Mougins Luxury Hotel

This is a story of a small, lesser-known luxury resort in a historical village in the French Riviera, just 20 minutes from the bustle of Cannes. It’s a retreat so special that if you didn’t want to keep it to yourself so much you’d be shouting about it from the terracotta-tiled rooftops. The peaceful hills and brilliant sunsets are pretty much just yours to enjoy here – and you’ll want to keep it that way. However, I’ve never been any good at keeping secrets, so I’ll let me tell you all about Mougins Luxury Hotel, a petite boutique stay set in ravishingly beautiful hilltop village Mougins in the South of France. It’s a special place. So special, I’d even say it saved me. Dramatic? Non. Before arriving here, I’d been working non-stop for 10 days, producing and entertaining, on set and on location in the South of France. (I realize this sounds glamorous but the reality of content production is more exhausting than glitzy). Suddenly, I realised I had a weekend off – a whole weekend – before heading to Paris for more meetings, more production work, more 14-plus-hour days. So, with three days to breathe and experience the charms of the Côte d'Azur, I looked for the best place to unwind, eat delicious food, see some art, and drink lots of wine.

Mougins is that place; and the Mougins Luxury Hotel experience is the perfect way to discover this magical village. I had no plan and knew little about the place, except that it was close to Monte Carlo, somewhat remote and yet it was home to a few Michelin-starred restaurants, which was enough for me. Luckily, owner Claire and the hotel team are skilled in making dreams happen, and you needn't know anything about the place, because they’ll look after you and keep you informed, from sending you an introductory email to ensuring you catch your train/flight/Uber home. I laid out my main targets: food, wine, and unique experiences, and Claire laid out and made all the bookings for a perfectly paced weekend for me starting, starting from Friday evening. 

I arrived at the gated village to discover Mougins is for pedestrians only (as petite French heritage villages should be) and you can walk around the entire commune in 15 minutes. Well, if you don’t stop every two feet to gaze along the winding pathways, and into unexpected nooks. Claire met me and guided me to the hotel, then showed me to my room – actually an apartment-style hideaway called Suite Alexander, which was perfect. My (oversized) bag was carried upstairs, leaving me free to explore. The bed was plump and soft, the bathroom luxurious and bathed in light, with high-end bath products. The best part? A private outdoor terrace where I later sat to watch the sunset, with a bottle of red, naturellement, which quickly became a nightly ritual. (Top tip: bring a bottle-opener or buy one at local wine bar La Cave de Mougins).

The hotel’s more-home-than-hotel attitude made me feel like a local when heading out for an evening stroll. I advise first-timers to get lost in Mougins: walk down every path you find, even the ones that look like they go nowhere. This is how I found lavender-bedecked villas, churches, galleries, viewpoints overlooking rolling hills, and wine cellars. I finally felt free from the the stresses of work, so I decided to turn my phone off for dinner at La Cave de Mougins (thoughtfully booked by Claire), to make the most of moreish wines, perfectly paired small bites and dreamy views, while sat on a vine-laced terrace. It was my favorite experience of the weekend, and exploring the restaurant’s wine cellar is an education in itself (they have more than 10,000 bottles, many important vintages). La Cave is also a local hang, so go at the start of your stay and mingle with the neighbouring tables (the locals are very friendly and proud of their village), to glean the best insider tips.

If you stay at Mougins Luxury Hotel, or anywhere in Mougins, you must have a meal at Franco Belgecafé – and that meal should be breakfast. The restaurant’s associated with Mougins Luxury Hotel, but they’re also a concept and coffee shop with a gorgeous range of local products, pastries and more. I started my Saturday with a simple breakfast out on their lavender-scented terrace taking in the Mediterranean views. Now, the art. Picasso not only lived in Mougins, and spent his last years here, but he introduced many more artists to the commune. Now, the Musée d’Art Classique et Moderne in Mougins has a brilliant collection of work that transcends expectations, and numerous local galleries have engaging exhibition programmes. You could spend days admiring Mougins art, alone, but, with my limited time, Claire insisted I make a day trip out to La Guérite for lunch on Saturday.

To get there, you drive to Cannes’ Port Canto where you’ll board a speedboat with 10 strangers and careen towards Sainte-Marguerite island. La Guérite is worth the trip, with light, fresh food (get the langoustines), chilled rosé and seaside scenery. Then music starts, and you realise you’re at a lunchtime dance party. A DJ plays, live musicians surround tables, people cheer… Reserve a beach chair for post-party chilling before you arrive. After boating back and a little rest it was time to eat, yet again. This time at L’amandier de Mougins, which is famous for its modernised Niçoise gastronomy inspired by legendary chef Roger Vergé. L’amandier’s chef, two-Michelin-star-holding Denis Fétisson, uses local, seasonal ingredients, and changes the menu nightly. There’s a suntrap terrace, and of the two prix-fixe menus, I loved the remarkably reasonably priced ‘Plaisir’, which was a wild culinary trip of king prawns with hummus, olive-crusted hake, praline-stuffed pastries with marsala sorbet and more. As my last course was cleared at L’amandier, I had started to miss the village already, so I got lost on my way home, had one final glass of red on the terrace gazing up at a clear starry sky, and said goodbye.