Escape to Conscious Luxury in Southern France — Sustainable Hotels
Escape to Conscious Luxury in Southern France — Sustainable Hotels
From the Côte d’Azur to Bordeaux, stays where you can experience the sustainable lifestyle of southern France.
Words Pyo Youngso
La Villa Port d’Antibes & Spa, Antibes
La Villa Port d’Antibes & Spa, Antibes
Antibes is a hidden gem of the Côte d’Azur. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. The town has no long sweeps of sandy beach like Cannes or Nice. Instead, it has old ramparts overlooking the brilliant blue horizon of the Mediterranean, small beaches that people find by word of mouth, and Port Vauban, Europe’s largest marina for superyachts, where luxury boats from around the world line the docks. Set back a step from the harbor on a quiet side street, in a five-story building, La Villa Port d’Antibes & Spa is the ideal starting point for exploring Antibes’s charms. It is one of seven hotels in the La Villa Hôtel group along the French Riviera, from Cannes to Nice, and it focuses on conveying a Mediterranean way of life. The exterior looks unremarkable, but step inside and you feel a professional hand in every corner. From the lobby lounge, which recalls the grand drawing room of a mansion, to guest rooms each decorated in a different style, to a spa with a hammam and an outdoor pool, everything is lovely without being excessive or predictable. The hotel’s commitment to sustainability is evident at a glance in its breakfast buffet, which centers on locally produced fruit, vegetables, and dairy and offers fresh, abundant local flavors. It also partners with French nonprofits such as Merterre (an organization that cleans beaches and protects marine ecosystems) and Unisoap (an organization that recycles discarded hotel soap and delivers it to vulnerable members of the local community), contributing to environmental protection and the local community.
[Recommended Things to Do in Antibes]
The Old Town is steeped in Antibes’s long history, which stretches back to ancient Greece. Stroll along the narrow cobblestone lanes to see the ramparts, Roman ruins, and medieval buildings, and browse the Provençal food on offer at the traditional Marché Provençal, which opens every morning. The first museum to open under Picasso’s name during his lifetime is also here. Drawings and prints, along with the paintings and ceramics Picasso made in Antibes, are displayed in a 12th-century fortress with spectacular coastal views, making for a special museum experience. Climb the ramparts that wrap around the marina near the Old Town, and you’ll find the sculpture Le Nomade facing the open Mediterranean.
Le Galinier, Lourmarin
Le Galinier, Lourmarin
What is it like to spend your vacation in a country house in Provence? In Lourmarin, a small village in the Luberon, you may get a small taste of the answer. Guests at Le Galinier have an 18th-century mansion all to themselves, along with its grounds of about three hectares. Even the way you use it differs from an ordinary lodging. To check in, you key in a password shared only with guests and open the huge iron gate yourself. Cross the garden and head deep inside, and you’ll find three or four warm-hued buildings with brown terracotta roofs, surrounded by tall trees, wide lawns, flower beds, and an outdoor pool. The ground floor of the main house holds a space that serves as reception, lounge, and breakfast room. The accommodations are divided into double rooms, four-person rooms, and a standalone house that sleeps up to six. With ceilings that expose their wooden rafters, large windows overlooking the garden, furniture bearing the marks of time, and charming fabrics and accessories, everything in a design and palette that never fights nature, they capture the essence of the Provençal lifestyle. Another advantage is that the grounds are so large that you can enjoy a private getaway, completely cut off from the outside world. You can wake to the delicate chirping of birds, stroll through a garden wet with dew, and while away an idle afternoon on a sun lounger by the outdoor pool.
beaumier.com/en/properties/le-galinier
[Recommended Things to Do in Lourmarin]
At the foot of the Luberon mountains, Lourmarin is a small, peaceful village surrounded by olive and almond trees, lavender, and vineyards. It is 40 minutes by car from Aix-en-Provence and 50 minutes from Avignon, and it is popular with those who want to hike or cycle while taking in the Provençal countryside. The compact village center gathers a small square, cafés, and restaurants, and old buildings line both sides of the narrow lanes. Its signature sight is the Château de Lourmarin, which guards the western edge of the village. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, it is the first Renaissance-style building in Provence, and it still holds furniture, musical instruments, and books from the period. It is also a good place from which to enjoy views of the village and its surroundings. Lourmarin is also where the French novelist Albert Camus spent his final years. If you love Camus, visit his grave.
Capelongue, Bonnieux
Capelongue, Bonnieux
Bonnieux is the other Provençal village that Beaumier, a European boutique hotel brand dedicated to sustainable luxury, chose alongside Lourmarin. Drive about 20 minutes along winding mountain roads from Lourmarin, and you reach Bonnieux, nestled on a slope of the Luberon at an altitude of 420 meters. Capelongue, which occupies a sunny hilltop near the village, lets you enjoy both the nature of the Luberon, spanning mountains and valleys, and Provençal hospitality. On open grounds of about 20,000 square meters that touch the sky, it offers a contemporary reinterpretation of Provençal style. The reception, 57 rooms and suites, a café, and restaurants are spread across several traditional Provençal buildings made of local stone and wood, surrounded by an outdoor pool, spa facilities, gardens, and a vegetable garden. The rooms, decorated with wooden furniture, neutral-toned fabrics, and brown terracotta tiles, bring out Provençal aesthetics while adding modernity and convenience. The two restaurants in the hotel are another reason to visit Capelongue. La Bastide, which holds one Michelin star, and La Bergerie, which specializes in wood-fired oven cooking, both serve Mediterranean cuisine made with ingredients produced in southern France, from meat to seafood, vegetables, and dairy. Even the toiletries, as well as the wine, beer, and other drinks the hotel serves, are sourced locally, putting into practice the brand’s philosophy of focusing on local culture and nature.
[How to Travel in Bonnieux]
Wander the lanes that rise and fall along the slopes, and take the measure of the long history of this Luberon hill village. As you follow the narrow, winding paths that burrow into every corner of the village, you can enjoy its quaint medieval architecture along with views of the Calavon Valley, Mont Ventoux and the surrounding landscape. For a 360-degree panorama, head to the Église Haute de Bonnieux, which stands at the very top of the village. Your gaze takes in neighboring Luberon villages such as Lacoste and Apt, as well as the Combe de Lourmarin and the Grand Luberon. Besides hiking and cycling tours, there are plenty of other outdoor activities, including horseback riding, climbing and golf, and with vineyards stretching out all around, it is also a good base for a winery tour.
Les Sources de Caudalie
Bordeaux, France
Set within Château Smith Haut Lafitte, a grand cru winery on the outskirts of Bordeaux, Les Sources de Caudalie redefines the spa hotel. Surrounded by vineyards and dense forest, you can stay in the midst of nature, taste local wines and cuisine, and enjoy ‘vinotherapy,’ a treatment rooted in the region’s wine culture, for an experience that goes far beyond a night at a winery. The 62 rooms spread across six buildings reinterpret the traditions of Aquitaine, the region where Bordeaux sits, with a modern and refined touch. Two restaurants, including the two-Michelin-starred La Grand’Vigne, and a wine bar bring the region’s rich terroir to the table just as it is. The spa, Vinothérapie®, with its naturally lit treatment rooms, hammam and natural thermal baths, is the property’s signature. Using natural ingredients extracted from grapevines and grapes, along with water drawn from 540 meters underground, it offers its own distinctive treatment programs. With fitness activities such as yoga, running and tennis, plus indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and hot tubs, it is a wellness destination that lets you experience the charms of Bordeaux with all five senses.
[How to Travel in Bordeaux]
Bordeaux, in southwestern France, awaits those who will discover the city’s true charms, long hidden behind its reputation as a wine region. Living up to its nickname, ‘Little Paris,’ it combines a dazzling cultural heritage with a modern, sophisticated side. In the UNESCO World Heritage historic district, medieval buildings recall the city’s golden age, and at sunset the splendid Place de la Bourse reflected in the ‘Water Mirror’ captivates travelers. Stroll the quaint lanes of the old town along the river, then visit the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, built in 1790, to catch an opera or ballet and immerse yourself in the romantic atmosphere of eighteenth-century Bordeaux. And of course, no visit would be complete without a wine tour of the wineries around Médoc and Saint-Émilion.