St Paul de Vence - La Colombe D'Or

La Colombe D’Or is legendary.

Positioned on the edge of the of village of Saint-Paul and hidden behind a large intimidating wooden door, most tourists who step down from the many coaches which visit Saint-Paul will probably not notice it.  Those who do, try to peep through the door into the courtyard, which, every day during the summer months, is packed full of lunchtime and evening diners. Securing a table is very difficult and reservations should be made well in advance.

La Colombe D’Or is more famous as a luxury hotel and has been home to some of history’s greatest artists.  Picasso and Matisse lived here, settling their bills with art.  The dining room houses a gallery including a Picasso.

A giant mobile by Alexander Calder watches over the swimming pool.  Sitting at the desk in Suite 35 one looks directly out of the window at the Calder mobile and pool.  The setting, (and this suite) are fabulous and inspiring.

The hotel has 26 rooms, 11 of which are suites.  I strongly recommend a suite by the pool.  Suite 35 would be a good choice.

The suite comprises two rooms, a sitting room with day bed, desk and antique oak cupboard which also acts as a wardrobe.  A wonderful arch and an old French oak door link the sitting room to the bedroom, which is large and airy.  There is a parquet terracotta floor in the bedroom and beautiful old tiles in the living room, with a smattering of attractive small rugs.

The bathroom is also large and light with a limestone floor and Provencal tiled wall, opaque glass bricks provide a subtle exclusion to the world outside.  The rather gauche Jacuzzi and nasty eighties taps are disappointing, as are the German made and branded La Colombe D’Or toiletries.  Bring your own.  Bath robes provided but no slippers.

The hotel does not offer a night time “turndown” service so preserve your towels!

There is a private terrace off the bedroom which discreetly overlooks the swimming pool and is ideal for breakfast, early evening champagne or a late night digestif.

Since we were last here, La Colombe D’Or has put free internet access into the rooms. It requires an Ethernet cable, but it works very well, and is simple to connect to.

There is an empty fridge in one of the cupboards which is handy if you have a bottle of champagne or rose wine with you, but odd that the fridge is not stocked by the hotel.

La Colombe D'Or is a very special hotel and restaurant. Our suite was priced at 370 euros in April.  Spring and Autumn are good times to visit.  July and August seemed to be booked up almost years in advance.  Go May / June or September .