La Divine Comédie

Style

Antiques roadshow

Setting

Provençal paradise

Petite Provençal hideaway La Divine Comédie is an antique-filled luxury guesthouse steps from the Palais des Papes. There are just five bedrooms, each with an exotic flavour, whether it’s the wanderings of Uncle Anatole back from sailing the seven seas or tributes to Tutankhamun. The 17th-century villa lays claim to an impressive array of oil paintings, the grandest private garden in all of Avignon and an enviable assortment of antiques.

Facilities

Zimmer

Five suites.

Checkout

11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm. Contact the property to arrange a check-in after 9pm.

Weitere Details

Rates usually include breakfast.

Also

The guesthouse is not easily accessible for wheelchair users, as an old building, there is no lift and access to all suites are via stairs.

Kostenfreies WLAN

Pool

Spa

At the Hotel

Free WiFi throughout, car park. In rooms: TV, free bottled water, tea-making kit, Nespresso coffee machine, air-conditioning, heating and Codage bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Each of the five rooms combines modern comfort with vintage decadence, relishing the work of time like a precious antique. Every room has its own character, whether it’s the stylish spirit of La Serenissima in the Venice Suite or the legacy of Tutankhamun that inspired the Consul Suite. We especially loved the garden-facing Anatole Suite, the mascot of which is a globe-trotting Grand Tour sort who helpfully gathered the various trinkets and treasures on display (model boats, orientalist paintings, mirrors, screens and a canopy).

Poolside

Tucked away in the heart of the garden, there's a heated plunge pool which is open from May to October.

Spa

The Foly in the garden has a hammam, sauna and one treatment room for specialist massages (upright, Korean, Californian) and rituals using French favourite spa brand Codage. Pilates, yoga and fitness classes can be arranged.

Packing Tips

Bring your Pocket Shakespeare if you’ve timed your visit during Avignon’s annual theatre festival (July), or horticultural handbooks for identifying the blooms in the city’s biggest private garden.

Also

Art historians, listen up: the property has more than 200 paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Kinder

All ages are welcome, but there’s no lift in the main house, so prams and pushchairs will have to be carried up the stairs.

Galerie

Food & Drink

Top Table

Breakfast while smelling the roses on the terrace.

Kleiderordnung

Deck yourselves in papal purple and cardinal red.

Hotel Restaurant

There’s no bar or restaurant on-site but guests can still enjoy a drink or two in the living rooms and garden spaces. Breakfast is served either in one of the villa’s salons or out on the terrace; expect Camargue classics and delicious viennoiserie, plus charcuterie and cheese selections for an additional charge.

Last Orders

Breakfast is served from 8.30am until 10.30am.

Planes

Marseille’s international airport is the best served; the drive should take an hour and transfers cost €180 each way. There’s a smaller airport in Avignon that’s a 20-minute drive away by car; transfers are €30.

Trains

Avignon has a TGV station, meaning it’s speedily linked to other French cities – including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Lille – as well as London, courtesy of the Eurostar, which heads further south on direct services in summer, with connections in Paris or Lille at other times of the year (www.eurostar.com). Transfers to this station are €30 each way.

Automobiles

The car park for the house is behind a black gate on the next street, so you can drop off your bags first; parking costs €20 a night. Since you're within Avignon's city walls, most places are easily accessible on foot. However, if you plan to explore the lavender fields and vineyards, a car will be useful. Keep in mind the streets are narrow, so we recommend using a small car.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Once you’ve smelled the roses in the largest private garden in Avignon, been pampered in the spa cabin and laboured over a languorous French breakfast, it’s time to explore this mediaeval walled city and erstwhile papal centre. Stockpile cheese and tapenade at the Les Halles covered market on the aptly named Place Pie, or continue the appreciative garden gazing at the Jardin des Doms, which has elevated views of the rolling Rhône plains and Mont Ventoux. See what’s left of the Pont Saint-Bénézet, a 12th-century bridge and star of a certain schoolboy-French song. No visit to Avignon is complete without a tour of the Palais des Papes, a Gothic palace that was the seat of Christianity in the 14th century.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .