South of France!!!

South of France

October, 2012

We flew to Marseilles on an uneventful flight from London.  Boy, are the BA economy seats tight!  We picked up our car and drove to Joucas, France which was a scenic 1 hour 15 minute drive from Marsailes Airport.  

Our hotel, was a Relais & Chateux property called Le Mas des Herbes Blanche.  The property is stunning.  It is in the Luberon Valley which is the most affluent part of Provence.  **Think Napa Valley.**  We were “upgraded to an apartment” more about this later…

There are 19 rooms at this property.  They are all uniquely different from one another.  I think I mostly liked this property with a few exceptions.

 I loved their restaurant ... we ate there twice.  The food is exceptional to the point that I probably had the best Sole Meuniere that I’ve ever tasted.  The service was spotty; friendly but spotty.  For example, I mentioned that I did not eat pork but was served pork twice for an amuse bouche.  Not everyone spoke English but they found people that did.  

Some service issues included their general lack of information in English.  For example, we stayed there 3 nights.  Two of the three nights, we were given the hotel’s activities and weather reports in French.  Now, our room.  Our room was upgraded but claustrophobic.  It had an amazing view of the Louberon BUT the bedding was old and this room needed an update.  I was able to see the other rooms and room types on my site visit and seeing those rooms allows me to recommend this hotel.   The other rooms were lovely.  Quaint bathrooms with nicer bedding.

While we were in this region of France, we visited a few cities that I would love you to be acquainted with.  My favorite was Gorges.  Gorges is a hillside city with spectacular views.  The people that we met were friendly.  Our most unique dinner was at Le Clos de Gustave.  The restaurant is owned by the chef and his wife who acts as the hostess and server.  At her suggestion, I tried their 10 small plates (think tapas).  They were wonderful and a lot of fun!  This is a definite recommendation!

We also visited Gorges’ Market on Tuesday.  It was much larger that we expected and a lot of fun.  There was everything from cheeses, to woven wear to sausages, paintings, bed linens and more.  Of course, we had to buy an adorable dress for our granddaughter, Maddy.

We also like the city of Goult…tiny but quite pretty.

We were disappointed with Avignon and Chateau Neuf du Pape.  The first was too industrial and the second was just not friendly…both the wineries as well as the restaurants.

For wine lovers, please stop at Tara Winery which is on the way to Roussillon.  Roussillon is another hillside city that has 17 shades of Ochre.  People go to Rousillon to visit their ocre mines.  Many artists reside there.

On route to our next hotel, we passed through the city of Mane and saw the Relais andChateau hotel, Le Couvent des Minimes.  The hotel was a convent and it has a modern convent feel.  It was quite beautiful and intimate.  There are only 38 exquisitly designed rooms at the hotel.  The hotel is actually owned by L’Occitaine.  Their spa is tranquil and quite beautiful.  It is a wonderful place to visit first to get over jet lag.

After visiting Le Couvent des Minimes, we stopped for a simple lunch in the city of Brignoles.  We had a surprisingly good lunch at Le Provencial Restaurant and Hotel and I would recommend this to anyone wanting something simple but delicious with the owners acting as your hosts and servers.

Now, we have returned to my favorite, Chateau Saint-Martin & Spa.  This hotel is situated just outside of Vence near St. Paul de Vence and Antibes.  I love this hotel!  It is a Relais and Chateaux and owned by the same people that own Le Bristol in Paris and part of the Oetker Collection.  Hotels owned by the Oetker family have a sense of place.  It is a 5 star experience.  Beautiful rooms, marble bathroom with dual sinks and lovely grounds to enjoy.  They have two restaurants one of which is a Michelin starred restaurant.  Love, love this hotel!!  Visiting Vence and St. Paul de Vence is a fun thing to do as well.

We also visited their sister property outside of Antibe.  Hotel du Cap Eden Roc sits directly on the Mediterranean. It is an amazing property.  Their rooms are quite large even their “standard rooms”.  This is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the “beautiful people”.  Prices in 2013 begin at 1000 euro!  There are gardens to enjoy and direct access to the sea.  Once you get past the price tag, you will find a 6 star experience surpassed by nothing else on the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow, we are off to the Amalfi Coast and Rome.

Mari