A few stars in Provence and other nice things
May 2, 2017, 3:45 am
I´m just back from a small trip to Provence.
When I planned the trip it was mostly between Provence and Paris. I got some "guidelines" by my company, especially I should book as few hotels as possible (big problem) especially no one night stays. OK, in the end I booked:
6 nights at Domain de Manville, Les Baux de Provence
3 nights at Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, a Four Seasons Hotel
2 nights at Intercontinental Marseille.
She also wished to experience some authentic Frensh food, so no probelm. I booked some "typical" Frensh starred restaurants
Le Pertit Nice, Marseille
Alexandre, Nimes
Le Vivier, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Fanny Rey, Saint Remy de Provence
Joel Robouchon, Monte Carlo
Mirazur, Menton
Alain Ducasse, Monte Carlo
Alcyone, Marseille
Une table, au sud, Marseille
So overall a few stars, first reader who tells me how many gets an assiduity card.
Flights were booked with Eurowings inbound (direct) and Lufthansa outbound (via FRA) as the Eurowings.flight was early in the morning. No BEST-fare was offered on Germanwings-flight, Lufthansa-J was nearly 4xthe price and 180 € as a paid upgrade per person without extended laguage.
May 2, 2017, 4:22 am
When I arrived at the airport I got a shock. Is this really the line? Is there no drop-off?
Of course no status at Star Allicance.....
My company joined the line and I went to the ticket-counter. I had to learn there is no drop-off and that I can today only pay for the inbound-flight.... Hey, my mood was reaching new hights! In the end it wasn´t that bad, we only waited around 20 minutes.
Hey look what I spotted!
Would I enter this plane? Surely not! I would prefer to walk all the way! Fortunately it wasn´t my plane, but I doublechecked
Our flight leaves frome the B-gates, security at Fast Lane was fast today and as no one checked as always I choosed it
Bad guyHugo Junkers Lounge was as always, the do some work on it. We´ll see...
Bording was uncomplicated and it should be a short flight. After the start they started with the catering. To be fair, they do a nice presentation:
"Sandwich" was with an terrible cream, I didn´t eat it.
Sweets
Sky was clear
and we landed in time.
At the airport I had to learn that they do inter-Schengen immigration at the moment. I spotted an automatic pass-control, took out my passport, passed the line and had to learn that I had "to register", with other words it was out of order. So I had to join the line again but could look at other passengers with the same problem. A little funny was the question of the officer if Germany were my orgin destination..... OK, lagauge came fast and we did our way to the rental cars...
May 2, 2017, 4:57 am
At the counter I was told if I take the car at 13:06 I had to pay one more day if I return at 13:30. OK, so I changed the return-time to 13:00, a little bit petty.
The car was a nearly new (1600 kilometes) A6 3,0 TDI with a relative basic equipping. Beside the fact that all my laguage didn´t fit in the trunk
it was a fine car.
One word about traffic: It´s sometimes chaotic and "special". I had one very special experience at a parking-garage of a supermarket. I was nearly empty, so I didn´t really watch the lines. When I came back some **** had taken the place beside me....
First intention is to wait for the driver and do a little "chat", second at least to demolish the car. I did neither, simply took pictures and left the place....
Last thing: Be careful with an automatic boot lid in garages
P.S. I didn´t open it
That´s the moments you are happy that you took zero liability. Even if no harm was done in this situation I spotted 2 new scratches over the time on car parks (so naive to expect other people care for other people belongings
). Many cars in this region simply show: "I can´t drive" or "I like dents in my car, looks much better"
May 2, 2017, 8:12 am
Domaine de Manville
DOMAINE DE MANVILLE Les Baux-de-Provence, FR 13520
Domain de Manville (48 Photos)
Domaine de Manville
As I wasn´t "allwed" to change hotels from day to day I had to find a centrally located hotel. In the end I decided to give Domain de Manville in Les Baux a chance as it was rated as an excellent luxury-option for excample by DavidO. When I decided on the dates and was shortly before booking a nice surprise "arrived". They introduced a 6 for 4 promotion which saved me nearly 1000,00 €. No reason to complain. I booked a Junior Suite as I couldn´t find a real difference to the "higher" suites. Also a Junior Suite with Terrace was around 85 € more per night and again I didn´t saw a reason. In the end the 6 nights came around 1.600,00 € with Virtuoso (Breakfast, upgrade if available, 85,00 € credit), I also joined the SLH-program as a Loved-member.
Check In
We arrived at the hotel and entered the lobby. The building is an old domain which was nicely transformed to a hotel. We were greated very friendly, at the desk was also the owners-dog Liberty present (an adoreable but shy Bernese mountain dog).
Outside view:
Front-desk
Lobby:
Nice little touches:
Courtyard:
Room
We were upgraded to a Junior Suite with Terrace. I first was confused about some details in the suite and thought they used some wired layout. Later I found out it was a disabled-room, which was not to my liking. I would have preferred a "normal" Junior Suite, have to update my preferences.
