15 minutes from Avignon, a stately home with a proud 600-year history,
converted into a boutique-hotel, with a garden, swimming pools and a fitness centre
converted into a boutique-hotel, with a garden, swimming pools and a fitness centre
Nîmes,
GARD
languedoc-roussillon
30000
FR
Location
The municipality in the Gard area where the property can be found, on the frontier between the PACA and Occitanie regions plus the Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard areas, is the only one on the left bank of the River Rhône. It is part of both the Pays Garrigues et Costières de Nîmes sector and the catchment area of Avignon. History has linked the village to the turbulent flow of the River Rhône since the very early Antiquity and determined its main source of activity: basketwork.
The Rhône aval site has been preserved from the region’s large flows of tourists and has been certified as a Natura 2000 zone for its habitats, wildlife and plant-life.
The property is 20 minutes from Avignon’s high-speed TGV train station, without having to cross the papal city, 40 minutes from the one in Nîmes, 30 minutes from Arles and 90 minutes from the international airports of Marseille-Provence and Montpellier-Méditerranée as well as the high-speed TGV railway station in Montpellier.
Description
This stately home, which was built in several stages, has been tucked away for 600 years in a Provence village, through which flow two waterways, and is framed to the east, west and south by three very quiet small streets. The previously omnipresent basketwork activity, helped by the presence of neighbouring waterways, is today still represented by a prestigious and internationally renowned workshop, located not far from the property, which, over time, has experienced a stately, agricultural and now commercial destiny. It was owned by the same family from the 14th to 20th century. The approximately 1,150-m² building complex is very harmonious and is made up of a large residence and a neighbouring, smaller one, formerly used for the domestic staff’s quarters and as stables. In the late 20th century, the house was virtually in ruins when a financier fell in love with it, before selling it to the current owners, who completed the restoration of the entire property.
It is possible to distinguish three different eras through the architecture of the larger residence.
The first, contemporary with the establishment of the papacy in Avignon in the 14th century, displays many characteristics of the era, such as mullion windows and medieval mouldings. This part makes up the current entrance to the hotel. Another era can be made out in the neo-classical pyramid topped terminal of the southern façade dating from a wide-ranging restoration in the 17th century. Two storeys were added, above the vaulted medieval rooms on the ground floor with their vast, arched French windows. On the first floor, a balcony-terrace runs along the façades. The penultimate restoration was carried out in the 18th century with the addition of a wing, giving the building its current U-shape, and a large carriage gate.
The south-facing smaller residence is linked to the larger one by a discrete gate opening to the west, below the tree canopy, through a garden wall.
Lastly, the stables, which are located on the other side of the narrow street, have been fully renovated in the 21st century as a fitness centre.
It is possible to distinguish three different eras through the architecture of the larger residence.
The first, contemporary with the establishment of the papacy in Avignon in the 14th century, displays many characteristics of the era, such as mullion windows and medieval mouldings. This part makes up the current entrance to the hotel. Another era can be made out in the neo-classical pyramid topped terminal of the southern façade dating from a wide-ranging restoration in the 17th century. Two storeys were added, above the vaulted medieval rooms on the ground floor with their vast, arched French windows. On the first floor, a balcony-terrace runs along the façades. The penultimate restoration was carried out in the 18th century with the addition of a wing, giving the building its current U-shape, and a large carriage gate.
The south-facing smaller residence is linked to the larger one by a discrete gate opening to the west, below the tree canopy, through a garden wall.
Lastly, the stables, which are located on the other side of the narrow street, have been fully renovated in the 21st century as a fitness centre.
The larger residence
The vast rooms on the ground-floor with their monumental volumes still bear witness to the ostentatious way in which people lived in such noble residences. The later part - the two upper floors, atop of the original medieval structure - was entirely renovated in 2022 with the aim of preserving the soul and authenticity of the façades. Depending on the rooms, the dressed stone blocks - and in places rough-hewn blocks of stone - have either been left exposed to exalt their mineral beauty or limewashed with the utmost care and know-how of the local craftspeople or preserved with their original moulding intact. Where there are unique features, meticulous attention has been paid to each portion of the wall, ceiling or floor, to treat them as the works of art that they genuinely are.
