European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                How to find a Noble berth finding the perfect French chateau is not a straightforward process. The term can apply to anything from a True Castle to a modest country Home Hunting Lodge or even a converted Abbey and we found no Guidebook that included All the information we wanted a the history size furnishings and full Range of prices. Some travel agencies Book stays in Chateaux for a slight fee but the choices Are limited. Each chateau makes its own Deal with the agent some offer Only their most expensive rooms while others Otter Only packages that include meals. In addition the reservation process is cumbersome you must make your Choice and then wait about two Days to find out if a room is available before trying another place. We chose to go it alone telephoning France most of the desk clerks speak some English and eventually sending Bank checks in trans As deposits generally the Price of one night s slay. However you proceed it it s important to you ask Lor a room in the chateau Many of the larger hotels have More modern a though cheaper a annexes. Most Chateaux have restaurants that tend to run from $100 to $200 for dinner for two with wine. A list of some Chateaux if calling from outside France be sure to add the proper country code a Domaine de Beauvois near Tours a a Large Manor House built in the 15th to 1 7th centuries. It is surrounded by 350 acres of Woods with a Clearing for a Large Pool and Tennis courts. Rooms $80-$220, suites and a separate Villa $230. Call 47-5 5-50-11. A chateau de Teil dras North of angers is Small but pretty and is owned and run by a count and countess. Rooms $100-si 75. Call 41-42-61-08. A chateau de Danzay near Chiron was built in the t 5th Century by the first bodyguard to Louis i and is surrounded by vineyards. Rooms $120-$220. Phone 47-58-46-86. A chateau de Pray a Small 13th-Century chateau sits on a Bluff above the Loire near Amboise. Rooms All $120. Call 47-57-23-67. A chateau de Chissay in Mon Richard built Between 1 3lh and 16th centuries has 27 rooms including one Turret. Rooms $90-$ 150. Call 54-32-32-01. A chateau d Cartigny in Mon Bazon May come closest to resembling a Large museum chateau but it was built in 1912 and has a Pool Tennis courts pitch and putt Golf course and a spa. Rooms Are $80-$220, suites $120-$250. Call 47-2624-24. A the phone number for Marcy is 47 93-03-47 and for Torti Niere it is 47-2600-19. In new York David b. Mitchell co., 212 696-1323, books hotels in the relays amp Chateaux group of which Marcy is a member Jacques de la say 212 477-1600, books other Chateaux including Torti Niere. A new Day a amps file the 13th-Century chateau de Pray rents rooms to tour refs for $120 per night. The Kaiser slept Here out her window see her technicolor gardens. And then see your bed. Look out your window. And this time not just a room but a round Turret suite for about $175one of the Best in the 19th-Century Domaine de la Torti Niere. This compact chateau built in the Renaissance style May be a step Down in Antiquity from Marcy but a step up in Charm. In fact the owners claim that the author of sleeping Beauty created the tale while walking the grounds. A lot of that sleeping Beauty stuff going around the guests Here Are fewer and older and despite Torti Niere s proximity to the unattractive n-10 Highway leading to the City of Tours you could swear you were Miles from anything modern As you look from the Terrace gown to the Indre River. Woods reach Down from the chateau to the River where a Rowboat is available for guests and you can paddle toward the 10th-Century Tower in Mon Bazon visible through the Trees. Torti Niere s restaurant almost As Good As Marcy a is oddly built into the slope below the chateau and is reached through a Tunnel from one of the sitting rooms. When the concierge opens the door and beckons you in you May feel like you re being sent to the Dungeon. But the dining room is a pleasant spot to Down a bottle of local vouvray wine and watch the sky Darken Over the River. The last Day of chateau hopping May have been the Best Chenon eau with its gallery spanning the Cher River the ruined Amboise with its Chapel run by a foundation led by the current pretender to the French throne there really is one and the 16th-Century Chambord with its double spiral staircases and fantastic collection of towers. The Only drawback was that there was no Castle to Call Home. Instead we returned on a slow train to Paris and a modern Day hotel. By Deborah Seward associated press the menu is in German but the accent is English at Cecilien Hof the elegant Castle where the world War ii allies negotiated the postwar order in the summer of 1945. Cecilien Hof and its Lovely gardens were off limits for most Western visitors during the four decades that followed the creation of communist East Germany in 1949. But the unification of Germany reopened Cecilien Hof and Many other tourist spots in Eastern Germany to Western tourists. Cecilien Hof is a perfect place for americans to visit now that some of the traditional attractions in Berlin such As checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall have become part of history. 1 he Castle built from 1913-1917 for the Kaiser s family in the style of an English country House overlooks a Lake amid a gentle Wood 18 Miles from the Center of Berlin. The historic room where Harry Truman soviet dictator Josef Stalin and England s Winston Churchill negotiated the Potsdam agreement on Allied responsibilities in postwar Germany is now a museum. Part of the sprawling wooden Ami Stone Castle has been converted into a hotel with rooms ranging from $90 Lor a single to the opulent Cecilie Suile Al $620 a night. The restaurant otters diners a View of the gardens and the menu features three course meals with German specialities and Rhine wines. For those americans who feel far irom Home a plaque from a visiting Lions club delegation hangs on the hotel Wall and English books line the shelves of the Imperial Library. The Cecilien Hof the former German Royal Palace is now a combination museum restaurant and hotel. October 24, 1991 stripes Magazine