Capelongue

Capelongue

The Luberon has always attracted people with enough taste to know that the best parts of Provence are the ones nobody talks about. A landscape of hilltop villages, lavender fields, and limestone plateaus that has resisted the kind of development that has flattened other parts of the south. Bonnieux is one of its finest villages, and Capelongue sits just above it on the edge of the Claparèdes plateau, looking out over the Petit Luberon towards Mont Ventoux. The estate is designed as a hamlet around a village square, 17th and 18th century buildings carefully restored by Beaumier in 2024 in a way that respects the local architecture without tipping into Provençal pastiche, which is a harder line to walk than it sounds in this part of France. There are 57 rooms and suites, decorated in ochre tones, terracotta, linen, and local ceramics, with windows and terraces opening directly onto the landscape. The Junior Suite with the mezzanine bedroom overlooking the gardens is particularly well designed, and the Pigeonnier, a converted dovecote, is the suite to book if you want something genuinely memorable. Many rooms interconnect, which makes the hotel work well for families or groups travelling together. The estate has two restaurants, and the distinction between them is worth understanding before you arrive. La Bastide is the Michelin-starred room, run by chef Noël Bérard, with two tasting menus in the evening rooted in Luberon and Provençal terroir. La Bergerie is the wood-fired kitchen on the other side of the estate, run by chef Mathieu Guivarch, where a leg of lamb from Sisteron or a rack of pork from Mont Ventoux comes off an open fire with views across the surrounding hills. La Bergerie is the one people talk about most, which is not a criticism of the starred room. Book both across a stay and eat them in the right order: La Bergerie for the first night, La Bastide for the occasion. There are two pools, a 300m² spa with a Roman bath and hammam using Biologique Recherche treatments, and a library with a decent collection of art books and novels. A car is essential, because the Luberon is best explored on your own terms and the villages between Gordes, Lourmarin, and Apt reward the kind of unplanned morning that a taxi schedule makes impossible. The short version: One of the best-positioned hotels in Provence, recently renovated and in very good hands with Beaumier. Come in May or September when the light is at its best and the summer crowds have not yet arrived or have just left.