Mr & Mrs Smith

Le Couvent d'Hérépian

Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Hérépian, a small village on the fringes of the Haut Languedoc national park, couldn’t provide a more scenic setting for this renovated 17th-century convent. Adding modern touches such as a subterranean spa, a terraced garden and a mouthwatering table d’hôte to its ancient vaulted ceilings and period charms, Le Couvent d’Hérépian is a boutique hotel that offers great get-away-from-it-all value in a real rural idyll.

Need to know

• Rooms 13 suites.
• Rates Double rooms from $197.38 (€149), excluding tax at 7 per cent.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (€149) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Buffet breakfast is €16 a person.
• Facilities Small spa, library with CDs and DVDs, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: kitchenette with hob, microwave, coffee-maker and fridge, flatscreen TV, DVD/CD, preloaded iPod and dock, L’Occitane bath products.
• Poolside The hotel’s underground spa has an eight-person heated relaxation pool tiled in soft watery blues, as well as one treatment room and a tea room.
• Check-out 11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
• Children Although it’s more of an adults’ escape, the hotel can provide extra beds for €30 a night, and babysitting by arrangement.
• Also Le Couvent is non-smoking throughout.

Food and drink at Le Couvent d'Hérépian

• Hotel restaurant Le Couvent d’Hérépian offers a table d’hôte, given a day’s notice. Chef and charcutier Michel Aninat, noted for his saucisse by Rick Stein, prepares tapas and hearty dishes such as lamb confit and coq au vin.
• Dress code Low-key and loungey.
• Top table You can perch anywhere you like for wine and nibbles. Make a beeline for the main terrace on a balmy evening; when it’s chillier, the fireplace in the salon has a cluster of cosy armchairs.
• Last orders The tapas menu is available until 8.30pm, and the bar closes at around 10pm.
• Room service Breakfast can be brought to you, and there’s a tapas menu served until 7.30pm.
• Hotel bar The honesty bar is down in a vaulted limestone cellar, where you can sink into chunky contemporary chairs with a glass of local wine; it can be plundered all night long. Aperitifs are served every evening in the bar, salon or gardens.

Le Couvent d'Hérépian 2 Rue du Couvent, 34600 Hérépian