Way to the suite:
Entrance:
The Junior Suite was mor like a full suite with separated living- and bedroom. It was nicely furnished and really well done. The minibar was free (2 water, 2 coke, 2 sprite, 1 toblerone, 1 chips).
Living room:
The wardrobe had very few brackets (at least not enough for me), the second toilet no sink. The bathroom was not very practical with the open shower and toilet, you always showered the whole half bathroom. Seems not to be a problem in the "normal" suites. What the bathroom lacked was good lightning, the shaving mirror was not illuminated. There was no good place for make up (not my problem). On the first morning we had also problems with the water-pressure, but they were solved after our complain.
Way to the bedroom with second toilet, wardrobe and bathroom:
The bedroom:
The terrace was quite small and open, so I don´t see much use. It may be a nice feature, but I wouldn´t pay much for it.
View from the terrace:
Over all a nice room.
Golf
The hotel has a well known golf-course, but I don´t play golf.....
Pool
The hotel has an outdoor pool and an indoor pool.
The outdoor pool is nicely done, but was very cold during my stay. I didn´t use it.
The SPA is well-done and offers an Whirlpool and pool. I couldn´t do too many pictures as some other people were in the area. The water-temperature was quite warm and pleasant.
The hotel offers also a small fitness-area.
Breakfast
The hotel offers a breakfast-buffet for 30,00 € per person.
Breakfast is served at the condervatory which is a nice room:
The buffet was the same all 6 days. They didn´t offer freshly squeezed juices, therefor the bakery products were excellent. For 30,00 € per person nevertheless relative weak:
The service was great in greating and say goodbye guests, but otherwise weak. Even after they mentioned that I didn´t speak Frensh they talked always Frensh to me, which isn´t professional. Also they were often slow and didn´t seem too happy if we ordered items from the small menu.
Over all a breakfast with some great items, but also with some weakness. Especially the service could b improoved.
Dining
The hotels has 2 restaurants, La Table and The Bistrot. The Bistrot is only open for dinner when La Table is closed. The menu of La Table didn´t look too appealing to me and it was more expensive than michelin-starred restaurants around. So I decided against it.
On the first evening we tried The Bistrot. They offered a 2 course menu at 37,00 € and a 3-corse menu at 45,00 €. As we didn´t like one of the appetizers we opted for the 2-course. First course was the fish of the day (cod) with vegetables. While my fish wasn´t perfectly done, my companies one was good. The vegetables were well done. Over all a good dish.
The desert could be choosen from a vitrine, we opted for 2 "half" portions. the cakes were really good (but not my pictures, sorry).
Bar
After our Lunch at Le Petit nice we looked for a bite in the evening. We went to the bar and asked for the menu. The guy told us there is no menu, but he could do our favourite cocktail. Never experienced something like that. Only dish they offerd were a cheese plate, a meat-plate or salmon. Due the lack of alternatives we choosed the cheese-plate and salmon (both 22,00 € each and same as they offered at breakfast). While the bar itself is well done, the soft-product is very weak. Significantly we were the only guests.
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Service
I didn´t get much aware of service at this property. While check-in ans check-out were friendly and efficient, service at breakfast was mostly weak. On the forth day they blocked many parking spaces for an event. But if this is the price:
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no thanks!
It lasted 2 days since the spaces were occupied, therefor if you used the wrong way you had to climb the barrier.....
Overall
Domain de Manville is a well-done property with a good hard-product. Soft-product is unfortunately not complete on 5-star level. Nevertheless I can recommend the hotel, it´s a solid option.
May 2, 2017, 10:07 am
May 2, 2017, 10:11 am
May 2, 2017, 12:53 pm
The city is located on a plateau and can be seen from the surrounding.
It´s in main parts a ruin city, which gives it a morbide charme.
From the city you have good views over the landscape.
The city is small with many narrow streets.
Hotel de Manville:
Ruins:
May 2, 2017, 1:16 pm
After entering the chateau you first visit the small cemetery of Les Baux.
The plateau is dominated by a model of a big catapult.
Old watchtower:
View from the plateau:
Memorial de Charloun Rieu:
Old room of the chateau:
View to the upper castle:
The best preserved part of the castle:
Some more catapults:
On the wall:
Effective.....
Even as a ruin impressive:
View on the town
and the plateau
Old chapel:
Base-level:
The chateau would have been much more enjoyful without the Mistral. Nevertheless it´s a great spot.
May 2, 2017, 4:53 pm
However, my flight arrived directly behind Air Algerie and Tunisair so it was a mess. After waiting 30 minutes in the Non-EU line (US passport), I finally got through. Made a short hop from Madrid a real ordeal for sure.
May 2, 2017, 5:10 pm
However, my flight arrived directly behind Air Algerie and Tunisair so it was a mess. After waiting 30 minutes in the Non-EU line (US passport), I finally got through. Made a short hop from Madrid a real ordeal for sure.
