Aix en Provence, France

Villa Saint-Ange

Price per night from$631.05

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR543.64), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Villa Saint-Ange Photos

Style

18th-century ode

Setting

Majestic Mazarin

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Villa Saint-Ange channels the splendour of Aix-en-Provence’s honey-toned hôtel particuliers, reviving their 18th-century looks and salon-esque atmosphere. The hotel is minutes from the city’s central boulevard, the Cours Mirabeau, but its sun-soaked terraces, Mediterranean gardens and 28-metre pool will soon have you questioning whether you’re in a city at all. The elegant rooms are an ode to the 18th century, dressed with chevron parquet floors, Persian rugs, silk curtains and a hand-picked selection of art and antiques. Downstairs, you can sip fine tea in the salon, sample artist-inspired cocktails at the bar and discover the true taste of Provence in the restaurant, a light-flooded conservatory with glass walls and a soaring Second Empire ceiling.

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Facilities

Photos Villa Saint-Ange facilities

Need to know

Rooms

34, including one suite.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates usually include breakfast (€39 per person), an inviting array of American and Mediterranean options, including flaky pastries, fresh Provençal fruits, cold cuts and regional cheeses.

Also

A selection of spa treatments can be carried out in the privacy of your own room.

Please note

The swimming pool and Jacuzzi will close be closed from October 2023 until April 2024.

At the hotel

Mediterranean gardens, free WiFi throughout, laundry. In rooms: flatscreen TV, minibar, free bottled water and bespoke bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Every room has a unique collection of art, objets and antiques, mirroring the interiors of the 18th-century townhouses that line the streets surrounding the Cours Mirabeau. Floors are clad in chevron parquet, windows are screened with silk curtains and the walls are covered in murals in the style of 18th-century landscape paintings. The finest of them all is the suite, which has a grand, light-flooded bedroom with an ornamental dressing screen and a living room with a scarlet Persian rug.

Poolside

At 28 metres long, the heated outdoor pool is prodigiously sized for a hotel in the city centre. There’s a shallow section running along one side and plenty of sunloungers around the edge, plus a separate Jacuzzi off to the side.

Spa

Shaded from the sun by a chinoiserie screen and perfumed by fresh flowers, the hotel’s lone treatment room is tinged with old-world glamour. The therapists offer a range of treatments, including Swedish, Californian, ayurvedic and shiatsu massages, deep-cleansing facials and reflexology sessions. The spa products are by German beauty brand Dr Hauschka. There’s a small, wood-panelled gym with an exercise bike, free weights and a rowing machine.

Packing tips

Leave space for a few purchases picked up at the city’s markets, where traders hawk all manner of Provençal goods. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, local crafts are sold on the Espace Cézanne and antiques can be bartered for over on Avenue Victor Hugo.

Also

The common areas are all accessible for wheelchair users, and two of the guest rooms have been adapted.

Pet‐friendly

Pets up to 12kg stay for €30 a night. See more pet-friendly hotels in Aix en Provence.

Children

All ages are welcome, but the hotel isn’t particularly geared towards families.

Food and Drink

Photos Villa Saint-Ange food and drink

Top Table

On sunny days or balmy nights, request a table on the terrace.

Dress Code

There’s no need to stand on ceremony, but the decor does lend itself to a dressier silhouette.

Hotel restaurant

The restaurant is inside a Second Empire conservatory, arguably the most impressive room in the hotel. The high, decorative ceiling and vast windows flood the room with light and showcase the Mediterranean gardens in all their lush, green glory. Potted palms, painted screens and green cabriolet armchairs echo the colours outside, and the tables are topped with white cloths, polished silverware and gleaming glasses, adding a decadent finish. Head chef Thierry Karakachian is one of the region’s rising stars, and has created a seasonal menu that captures the soul of Provence and southern Italy, featuring plenty of fresh fish, sun-ripened vegetables, fresh herbs and fragrant flowers, all coming from tried-and-trusted local suppliers.

