The bewitching Burgundy hotel that offers gourmet food and a sprinkling of Austin Powers flamboyance

The cheese course has arrived and the proprietor’s wife, Sophie, is busy reading our daughter, Emma, bedtime stories on a sofa in reception.

We’re outside on the terrace. The sun is setting and a light breeze gently rustles the leaves of the tree above our table as we sip beautifully buttery Chardonnay from the Domaine Andre Bonhomme winery just 400 metres away and work our way through les fromages, which are divine.

Yes, it’s safe to say we’re already feeling right at home at Hotel Frederic Carrion – a characterful 10-bedroom former coaching inn situated in the pleasing-on-the-eye village of Vire in southern Burgundy, just north of Macon. And we’ve only been here a couple of hours.