Coquillade Provence Resort & Spa

Coquillade Provence Resort & Spa

Coquillade Provence Resort & Spa sits above Gargas in the Luberon hills, an 11th-century hamlet rebuilt around its own vineyard and cellar, so the wine poured at dinner was grown on the slope outside the window. The estate runs to 69 rooms across a scatter of stone buildings linked by terraces and gardens, four kilometres from the small town centre and closer to lavender fields than to any high street; travellers who count on stepping straight into a town centre will use the hotel's car rental or transfer desk instead. Days here run on cycling through ochre canyons, swimming laps in the indoor pool before the outdoor one opens for the season, a fitness room and a tennis court for anyone restless, and a spa with sauna, steam room and massage for anyone who isn't. Families are handled properly rather than tolerated: a kids club, a playroom, babysitting on request, and family rooms sized for the purpose, while a dog can come too for a fifty-euro fee and deposit. One example, the Standard Double Suite with Jacuzzi, runs 678 square feet with a full double bed and comes with a bathrobe, slippers, minibar and proper toiletries rather than the usual sachets. Staff work in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, useful given the international Relais & Châteaux crowd this draws. What it doesn't offer is a walkable village square or a budget rate; extra beds run 150 euros a night, and this is a destination in itself, not a base for hopping between towns. For a slow week built around wine, cycling and a spa that isn't an afterthought, it earns the drive out from Gargas. An 11th-century hamlet in the Luberon hills, rebuilt into a 69-room Relais & Châteaux estate with its own vineyard, cellar and spa, four kilometres from Gargas. Built for a slow week of cycling and wine, not for walking into town for dinner. Pets and children are both catered for.