On our way to our rental house in Gard after two fabulous weeks in Greece at Eros Keros and the Rooster Antiparos, we stopped at Baumanière, a luxury hotel near les Baux de Provence.

Baumaniere in Baux de Provence

Location 4 / 5

Baumanière hotel is located in les Alpilles, a beautiful region of Provence.  The hotel sits right next to Les Baux de Provence, one of the most visited villages in the region and close to many other famous sights. You can actually walk from the hotel up to the village via a door only hotel guests can use. 

It is set in a stunning environment with tall rocks and provencal trees and shrubs. 

The hotel is actually spread up and down a hamlet and you can sleep in different parts.  The reception is at the bottom and that’s also where there is the Manoir.  At the top is the Oustau, the oldest part of the hotel.  If you sleep there, you’ll have to get a shuttle from there to go down to the spa and the Cabro d’Or restaurant but on the plus side, it makes staying at the Oustau even more private.

You can also choose to walk down via a path in the fields and through the other streets of the hamlet. I did this in the morning and it was really peaceful.

Classic provencal style at Oustau de Baumaniere

Style  3 out of 5

We stayed in Oustau, the oldest part and where the 3 Michelin star restaurant is. It’s also where there is the biggest pool. The setting is beautiful and the old building views onto the classic gardens, giving you the sense of being in your own mansion in Provence.

Inside the style is classic  Provence, elegant but in my view needing a bit of an upgrade/ touch up. It’s started to be done in other parts of the hotel according to the brochure I read in the room.

Our suite was vast with a big living area, walk in wardrobe, and our bedroom was on a stepped area with adjoining bathroom. The bathroom had lovely marble walk in shower and sinks. It was opening onto the room via aluminium/ plastic doors. Those for instance could have been changed to crittal doors to give that updated touch. 

The bedroom doors too are thick wooden doors, clearly from the 80s or before. In a way it has a bit of old fashioned charm, reminding me of my childhood but some may find it a bit passé. 

The suite and Mademoiselle’s bedroom, of a more simple category, had their own outdoor terrace with great views of the village and castle. 

La Cabro d’Or restaurant at Baumanière

Food 4.5/5

As we were travelling all day we thought we’d be too tired to properly enjoy the 3 michelin stars Oustau so chose the 2 stars Cabro d or instead. I have to say that the setting at Oustau looked nicer with tables under platane trees just near the pool. It was just down our bedroom so we could observe the mise en place. Always a show to see how the French set gastronomic restaurant tables!

La Cabro d’Or restaurant was down in the hamlet and we were driven there by a quick 2 minutes shuttle.  The setting outside was very nice with lovely views of the gardens, but it didn’t feel as special as at Oustau.

That being said, we had a lovely diner with very good food, tasty and light and attentive and smiley service. 

Breakfast is served near each building, so if you are staying at Oustau, you’ll have breakfast only with people sleeping in that building too.  It has only a few rooms so it feels very private and calm in the morning.

Breakfast was set by the pool, under the trees in the garden and was a perfect choice of fresh pastries and bread, ham, fresh fruit and fruit salad, yoghurt, cereals, freshly squeezed orange juice. 

I also need to talk to you about the chocolates shop which was recently opened. Being a chocolate lover, that was my first stop after being settled in the room.  The chocolates are truly delicious, very delicate and tasty: ganache, pralines, orangettes by a master pâtissier et chocolatier. I really liked how they combined classic chocolate recipes with the addition of herbs and flavours from Provence.

Proper high quality service at Baumaniere

Service 5/5

We only stayed one night but they made us felt special from the get go and until the very end.  Really top luxury service.  The welcome and departure at reception was very warm. We really felt like they were happy to see us even for our short stay.

And during those less than 24 hours they called us by our name every time they saw us. 

The reception is open 24/7 so no doubt you could ask them for anything at any time!

What to do at Baumaniere

Activities 4 out of 5

The pool at Oustau was superb. Set in the provencal gardens with the tall rocks framing it, it is very large and properly heated by the continuous sun! There were several areas around to relax: lounge chairs, floppy chairs but also tables under the trees so you could also sit down and write, play cards etc.   

As mentioned before, because of the low number of rooms at the Oustau, there were also less people around.

There are two other pools near the other building in the lower part of the hotel.

With such a short time at the hotel we couldn’t test everything but next time we’ll come back, we’ll definitely eat at Oustau de Baumanière and try the spa.

They also can arrange visits all around the region, bikes, horse riding and there is a tennis court and a petanque area.

Baumaniere Les Baux de Provence – verdict

Overall 4 out of 5

For a short stay and a taste of Provence, Baumaniere was a lovely stop. The staff was very attentive, the setting beautiful and the food classic French. It’s good to know that they are refreshing some areas of the hotel. In any case, it certainly made us want to come back to experience the 3 Michelin stars restaurant and the spa and possibly try another room in Le Manoir.

My answers to the most frequent questions about Baumanière