Hotel bar

The wood-panelled, zinc-topped bar is overseen by head barman Joën Saint-Requier, who has created a list of signature cocktails inspired by the city and some of the famous figures associated with it, including artists Pablo Picasso and Victor Vasarely.

Last orders

Breakfast is available from 7am to 11am; lunch from noon to 2pm; and dinner from 7pm to 9pm. Drinks flow at the bar from 11am to 11pm.

Room service

A selection of salads, club sandwiches and heartier mains can be ordered to your room from 11am to 11pm. Smoked salmon, cheese plates and the dessert of the day are available around the clock.

Location

Photos Villa Saint-Ange location
Address
Villa Saint-Ange
7 Traverse St Pierre
Aix-en-Provence
13100
France

Villa Saint-Ange is spread across two stone houses in the centre of Aix-en- Provence. The Cours Mirabeau, the city’s central boulevard, is within a 10-minute walk.

Planes

The best place to touch down is Marseille, which can be reached directly from all over Europe, including London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh airports.

Trains

The Aix-en-Provence station, where high-speed TGV services arrive, is a 15-minute drive from the centre of town. Trains from Lyon take an hour; from Paris, it’s three hours. If you’re coming from London, you can take the Eurostar as far as Marseille, where you can catch a connection to Aix-en-Provence’s regular SNCF station, which is right in the centre of town.

Automobiles

There’s little call for a car if you’re planning on sticking within the city limits, as the main attractions are within walking distance. That said, Aix is surrounded by countryside that has inspired generations of artists and featured in some of their most famous work – a solid case for a day trip if ever we heard one. If you have brought wheels, the hotel has valet parking for €30 a night.

Worth getting out of bed for

With the hotel so close to the action, you’ll likely spend most of your time wandering Aix’s historic centre, admiring its grand, honey-toned townhouses, sipping café au lait on tree-lined avenues and tracing Cézanne’s legacy through its galleries. When you’re in need of a breather, the hotel’s placid pool and tree-lined terraces are within easy reach.

Cézanne might be Aix’s most famous resident, but his hillside home in Les Lauves isn’t the only interesting house in town. Equally individual is the hôtel particulier that belonged to Paul Arbaud, a scholar who devoted his life to collecting books and covetable objects, all of which are now displayed at the Musée Paul Arbaud in the Mazarin quarter. The Hôtel de Caumont is another prime example of Aix’s 18th-century architecture, and hosts regular art exhibitions. In summer, the gallery is given over to the work of a single artist; in winter, touring collections adorn the walls. A true taste of Provence can be found at the Musée du Calisson, devoted to the history of the calisson, a Provençal sweet made with candied fruit and almond paste. The museum shares the same almond-tree-studded grounds as the Le Roy René factory, where the classic candy has been made since 1920. Alongside calissons of every sort, the factory shop is stocked with a selection of regional sweets, including nougat, biscuits, sugar-coated almonds and jams. If you’re up for a day trip, consider the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a long-time favourite of the Parisian artistic set. Charming in its own right, Saint-Rémy is associated with Van Gogh, who was a patient at the town’s psychiatric hospital for a year, producing some 150 canvases during his time there.

Local restaurants

If you’re looking to lunch in the historic centre, try Licando Le Bistro, a casual (and pint-sized) bistro near the Fontaine de la Rotonde. The dishes are typically Provençal in flavour and the lunch menu tends to offer great bang for buck. Tables are very limited, so book ahead. Le Petit Ferme on Avenue Victor Hugo is best known for its meat – particularly the beef and chicken, which are sourced from some of the best farms in the region. That’s not to say the vegetables aren’t first rate too – nor the desserts, for that matter… Fine-dining restaurant L’incontournable may be spartan in looks but the food and warm-hearted service are anything but. The chefs use the finest sun-ripened produce and free-range meat they can get their hands on. Request one of the tables on the terrace, which circle an old stone fountain. If you’re willing to travel, atmospheric alfresco dining can be had at La Terrasse, one of the restaurants at winery Château La Coste. The Provençal menu includes dishes made with produce plucked straight from the château’s kitchen garden. As the name suggests, the seating is all outside, centred around a fountain and bordered by the manicured gardens.

