character and charm,
the restaurant is the original tavern and is called "le Relais du Roy" or Place of Kings, as it was frequented by
the Kings of France and England. Traveling between London and Paris, this was the original coaching route that passed through
the town of Montreuil sur Mer in which this historic hotel and restaurant are located. The décor features timber ceiling
beams, flower lights and huge painted tulips on the walls with imposing Louis XVI gold gilded mirrors. The restaurant can
cater up to 80 diners in summer when it is possible to enjoy the balmy outdoor air in the flower filled courtyard. Twenty miles across the English Channel and you are in another country,
less than an hour's drive from Calais and you are in another century. The tunnel and ferry crossings from England have provided
the hotel and restaurant with frequent UK visitors, creating a very loyal client base. The town of Montreuil sur Mer is known
as the Carcasonne of the North as it is one of the few, fully walled cities in France. Montreuil is two and a half hours'
drive away from Monet's garden at Giverny. It is a twenty minute drive to Le Touquet, the closest beach to Paris, famous for
its moules mariniere and seaside casino. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor eloped they stayed at the Westminster Hotel
in Le Touquet. Montreuil is easily accessible to the Somme and the many Commonwealth and Allied War Memorial sites commemorating
those soldiers who fell in the last two World Wars. The
hotel is situated North-West of Paris on the coast of the English Channel and quite close to Belgium. It takes two hours by
train from Paris. It is accessible from Britain by Tomcat (Hoverspeed), Eurotunnel or Ferry (P&O/Sea France) from Dover
to Calais or by Seacat (SpeedFerries) from Dover to Bologne. The nearest airport is 13 kilometres at Le Touquet.
♦The Hotel de France and Relais du Roy Restaurant are both completely furnished turnkey businesses. €2,100,000 EUR
***IMPORTANT NOTE TO BUYER*** This property is offered for sale
directly by the owner; therefore, the buyer DOES NOT pay or incur any agent fees or commissions. (In France it is often the buyer who pays the real estate agents commission. This is usually the rule, except within
the Paris region where the seller pays the agents commission. Furthermore, agent's fees are not fixed so differences may exist
depending on the region in France. Buyer's commissions/fees may be charged at rates anywhere between 4% and 15%, although
7% is more common.)
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