Hotel of the Week: Le Couvent des Minimes
Posted by Caroline on May 14th, 2010It may have taken a load of men in sharp suits and colour-coordinated ties several days to choose who would be ruling the UK roost, but over at Smith HQ, decision making comes easily. Particularly when a glorious stone former nun’s house in Provence is involved…
Style Characterful converted convent
Setting Lush L’Occitane land
Why this week? There are few times in life when one needs to be pushed to go to Provence, so go willingly to Le Couvent des Minimes, stay for three nights, pay for two, and come up smelling of lavender.
Our favourite bits We especially love the fragrant lavender, roses and verbena growing around the stately stone façade throughout the 15-acre aromatic gardens. There’s a well-stocked wine cellar, pétanque pitch and old church now used for exhibitions and events. As far as rooms go, it doesn’t get better than La Cassine, the honeymoon suite, tucked away behind a small wooden door in the oldest part of the building, with whitewashed walls, regal purple furnishings and a vaulted arch ceiling. The restaurant’s pretty good, too: renowned in the region, Le Cloître serves simple but sophisticated gastronomic fare.
Mr
& Mrs Smith say ‘Wandering through Le Couvent de Minimes’ flower-packed gardens, breathing in the lavender- and verbena-fragranced air, it’s easy to imagine the Minimes monks and nuns tending to their herbs and vegetables, gathering ingredients for meals and medicines. Although the convent’s original inhabitants were booted out during the French Revolution, it was only in the late 1990s that the last sisters left their sanctuary behind – paving the way for its latest incarnation as a luxurious hotel and spa.
With all around the Provençal palette of green, purple, pink and red, the interior’s white, brown and eggshell hues are a pleasing contrast. Rooms have pared down but luxurious decor, with bowls of freshly cut orchids and white roses scenting the room, and ornamenting the glossy dark wood furniture…’
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