Reviews

Photos Villa Saint-Ange reviews
Regina Pyo

Anonymous review

By Regina Pyo, Artist at work

One of the underrated joys of life in London is the ease with which you can hop over to Continental Europe. I’ve wanted to visit Aix-en-Provence for a long time, partly because it’s where Cézanne lived and worked, and also for the wonderful Provençal architecture and markets. When the opportunity came up for a short trip, Mr Smith and I decided to stay at Villa Saint-Ange. It’s on the edge of Aix, which makes it the perfect secluded hideaway, but still close enough to walk into the centre. It’s also only a 30-minute drive from Marseille, which we were keen to explore as well.

Villa Saint-Ange is elegant without being overly formal, with cream stone walls and green shutters, and beautifully maintained gardens — it is classically French through and through. Our lovely bedroom had direct access out onto the gardens, via three sets of French doors, and a spacious sitting room that was the perfect place to enjoy the plate of still warm madeleines awaiting us. They were fragrant and heady, made with desiccated coconut and vanilla, and without exaggeration, some of the best Mr Smith (a chef) and I have ever had. It was a small detail, but such a lovely touch. On our first night, we took it easy and stayed in for dinner. The restaurant is grand, yet very warm and welcoming, with authentic French food to match the beautiful surroundings.

We’d timed the trip around the Thursday market in Aix, so that’s where we kicked things off the following morning, and it was just as full of quintessential French flair as we had hoped for. The streets were lined with stalls selling everything from fresh produce to antique cutlery and Provençal fabrics. We easily passed the first half of the day strolling between stalls and came away with a few small bits — kitchen tools, linen napkins and a mental note to bring bigger bags next time.

The next day, we headed to Marseille. It’s a very different kind of city, more raw in energy but incredibly dynamic. We had lunch at Limmat, a hole-in-the-wall spot situated halfway up a set of steps connecting two thoroughfares, covered in graffiti and completely unassuming — you could easily pass by without noticing it was there. Inside, though, the cooking was exceptional. We had white bean purée, tuna carpaccio with celeriac remoulade, white fish with aioli, and a chocolate mousse cake with whipped cream and buckwheat. Every dish was so well executed, thoughtful, relaxed and utterly delicious.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the city by bike. We visited two small galleries, Pavillon Southway and La Traverse — both fascinating spots and really worth a visit, despite being somewhat hidden away. We popped into Epicerie L’Idéal, too — be warned, it is impossible to leave without bags full of produce. We also visited Maison Empereur, which has a beautiful selection of traditional kitchenware; and Oeuvres Sensibles, where I found some lovely hand-dyed textiles. After a much-needed late-afternoon apéritif in a little dive bar we stumbled upon in a busy square, we had dinner at Livingston. Guest chef Miguel Chew was cooking over charcoal, and the food was excellent, so full of flavour, and the service was relaxed with a fun ‘dinner before partying’ vibe. We had notions we might join the revelry, but ultimately we succumbed to the call of our enormous four-poster bed back at Villa Saint-Ange.

The following day we headed off for Château La Coste, a short enough drive from Villa Saint-Ange. The estate is enormous and beautifully laid out, with contemporary art and imposing sculptures dotted across the landscape. We followed the trail through the grounds, stopping at installations and architectural works. You could easily spend the entire day here, but we were also keen to squeeze in a visit to Tuba before our flight home that evening. The restaurant has tables and chairs perched on a rocky outcrop right above the sea — a glorious setting.

Back at Villa Saint-Ange, the plan was simply to collect our bags en route to the airport, but we somehow managed to leave with a few more of those madeleines. Honestly, they are reason enough to come back… and come back we most definitely will. Merci!

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