Baumanière - les Baux de Provence

My partner and I had a lovely relaxing time at the pretty Baumaniere hotel this last week but possibly in spite of the hotel staff and not because sadly. First of all the good - we had a pretty room (junior suite) with very comfortable mattress, good shower and bathroom space. We took our room service breakfast tray out to sit at one of the tables in the gardens around our bit of the complex (le manoir) each morning amidst the scent of roses and the sound of morning birdsong. It all felt peaceful and restful. Our dinner at the Oustau restaurant (3 Michelin stars) was spectacular. The less good - for a 5 star hotel, sadly the Baumaniere felt a little scruffy round the edges. Our arrival at reception felt unremarkable and the woman behind the desk, though lovely, struggled with her English. On the first night we came back to our room after dinner to find a couple of random towels thrown on our sofa, clearly left behind by a member of staff in a rush. The largest pool felt a bit scruffy - perfectly nice but lacking the elegance and style you’d expect from a 5 star experience. At the Cabro d’Or restaurant, the staff seemed completely clueless, taking an age to deliver a menu again, with poor English, struggling to present the menu or food in any meaningful way. The wine waiter seemed particularly incompetent, not understanding when we asked if the set menu came with a wine pairing. The food itself felt over-fussy and overpriced, and frustrating for that. Finally a small thing but something that impacted my impression of the hotel and its attention to detail - the English language translations of all the hotel promotional material were consistently terrible. The English translated menu at the Cabro d’Or was practically incomprehensible, a real shame for the chef and team who had put so much trouble into its creation. The beautifully produced brochure about the hotel was equally full of bad translation. I work in marketing myself - it doesn’t take much to hire a copywriter just to smooth out any clunky translations. For a five star hotel, these things matter and when they’re not managed, your overall impression is one of a lack of attention to detail.

L'Ousteau de Baumaniere is a mythical destination in French cuisine. Set in the other worldly moon like bauxite mine region of Les Bau de Provence, the main building/restaurant is nestled into the surrounding valley. Three Michelin star chef Glenn Viel has brought new youthful treasures, while also continuing traditional dishes of Chef Charial, and his Grandfather who originally started L'Ousteau after the War. Excellent cuisine, superb service, and one of the most extensive wine lists in the world. A truly exceptional dining experience.

We stayed at Baumaniere for three nights - 8th - 11th Sept 24. Baumaniere was one of five Relais and Chateaux properties that we stayed at on our two-week tour of Provence. It was the worst by some considerable margin. When you pay over €900 per night, you expect a certain quality, which, sadly, Baumaniere lacked. To be clear, there were no absolute disasters, although our evening meal at The Cabro d'Or was akin to visiting the Circus. I shall try to provide an overview of why we felt let down. The hotel is divided into two areas, 750 m apart and not connected in the way you might expect. Most resorts of this type are easily navigable, with signs and footpaths allowing easy access to the areas that you may want to wander to. The hotel does offer a shuttle that will take you from one area to the next, and whilst it was efficient, it was a pain to have to use when a stroll might have been preferable. I should say that our room was in the old/original building, the same building that houses the 3-star Michelin restaurant. There were other rooms in this building, too. We felt that little to no attention was paid to guests who stayed in this area. Indeed, I suspect that the hotel is fully focused on the Michelin Restaurant to the detriment of those staying in the building. Guests staying in this area of the hotel have no reception, no concierge, absolutely no one. If you want to see a staff member or have a face-to-face, you have to travel (via shuttle) to the reception 750 metres away. I am aware that villa resorts work in this way, but this is a hotel in the traditional sense of the word. We had to hop through puddles outside the front door daily. There must have been a leaking plant watering system, which nobody bothered to fix; it was just left...predominantly because nobody ever bothered to attend the area. The seating in our room was very uncomfortable and pretty scruffy. Other than a nice view, it had no redeeming qualities and was probably worth half of what we paid. When checking out, I always try to provide feedback (good or bad). I met the charming owner of this third-generation family-run business, who listened attentively to my concerns and made all the right noises. She also provided us with a bottle of Champagne as a "sorry," which was greatly appreciated. To be honest, we still felt a little short-changed after spending well over €3000 for three nights and one dinner. In summary, I can't help feeling that someone at this property is asleep at the wheel. It has lots of potential but failed to deliver. Caveat Emptor!

We really enjoyed the beautiful and very large garden, the many fountains and swimming pools. It’s an ideal place where to slow down and relax. The room was extremely large and our terrace was a great addition to it. Both restaurants are delicious. The chocolates that are sold in the boutique are to die for. Service is very attentive. It was just perfection.

We stayed for three nights to visit Arles and Saint Remy de Provence. Super friendly and motivated staff. We were up graded to a suite. Great swimming pool area with bar services, tennis court and gym. The landscaping is beautiful. We visited the two restaurants. Both very recommendable. The 3 Michelin Star is an experience. We didn’t like the wine paring. Your are better of getting a nice bottle of Bordeaux.

A beautiful hotel with friendly and competent staff. Food and wine simply delicious. Very conveniently located.

Really hard to default this superb property on anything. Service is top notch. The infrastructure very complete on a huge domain and the room was perfect. Everybody is very attentive to the smallest detail and all this makes for a wonderful stay. Very expensive of course but certainly worth the price.

We came to Baumanière for our 10 years anniversary. Upon our arrival, we were delighted by the warm welcome and the courtesy of the staff. After checking, we were accompanied to the room in the Manor. A little room for improvement here could have been to offer a refreshment with a small snack like we had in other establishments of the same caliber. We have not booked for a large room and we were happy with the one we had. The bed was comfortable and the shower very impressive. We were delighted by the scenery and gardens. We had diner at l'Oustau. An overall very pleasant experience. The quality of the dishes was exceptional and we appreciate the work around the temperature inertia and the precise work of serving dishes at the right temperature. We order two different menus La Ballade and the vegetable menu a bit shorter. We realized that since some dishes were redundant, it would have been nice to be served the common one at the same time to be able to savor them together. We appreciate that the chef and the owner came to our table to exchange few words. Such humility! We had breakfast at la Cabro d'Or the next morning. The quality of the product was excellent with a great selection of brioches. We liked that there was a nice balance between sweet and savory. Before checking out, the staff at the reception was very helpful to find hiking option. They even went out of their way and dropped us at the table of orientation. We had a amazing hike back to the hotel. Our only regret was to not have been able to book one more night (the hotel was privatized the day prior our arrival). Overall it was a excellent experience and we hope to come back soon!

One of most beautiful places i can think in France, has everything to be a dream place Average breakfast Overrated food in the restaurants except Osteau Poor swimming pool service Not much entertainment