My Favourite Hotels. Part 2 – Aspirational Hotels

There are four hotels in this category and all four are in France, which is not surprising as this is where I spend a good part of my year.

These are the hotels in which I haven’t stayed (but would like to) but where I’ve eaten in the restaurant and/or drank at the bar.

Two of them are perched high atop two ancient and pretty stone villages in the south of France in the sort of villages that are dotted throughout the south of France and which are themselves well-visited tourist attractions.

Chateau Eza is in the village of Eze on the Cote D’Azur and Hotel Arielles, La Bastide is in Gordes in the Luberon Valley, Provence

Also on the Cote D’Azur is the Hotel du Cap – Eden Roc in Antibes, near Cannes. This picturesque tranquil hotel has been the hideout and playground of such luminaries as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie when they were still Brangelina.

And then there’s Paris (isn’t there always?)

…and staying at the George V is definitely on my bucket list. Here are some photos and the reasons why I find these hotels are so desirable

Antibes – Hotel du Cap, Eden Roc.

This hotel is surrounded by extensive and beautifully landscaped grounds in Antibes, on the Cote D’Azur. The chateau that houses the main part of the hotel is on a hill with a long, wide driveway that descends to the Mediterranean where the pool and the oceanside restaurant/café/bar are located.

Pulling up outside the café, a valet takes and parks your car – a complimentary service. Nice!

I have dined in this oceanside café on two occasions; occasions where I, thankfully, was not paying. The food, while not being haute cuisine, is more than adequate but the price is steep – 80 euros for a hamburger, I’m told. (Remember, I wasn’t paying.)

But you’re not here for the food, are you? (Not even if the cakes are to die for!)

This is where the famous (and sometimes even me) come to relax, in abject luxury – far from the prying lenses of the paparazzi.

Notwithstanding this, while paparazzi (or more accurately : their cameras) are not allowed within the confines of the hotel, they are usually camped out on the rocks below the deck of the café and in yachts, moored nearby, waiting for that shot that represents pay dirt – especially when the film festival is on in Cannes. Alas, I wasn’t it.

This haven of tranquility is not even spoiled by the usual seagulls attacking your food while you’re trying to eat as the hotel employs a falconer (with a raptor) to scare away these birds.

A perfect ending to a meal here is to take a digestif at the opulent bar of the main hotel. On one occasion there was a member of Duran Duran also enjoying a post-prandial tipple on a verandah table next to us (or so I’m told – I’m not the sort of person who’d recognise Duran Duran).

I’ve heard of a writer, who stays a week or two here every year – somewhere peaceful from where to write – and I admit to being green with envy.  

Envy and the occasional meal will have to suffice, I’m afraid, as the tariff for rooms at this luxury hotel is serious money and certainly not within the means of this struggling writer.

Eze – Chateau Eza.

It was a hot summer’s day and walking around the steep cobblestoned streets of this hilltop village was making me tired and irritable (which can be treacherous for one as clumsy as me). It was time to stop for lunch and a rest in the shade.

I always eat lunch as the main meal of my day which is serendipity because many haute cuisine and/or difficult-to-afford restaurants often have excellent lunchtime specials. This was the case with the restaurant at Chateau Eza – a luxury, boutique hotel in the village.

I stopped outside a door to read their menu (the entrance to this hotel is total unassuming and could easily be missed) and decided to treat myself to a deluxe, but reasonably priced lunch at 60 euros for several courses (I can’t remember how many).

My decision proved to be an excellent one when I saw the terrace on which I’d be dining. A more breathtaking view I cannot imagine.

The food was excellent, the establishment has the rustic charm of stone walls but with luxury finishes and oh…those views.

Gordes – Hotel Airelles La Bastide

This hotel is similar in style to Chateau Eza – even the location is similar: an ancient, stone, hilltop village in southern France. It also has an equal measure of charm.

While I’ve never stayed here, I know they serve excellent haute cuisine in their restaurant that looks over a view to die for.

La Bastide

The beautiful interior

My friend and I happened on this hotel when we parked in the last remaining parking spot in the village that day, only to find that it was the carpark of the hotel and we had to be guests to park there.

“What the heck?” we thought, “we’ll have lunch here.”
And so, leaving the car where it was, so we did and a lovely lunch it was.

The hotel has the same rustic charm and the same notes of luxury as Chateau Eza. I have returned many times since – but only to dine.

Maybe I’ll make this my post CoVid-19 treat on my return to France. It is just an hour away from Arles by car.

Paris – Hotel George V

This stunning art deco hotel is one of the most famous (and most expensive) in Paris. I have only spent one solitary evening here having dinner in their one-Michelin-starred restaurant, L’Orangerie. (The hotel also has a three-starred restaurant).

As it was in the days leading up to Christmas, it was beautifully decorated for the occasion, resembling a fairy tale.

What separated this hotel from the crowd, was the level of service, nothing was too much bother and they were generous in their attention to your needs as soon as you walked through their doors.

And it didn’t stop at the door: a padded stool was provided, for example, in the restaurant where I could put my handbag next to my chair. I hadn’t asked for one but I appreciated the gesture because I have a handbag fetish and I’d prefer my designer ones were not on the floor.

The food here was exquisite and I can’t imagine that it could have been any better in their top-ranked restaurant…but it was hardly cheap. Our pre-dinner glass of champagne cost 50 Euros but it’s not the sort of place where you quibble: you want champagne, you pay the price.

It was a grand-occasion dinner at a grand-occasion venue and it didn’t disappoint.

I have seen the Paris views from some of the rooms (in particular, the Eiffel Tower). Under the circumstances, how could you not aspire to stay here?