Nestled among the cypress trees of the Alpilles, a recently-renovated luxury hamlet of Provençal charm is laying low, just waiting to be discovered. When you arrive at Hameau des Baux, just outside the towns of Baux de Provence and Paradou, it appears to be a medieval village, complete with stone façade chapel and quintessential town square. On the contrary, Hameau des Baux is a new conception, having been completely restored in 2023.
It’s a clever concept: the hotel resort, which is a member of the Beyond Places hospitality group, has been designed to replicate one of the region’s many hamlets – but this one has been purpose-built for ultimate luxury; All the aesthetic appeal of the past, but without the draughts and cobwebs. Arrival is a grand experience, first winding your way through the Alpilles natural park (Alpilles meaning ‘little Alps’ in French – a rocky outcrop of low mountains and tree-lined hairpin bends) before an ambling dirt road brings you to the entrance and a meandering driveway through a valley of sky-high cypress trees.
In keeping with the concept of a hamlet, Hameau des Baux comprises several buildings around a central courtyard.
The main building, which houses the reception, bar and restaurant, has a traditional exterior with powder blue shuttered windows and trailing ivy. Inside, neutral tones and bare stone walls are accessorised by huge terracotta pots and wrought iron banisters.
The hotel has a partnership with Actes Sud, a specialist publishing house founded just a village away, and as such there’s a perfectly-curated bookshop in the hotel’s lobby, with books neatly arranged under wicker pendant lights.
This partnership is just one example of the importance of the arts to the Hameau des Baux concept. The interiors are another, having been carefully curated by Artistic Director Constance Breton, whose eye for contemporary and avant-garde pieces is evident in every room. A stay here is designed to be an all-encompassing sensory experience, with playlists created by the musician and artist Samuel Boutruche permeating the airwaves. Over in the hotel’s bar, walls form a makeshift exhibition space for the latest photography works that the hotel has chosen to showcase (when we visit it’s an abstract nature series in black and white by a Japanese artist).
In spite of its high-brow aesthetic, everything at Hameau des Baux feels relaxed and accessible, and designed for laidback hedonism. The bar hosts a Happy Hour every evening from 6-7.30pm where guests can enjoy varieties of spritz at a lower price, and the shelves are well-stocked with apéritifs and digestifs, many of which are local to the region.
Outside, the expansive grounds beg to be explored, with nooks and crannies hidden among trees, along hedge-lined paths and down cobbled staircases. The courtyard of the hamlet has the look of a typical French terrasse with bistrot-style tables arranged around a fountain, and decorated overhead with stretching garlands of fairy lights. A replica chapel, complete with bell, creates the authentic village square ambience. It is easy to imagine balmy summer nights here, illuminated under the strings of lights, with dinner al fresco.
Hameau des Baux’s location deep in the foothills of the Alpilles makes it the perfect jump-off point for exploring the greenery and nature of Provence, and maximising the beauty of the outdoors is also a key objective of the resort itself. The sport of pétanque (boules) was invented in Provence, and the hotel pays tribute to this important symbol of Provençal life with a generously-proportioned court. There is also a full-sized tennis court and a gym located in a separate building.
The hotel’s pool is a lovely space in a peaceful section of the garden, surrounded by luxurious daybeds and olive trees (Hameau des Baux is built on an olive farm, so the Mediterranean trees are dotted all over the grounds).
There are outdoor changing rooms, toilets, and a dedicated bar, which makes it all too simple to order that poolside glass of local rosé.
From the comfort of our daybed, we take in the idyll of the surroundings: there is complete quiet, save for the bubbling of the pool’s fountain and the rustling of the breeze in the trees; the contrast of the rolling landscape against the deep cobalt of the South of France sky is colour in the highest definition.
Our room is located in the Chapelle building – separate from the main property and designed to look like a historic church house. Hameau des Baux offers eight different styles of room, located in different parts of the grounds and varying in style and size. A cohesive design runs throughout the rooms: countryside comfort in a stylish colour palette of beige and rust, with accents of wood throughout. Each of the rooms boasts a rustic-style wooden beamed ceiling, and almost all have doors that open onto a private terrace.
First impressions of our Superior Terrace room are how spacious and bright it is, with sunlight streaming in through the French doors. Like the rest of the hotel, it could easily be mistaken for a traditional period property, but the finish and quality betrays the fact that it’s freshly built.
The bed is situated within an arched wall recess and is adorned with soft furnishings in terracottas and pinks. The bed frame houses books about art and the local area, illuminated by minimalist terracotta pendant lamps that hang low on either side.
Our eye is immediately drawn to the bathroom – completely open, revealing a vintage-style roll-top bath and vanity space. A heavy privacy curtain acts as a divider for the space if needed, but, when open, the bath remains a key aesthetic feature of the room. In keeping with the traditional feel, more modern conveniences like the television are cleverly concealed within wooden cupboards.
Our room has an indoor living space with coffee table and armchairs, a coffee station, and ample storage space to allow guests to unpack and feel at home for the duration of their stay. Through the French doors, the terrace is a peaceful haven shaded by greenery and south-east facing, enjoying the full impact of the Mediterranean sun all day long. In each room, a branded tote bag contains touches to add extra comfort, such as beach towels and flip flops for the pool; it feels as though every small comfort has been accounted for.
