Baumanière

Raymond Thuilier bought a farmhouse in the Val d'Enfer, below Les Baux-de-Provence, in 1943 and took his first guests two years later. His family still owns the estate, now run by his grandson Jean-André Charial, and its 20 hectares inside the Alpilles Regional Park hold vineyards, olive trees, scrubland and kitchen gardens. Queen Elizabeth II stayed in 1972, and Jean Cocteau filmed in the old quarries nearby. The 53 rooms are divided between five houses. L'Oustau, a 16th-century farmhouse, has 10 rooms beside the restaurant; the 18th-century Manoir has 13 above a garden of white roses; Carita and Flora each sit in their own gardens, and the founder's Family House has been renovated. Antiques and handmade furniture make every room different. L'Oustau de Baumanière won its third star in 1954 and today holds a three-MICHELIN-star rating under chef Glenn Viel. La Cabro d'Or, led by Michel Hulin, cooks in a Provençal register, and there is a chocolate workshop on the estate. A Sisley spa with hammam and sauna, and three pools set among the gardens, fill the hours between meals.