Are you wondering how to stay in style on the French Riviera? Here are three of the best luxury South of France hotels. They’re the perfect base for exploring this beautiful region.
Luxury South of France Hotels
From Grasse to Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Mougins, here are 3 charming South of France hotels that you won’t want to leave!
1. La Bastide Saint Antoine, Grasse
We head first to Grasse, considered to be the world capital of perfume. La Bastide Saint Antoine is a beautiful five star Relais & Chateaux property in an 18th century manor house, set in 5 hectares of land. You can enjoy a delicious lunch on the veranda.
On the day that we visited, Chef Jacques Chibois had concocted a delicious menu of saffron lobster bolognese with winter squash and almond milk. It was followed by John Dory in fennel stew, with lemon coulis from the garden – such beautiful presentation!
The next course was quail breast with aubergine and orange compote, accompanied by zucchini and Romanesco cabbage. Finally we feasted on a chocolate and praline desert with mint ice cream and praline sauce.
The only way to describe this is like a very upmarket mint choc ice. The charming bedrooms are all individually designed. Some of the suites come with individual hot tubs.
Although we could have happily spent more time lounging by the pool, it was time for the next leg of our journey.
JACQUES CHIBOIS – La Bastide Saint Antoine, 48 avenue Henri-Dunant – 06130 Grasse
2. Le Mas Candille
Next up, let’s visit Le Mas Candille, a magnificent hotel in Mougins, with the first Shiseido Spa in Europe. It has a fantastic view over the hillside and there’s 9 acres to explore.
We really love the artworks dotted around the grounds of this luxurious hotel, all by local artists.
The dining room is also stunning, a great combination of old and new. The bedrooms are very cosy but with all mod cons like flat screen TVs.
You can relax on the veranda with a lemon verbena tea, before heading to the Shiseido spa for a rejuvenating facial.
What is different about this facial, is that they actually spend most of the time massaging your face. I’ve had so many facials where they pop a mask on you, go off and do something else for quite a long time.
My face was glowing afterwards and I invested in a facial brush which is apparently ideal for gentle cleansing.
HOTEL RESTAURANT SPA LE MAS CANDILLE Boulevard Clément Rebuffel 06250 MOUGINS
3. Le Mas de Pierre
Let’s now head to Saint Paul de Vence and Le Mas de Pierre, a stunning collection of 7 country houses, nestled at the foot of Saint Paul de Vence’s fortress. The gardens are a mixture of modern design and 100 year old olive trees.
You’ll love the “Fragrance Garden” where the chefs come to pick produce.
There are so many interesting artworks to see in the gardens – fitting as Saint Paul de Vence has a fantastic art gallery.
This is definitely our favorite, a suitcase sculpture by the Belgian artist, Jean-Michel Folon. You can see another of his suitcase sculptures in Florence.
There’s even a dovecote! The restaurant menus have been created by Michel Rostang, a 2 Michelin star chef and Emmanuel Lehrer who was cooking for us that evening.
First though, he took us on in a game of pétanque. It’s a type of bowling that is traditional in the South of France and usually accompanied with a drink of pastis, the liquorice flavoured drink.
I must have had beginner’s luck! After a tasty amuse-bouche, we started with stuffed vegetables “a la Nicoise”, a local speciality.
Our main course was a healthy sea bream fillet coated with hazelnuts, pearl barley risotto, butternut pumpkin and Castelmagno cheese. That’s the joy of Mediterranean cooking, it’s good for you!
Desert was a showstopping lemon and meringue pie – a perfect ending to the day.
HOTEL LE MAS DE PIERRE – 2320 route de Serres – 06570 SAINT-PAUL DE VENCE
Things to Do in the South of France
– The perfumeries in Grasse: Fragonard, Galimard, Molinard, and the International Perfume Museum
– Cap d’Antibes and St Tropez
– The Maeght Foundation contemporary art museum in Saint Paul de Vence
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These posts have made me want to jump on a plane and head south. The architecture and individual touches within these hotels are beautiful. The statue at the beginning looking out over the hills is beautiful. The food looks equally wonderful. The sea bream looks delicious Lucy x
Beautiful post – I stayed at Le Mas Candille last week! So lovely to meet you, too x
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