Hameau des Baux strikes the perfect balance between a secluded countryside retreat and a convenient location for enjoying the spoils that Provence has to offer. If guests are unfamiliar with the region, the hotel’s team could not be more accommodating, offering detailed expertise. Following this sage advice, we travelled one hour south to the fascinating wetlands of the Camargue, where the two arms of the Rhone converge to form Europe’s largest river delta. It’s an area rich in unexpected wildlife, from pink flamingos in the wild to the famed white horses that gallop through the shallows. Also nearby is the picturesque town of L’isle sur la Sorgue, known for its venetian-style canals and impressive antiques market. The hamlet of Maussane-les-Alpilles is a short walk from the hotel, where you’ll find grocery shops, and a handful of good quality restaurants and bars.
This feels like a place to spend a good amount of time, to really allow yourself to unwind and get acclimatised to the joie de vivre. We note that the majority of other guests staying at the hotel during our visit are speaking French – probably visitors from elsewhere in France enjoying a staycation. The clientele is varied, from couples of all ages to families with children. Visitors are drawn to the hotel for different reasons: we spot a couple on a babymoon, who spend their time relaxing by the pool, while the families take advantage of the sports activities and excursions on offer. The hotel provides for all eventualities, with a menu of experiences that includes renting a vintage cabriolet (the undulating roads of the Alpilles becoming a makeshift film set), borrowing electric bikes, or simply taking in the artworks on display.
We visit off-season, when the weather isn’t quite warm enough to eat outside, but visiting Allegria, the hotel’s exceptional restaurant, is equally enjoyable.
Behind the scenes is chef Julie Chaix, whose auspicious beginnings include working alongside Anne-Sophie Pic (the world’s most decorated Michelin star chef) and Alain Ducasse, before returning to her home soil to take over the kitchen at Hameau des Baux.
More telling than any press coverage is the praise we heard lavished on Chaix by her colleagues in the restaurant and bar teams. Needless to say, our expectations for dinner at Allegria are high, and we’re pleasantly surprised to see such a reasonable price point against a fine dining option: a choice of starter, main course and dessert costs just €35.
We begin our dining experience with a floral but crisp white from Domaine des Terres Blanches from the Baux de Provence terroir. The menu is emphatically local, with meat from nearby farms and fish from the Camargue. To start, a crostini baked in local olive oil, with the freshest strawberries (at the peak of their seasonality during our visit) we’ve ever tasted, and served with olive tapenade, fresh herbs and shavings of goat’s cheese – another regional speciality – from nearby Saint Rémy. It’s a simple combination that allows the freshness of the produce to speak for itself, and we find ourselves still thinking about those strawberries weeks later. The green pea velouté is simple and full of taste, dressed with a fillet of confit mackerel and snow peas.
The hunk of veal knuckle we choose for our main has been marinating for the last 24h, and separates into tender flakes with ease, complemented by a salad of shaved artichokes. Asparagus is also in season during our stay, and the catch of the day is served with the vegetable cooked two ways. Overall, the meal is a flawless amalgamation of ingredients at their peak. To finish, a perfect balance of sweet and salt with a fresh rhubarb crumble featuring more of those delectable strawberries, and a cheeseboard with strong focus on goat’s cheese (our favourite is a smoked ash variety).
A very pleasant surprise arrives at the end of the meal – one that feels quintessentially French, and something that we haven’t seen before: it’s a coffer that opens out to reveal a treasure chest of petits fours, freshly made by the chef that day and offered complimentary at the end of the meal. Like a cheeseboard, our waiter talks us through each treat and we make a selection, from syrupy canelés to coconut macaroons and almond financiers, the element of surprise making it all the sweeter.
After dinner, there’s nothing left to do but retire to the bar, where old fashioned parlour games like noughts and crosses and a digestif in the form of Ratafia de Marseille await us against a soundtrack of hazy jazz.
Throughout the duration of our stay, we have plenty of interaction with members of the hotel’s team, and there’s an enduring sense of pride that comes across in the service. Nothing feels forced, and everyone appears to be working towards providing an outstanding service for guests.
On our final morning, weather-beaten from days of southern breeze and just a little foggy from last night’s wine, we take in one last breakfast. Allegria transforms into a sunny reception room to host the hotel’s breakfast, which, like the dinner, is full of local (and often unexpected) spoils. There are all the classic staples – eggs, fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, loaves of bread from the bakery – but Chef Chaix also treats us to some more unconventional tastes to start the day, such as a sponge cake with black olive and tuna filling (the flavour combination we didn’t know we needed), orange blossom fougasse, and clafoutis laden with the by-now signature strawberries.
Hameau des Baux is a totally understated example of quintessential Provençal style in the most heavenly of locations. The overall concept is so well executed, with every small detail considered. This is a place to retreat to, lose yourself for several days, and keep returning. It’s an unpretentious and multi-sensory experience, and the service is the cherry on top… or perhaps that should be ‘the strawberry’?
We stayed
in a Supérieure Terrasse room, priced from €620 per night including breakfast and access to the sport and leisure facilities.
We ate
Three-course chef’s menu, priced at €35, accompanied by a bottle of wine from the local region.
For offers and best value rates, book directly at Hameau des Baux’s website.
This was a media stay – all opinions are our own.
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