The Novotel Amboise is a lovely, modern hotel, and it was perfect for our trip to get to know the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. The clientele were mostly tours of old couples who had come to see the Châteaux. There was decent room service, the room was spacious and pleasant in a modern way, and the restaurant downstairs makes a decent lunch. We also found it reasonably priced compared to Paris prices.
It is however, difficult to find. When the sun goes down you can hardly make out the street names which is unfortunate when you are trying to follow a map. If you are driving there yourself I recommend getting there before sunset.
In terms of visiting chateaux, there is one in the town, Chateau Amboise, which is very near but not as impressive as some of the others. The house where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years is also nearby.
We drove an hour to Chateau Chenonceau, which was fantastic, and another 30 minutes to the Sleeping Beauty castle, Chateau D'Usse, which has a fairytale look. I have heard that Chambord is also amazing but that is an hour's drive in the opposite direction, so you might want to stay a few days. Distances between chateaux are quite large, so if you want to see a few then stay longer. The hotel is well-placed if you want to do daily road trips to different castles in the Loire Valley, and it has less traffic than Tours, another city with a good location for visiting castles. I recommend it! read more