Auberge La Coste

Style

Village belle

Setting

Aix-traordinary wine estate

Bathed in the same light that inspired Cézanne, Auberge La Coste is a village-like boutique hotel in the heart of the Chateau La Coste estate. It has a cluster of small shops, a pub-style bar and a rotisserie restaurant. Take your morning coffee at the rose-hued courtyard, where cypress trees spike the skyline beyond. And, if you get restless, some 200 hectares of stone pines, olive trees and oaks host an impressive art collection and Jean Nouvel-designed winery.

Facilities

Rooms

76, including two suites.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but buffet and Continental options can be purchased at the hotel for €25 and €12, respectively.

Also

There are three wheelchair-accessible rooms suitable for guests with limited mobility. Please contact Smith’s travel team to book.

Free Internet Access

Pet Friendly

On-Site Restaurant

At the Hotel

Art and architecture trail, vineyards and winery, boutique shops, water fountain and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, cable TV, coffee machine and organic bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Each of Auberge’s 76 rooms are similar in style, employing natural materials and neutral colour palettes to capture a typically Provençal lightness. The ground floor Calade rooms are the ideal choice for overnight art-trippers, but for a little extra space opt for the Grand Atelier.

Spa

There’s no spa on site at Auberge La Coste, but with advanced notice treatments can be arranged at a nearby spa.

Packing Tips

With a fully-functioning vineyard – and wine shop – on site, you’ll want to save some space in your luggage for a few bottles of the sweet stuff.

Children

Children of all ages are welcome.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

At La Rotisserie, nab a table on the terrace for front row seats to Cézanne-worthy sunsets. At Bar L’Auberge, opt for one of two particularly cosy nooks either side of the bar.

Dress Code

A golden rule for golden evenings: less is always more.

Hotel Restaurant

The main restaurant, La Rotisserie, is located on an upper floor of L’Auberge, with a vast terrace overlooking the rolling hills of the domaine. The menu is inspired by local, farmhouse ingredients, with the signature being its flavoursome rotisserie chicken. Downstairs at Bar de L’Auberge, expect freshly-prepared pub grub; fish and chips, burgers, and the occasional Sunday roast. Across the wider estate, take your pick from Francis Malmann’s hacienda-style Argentinian restaurant which serves soulful, slow-cooked fare; Vanina, where pizzas and pastas are rolled out alongside a roster of delectable desserts (such as fresh lemon sorbet served in halved and hollowed frozen lemons); a Tadao Ando-designed café where lunches of warm goat’s cheese salads and marinated prawns make a fine addition to your lunchtime rosé; and Hélène Darroze’s fine dining restaurant at Villa La Coste, where guests can feast below a dangling Louise Bourgeois sculpture.

Hotel Bar

Bar de L’Auberge has all the warmth and rustic charm of your local pub. Dark wood, burgundy leather banquettes, exposed beams and brass accents sit beside vintage posters and brocantes finds. And just like your local, you can get a proper Guinness here, too (a nod to Chateau’s Irish owner, Paddy McKillen).

Last Orders

La Rotisserie serves breakfast from 7.30am to 10am, lunch from noon to 2.30pm, and dinner between 7pm and 9.30pm. Bar L’Auberge runs from 11am to 6pm, Sunday through Thursday, and till 10pm on weekends.

Planes

The closest major airport is Marseille; there are frequent flights from the majority of larger European cities. Depending on traffic, it takes around 40 minutes to reach the hotel by car, and private transfers arranged by the hotel start at around €90 each way.

Trains

The Aix-en-Provence Mediterranean station for the high-speed TGV line is a 15-minute drive from the centre of Aix-en-Provence, and the hotel can arrange private transfers from €70 each way. Trains from Lyon take an hour to get there, while services from Paris take three. Aix-en-Provence’s regular SNCF station is in the city centre, and is served by trains from Marseille and other regional destinations.

Automobiles

With a glut of gorgeous villages nearby, you’re best off hiring a car. You’ll find most of the major rental firms at Marseille airport.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

On an estate the size of Monaco, there’s plenty to keep you occupied without ever leaving the grounds. Chateau La Coste features over 40 art pieces which are best discovered via a guided Art & Architecture Walk, a four-kilometres outdoor trail through the hills of the domaine, and free for Smith members. To the North, the Luberon region is known for its lavender fields, antique fairs and charming villages. The Sunday market at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is noteworthy in a nation of markets, with around 300 stalls peddling second-hand goods, while honey-hued hilltop town, Gordes, is a bucket-list beauty with small, cobbled streets and to-die-for-views. In the south, you’ll find more Provençal pleasures at the Calanques National Park, a 20-kilometre stretch of coastline of rugged white cliffs. Hidden in between are long inlets of clear emerald water, making this a wonderful place for a spot of wild swimming. For an art gallery unlike any other (aside from your new home-from-home), take a trip to the Alpilles for Carrières des Lumières – a former bauxite quarry containing enormous subterranean halls that are ‘painted’ with super-sized artworks by high-powered projectors. And if you’re visiting the Alpilles for the day, put the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on your list too: this ancient outpost has achieved more modern fame through Van Gogh, who was a patient at the town’s psychiatric hospital for a year, producing some 150 canvases of the hospital and local area.

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. .