Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de la Celle ★★★★★

Country couple retreat? Yes, please! Provence, France? Why not?

Now, La Celle, was not the first place that came to mind when we thought of Provence, however once we had laid our eyes on this quaint, former abbey, now included amongst the houses of the great chef Alain Ducasse, we just had to say yes. We wanted to escape the crowds of the city and land in a place of calm, where we could appreciate the art of living well and not have to worry about having enough time to fit in must-see tourist sites.

You can tell the Hostellier de L’Abbaye used to be a Benedictine abbey from the old stone carvings from the 12th century, the long arched corridors and the bare stone. In 1999 Alain Ducasse became the owner of this abbey and used all his expertise to make a grand hotel, with fine French cuisine at the core. The recent renovations by Tonia Peyrot give it a fabulous ambience; the exterior white window shutters and wooden, long slim double doors were already oozing with French character, and now the interior design makes the whole place feel cosy and warm.

The superior rooms are an intimate and personal; a comfy space for a retreat. A spacious 26sqm welcomes you with a large bed, armchair and desk. Each room is unique, shown by their different names; ours was the Sancie des Signes. The decor was a fresh and simple light blue and white with comfy old-style blue sofas. I loved the nostalgic cosiness of the place exuded by the quilted sofas and the white, ornate metal bath stood in the bathroom. Yet, this was expertly teamed with modern light fittings, large bed, a contemporary light-brown wooden wall panel and all the expected mod-cons of a five-star hotel.

The gardens are a place of peace and tranquillity, verdant and colourful; they are perfect to enjoy the pleasantly mild weather of Southern France. There are also vineyards and a conservatory with over 88 different grape varieties. We passed cherry trees, fruit trees, a herb garden and fountains on our short walk to the Benguine Convent and I felt like nobility from the 18th century roaming around the land that surrounded our manor. The sun lounge is another place of comfort with large, leather brown armchairs that are begging to be sat on. There’s a great view of the garden and also a conveniently placed bar to enjoy such a view.

Of course, at the heart of this hotel, or rather “inn”, is good food, like at the heart of all things French. I’m talking not only about good food but about some of the finest food you’ll find in this region of France. With the famous Alain Ducasse at the head of this inn and Benoir Witz’s expertise in the kitchen you simply couldn´t go wrong. This in mind, my husband and I settled ourselves on our seats and patiently waited for our 5 course seasonal surprise, courtesy of VeryChic. The dishes were unknown but what we did know was that it would taste absolutely sublime...