Le Moulin du Château

Up in the hills of Provence where the lavender fields tumble down to the gorge of Verdon is the village of St Laurent du Verdon where Edith and Nicolas have a beautifully restored 17th century olive mill – Le Moulin du Château. The emphasis is nature, peace and calm and excellent organic food; the hotel is part of the Slow Food network and has obtained the Clef Verte hospitality ecolabel and is member of "Hôtels au Naturel" a french ecolabel related to the french nature parcs.
This is still Provence but it seems light years away from Cannes and Saint Tropez; the hotel offers bicycles, excellent walking opportunities start right from the hotel (and great hiking too in the gorges and canyons of the Verdon river close by), time in the village, reading a book in the olive grove, a game of boules – it’s all very relaxed.
The hotel itself sits at the top of a wide lawn, with tables and chairs set out to make the most of that wonderful southern light. Inside, the feeling is simple and calm much like the location itself. The building is old but the decor is simple and clean rather than antique. The owners obviously wanted to allow the light to come in and it has worked, the rooms have a few bright colours on the bedspreads and curtains but are essentially fairly simple. If you want to take a siesta simply close the beautiful blue shutters and float away… immersed in nature, a beautiful sitting room with the original stone press from the olive mill, wild flowers in the spring and early summer (lavender a little later), all kinds of maps and guides to borrow, two wonderful hosts, excellent traditional cooking and unadulterated peace and calm, Le Moulin du Château is just what the doctor ordered for relaxation and indulgence in nature.