The ground floor
On the floors, the several-hundred-year-old slabs of Beaucaire stone have been left intact, as have the exposed beams on the ceilings, especially the imposing main beams the size of ships’ masts. All the period fireplaces are in working order, including the most monumental one, which is so wide and tall that it could be possible to roast several entire animals in it. The old doors in raw wood or natural ceruse with a look bestowed by time that nothing can imitate, have kept their period latches and handles, which have been carefully restored. The high medieval stone vaults and the ceilings with massive exposed beams that have stood over several generations of local lords now play host, in an ultra-modern décor included in the sale, to the hotel reception, a library, several lounges and offices, co-working spaces, a cinema lounge, a restaurant, a bar, a kitchen, a scullery, a wine store and a boutique. The entire floor boasts air conditioning.
The first floor
On either side of the wide staircase, whose steps testify to its six-century age through their wear and tear, the palatial dimensions of the residence come into their own. Two large suites occupy this level, both laid out like veritable apartments with a large living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. The same commitment to preserving the period materials and elements is evident from floor to ceiling, such as the restoration of the large, octagonal terracotta tiles in varieties of deep red, showcased by the ultra-modern décor in which each piece of furniture is included in the sale, or also the ceilings with exposed beams, painted white or light grey so as not to unnecessarily darken the vast, extremely comfortable spaces.
The second floor
The last level is characterised by the same magnitude of volume as the rest of the house, with a spectacularly exposed roof frame. There are two suites overlooking the garden. The first one is vast, boasting a living room with a fireplace and white painted exposed beams on the ceiling, a large bedroom with period octagonal terracotta tiled flooring and a bathroom with white Portuguese ceramic tiles. The second one possesses a bathroom, a bedroom with modern raw oakwood flooring and the exposed beams including planks of timber in a striking array that support the roof frame, providing a perfect example of the unrivalled ingenuity of the master carpenters of the past. To the northeast, on the courtyard side, there are two more modestly sized though very comfortable guest bedrooms with bathrooms.
The smaller residence
This building is separated from the rest of the residence with its own entrance from the street and was most probably reserved for the domestic staff in bygone days. It boasts its own slightly raised, square swimming pool near to the bedrooms. It also possesses its own modestly sized garden linked to the one around the larger residence via an almost hidden gate.
The smaller building houses a spacious suite with a bedroom in which there is a monumental fireplace boasting a wood-burning stove. The walls are limewashed in pastel colours and the flooring of large Beaucaire stone slabs pays witness to the venerable age of the building, which has been so carefully restored that there is no reason to suspect it is that old.
The Count’s stables
The stables stand behind a monumental arched entrance. The ashlar arch without a keystone is underlined by protruding shell-shaped bosses, which could allude to the fact that the village was once on one of the Ways of Saint James’.
Today, the stables have been transformed, in the same ultra-modern spirit as the rest of the residence, into a fitness room equipped with elliptical trainer bikes and weight training equipment. Large, matt, black, supple rubber tiles cover the floor, enabling absorption of impacts and noises. The well-preserved old rubble stone walls, which are typical of large stables, as well as the impressive oakwood roof frame strike a contrast between modernity and history. A courtyard in which a maple tree stands and modern sculptures are arranged can be found next to the stables, providing an outdoor space for activities such as yoga.
The garden
This is in fact the residence’s former main courtyard, added in the late 17th century to open up the property onto one of the village’s streets. It lay fallow for many decades before being turned into a methodically laid out garden, in which many local varieties of plants come together to form an accumulation of greenery, providing a welcome balance with the property’s mineral nature. Today, the garden has become a relaxation space for the hotel, with its long, generously proportioned swimming pool being a further asset, behind the secrecy of the property’s high walls.
Our opinion
This property is unexpected, rare and unique. A litany of adjectives could be spelled out to describe the monumental uniqueness of such a stately architectural estate, in the centre of one of the quietest and most unspoilt villages in the Rhodanian Provence area so dear to Frédéric Mistral.
The boutique-hotel, with its four immense suites, its three vast bedrooms, its large swimming pool and separate residence, was set up in this venue in the middle of the last century. Today, it is a prestigious guest house with a discerning international clientele. Purchasing such a place also entails taking on its spirit, even if the residence could also be suitable for any other kind of private project.
Sometimes, the future will not frighten away the past and the present can stand the test of time.
4 400 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 738257
| Land registry surface area | 1102 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 1152 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 15 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 181 m2 |
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NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.
