Review: Airelles Gordes, La Bastide (Amazing Hotel!)

Review: Airelles Gordes, La Bastide (Amazing Hotel!)

NAME: Airelles Gordes, La Bastide
LOCATION: Gordes, France
DATE: October 2022
REVIEW RATING:
BEN SAYS: Airelles Gordes is a spectacular hotel in Provence with "Palace" status. It has impeccable service, an amazing sense of place, and great food.
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EXTRA PERKS AVAILABLE Enjoy breakfast, upgrades, & more

Want to take advantage of Virtuoso benefits at no extra cost, including a room upgrade, free breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He doesn’t charge booking fees, and may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.

We recently spent a few nights at Airelles Gordes, La Bastide, located in Provence, France. I can’t say enough good things about this property. It’s simply a dream — there’s so much to love, from the incredible history and sense of place of the property, to the amazing food, to the flawless service. If you have the opportunity to check out this hotel, I highly recommend it.

Why we decided to stay at Airelles Gordes

We’re new parents, so we haven’t been doing much traveling lately. Ford’s birthday was in October, and initially we weren’t planning on doing anything. However, at the very last minute we decided to go away for a long weekend.

With encouragement from our family (who were excited to take care of Miles), we jetted off on a quick adventure. While we would have loved to take Miles, he’s finally sleeping 12+ hours through the night, and we didn’t want to get in the way of his groove. We considered various options, but eventually decided on Airelles Gordes.

Why? First for some context, Airelles is a boutique luxury hotel group, which has a handful of properties in France:

  • Earlier this year we stayed at Airelles Courchevel, an incredible ski resort in France, which was easily one of the most amazing hotels I’ve stayed at
  • We loved our stay in Courchevel so much that we visited Airelles Saint-Tropez over the summer; while the resort was gorgeous, unfortunately we had some service snafus there, though we weren’t about to give up on the brand

Neither of us had ever been to Provence before, and I knew one of Airelles’ other highly regarded properties was Airelles Gordes. With a beautiful weather forecast and easy flight options from Florida, we visited Airelles Gordes for a few nights.

Gordes, France
Gordes, France

Booking Airelles Gordes

Airelles Gordes is open for roughly six months each year, from late April through late October. We visited in mid-October, which I can’t recommend enough:

  • The weather was perfect — it was 60-70 Fahrenheit during the day, and either sunny or partly cloudy
  • We stayed when the rates were the lowest, and the hotel wasn’t at capacity
  • It felt like we had the town of Gordes and most of Provence to ourselves; by comparison, I’ve heard Gordes can get really busy in the peak of summer, since it’s such an idyllic little town

Anyway, Airelles Gordes has two kinds of rates:

  • There’s the “Best Available Rate & Benefits,” which includes breakfast, the minibar, valet parking, soft drinks by the pool, up to 10 laundry items per day, and more
  • There’s the “All-In-Escape,” which includes all of the above, plus breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at any of the restaurants

For what it’s worth, for our dates the standard rate was 720 Euro per night, while the full board rate was 1,020 Euro per night. We decided to book the full board rate. Obviously this is a pricey hotel, but I felt like the hotel was offering value compared to so many other properties nowadays.

The great thing is that all rates available directly with Airelles are bookable through Virtuoso, so that’s how Ford booked us. This offers additional perks, including an upgrade subject to availability, a $100 property credit, and more. If you’d like any help with a Virtuoso booking here, you can reach out to Ford at [email protected].

Airelles Gordes service

Usually I talk about service at the end of my hotel reviews, but with Airelles Gordes it’s worth leading with that. During my hotel stays I take notes in shorthand on my phone, intended to be a reminder for me when I go to write my reviews. In this case let me directly share one of my notes I wrote down during our stay — “the kind of hotel that reminds you hospitality is an art and passion, and not just a business.”

Much like at Airelles Courchevel, here we felt like we were staying in someone’s home, and they were really happy we were there. There’s simply no other way to describe it.

I recognize my praise here almost sounds like one of those fake TripAdvisor reviews where you wonder if a hotel employee wrote it. But nope, I’m dead serious. Where do we even begin?

  • The general manager here is a rockstar, and she’s one of the most hands-on GMs I’ve seen at any hotel; she was there morning to night, and checked in with each guest daily
  • Elio and Jose, the two concierges, couldn’t have been more professional; they were responsive before the stay, and would proactively check in with us every day to make sure we were making the most of our time in Provence
  • There wasn’t a single service failure during our entire stay — whenever you requested something it was immediately taken care of
  • Even beyond just fulfilling requests, the proactive attention to detail was impressive, from remembering morning drink preferences, to remembering that Ford is a hot sauce fiend, to ironing tablecloths at breakfast before each guest sat down

Service in France can be polarizing. When service is done right, it’s very good. Airelles Gordes offers exquisite French service, with confidence and attention to detail. Essentially it felt like everyone knew they were working at one of France’s finest hotels, and they wanted to do their part to make sure guests were happy.

Airelles Gordes location

As the name suggests, Airelles Gordes is located in Gordes, France. Gordes is a tiny but very popular and picturesque town in Provence. The history of Gordes dates back to the Roman empire, but nowadays it’s just a ridiculously charming town. And as luck would have it, Airelles Gordes is quite literally the centerpiece of the town.

Gordes, France

Funny enough when you drive through the town of Gordes, it would be very easy to miss the entrance to the hotel, as it blends into the neighborhood perfectly. Who would’ve guessed that the middle building there is the entrance to a French Palace hotel?

Airelles Gordes exterior

If you’re flying in to visit Airelles Gordes, you’ll want to travel to Marseille Airport (MRS). From there it’s about a one hour drive. For what it’s worth, I’d highly recommend renting a car, so that you can explore the area (while the hotel offers guests electric bikes, the roads are really narrow and winding, and I’d rather be in a car than on a bike).

Airelles Gordes check-in, lobby, & layout

The 41-room Airelles Gordes really transports you to a different era, all without sacrificing modern luxuries. The hotel is spread out over eight floors and 10,000 square meters, so it’s a very vertical property. Interestingly the hotel goes from levels minus five to level two (with the lobby being on zero).

Airelles Gordes property map

Our arrival experience was great — as we pulled up to the hotel, a bellman immediately helped us with our bags, escorted us to check-in, and offered to park our car. The hotel’s lobby is intimate, and immediately gives you a taste for the decor of the rest of the property.

Airelles Gordes lobby
Airelles Gordes lobby

The lobby also has a beautiful balcony looking out over the valley.

Airelles Gordes lobby outdoor seating

Our room wasn’t quite ready yet, but we were invited to enjoy our lunch. Upon the conclusion of our lunch, we were escorted straight to our room.

Airelles Gordes one bedroom suite

We were assigned room 322, a one bedroom suite on the second floor (we got a nice upgrade — the hotel seemed to be pretty empty for our late season stay). First of all, how epic are the hotel’s hallways? You really feel like you’re staying in someone’s palace, rather than at a hotel.

Airelles Gordes staircase
Airelles Gordes staircase
Airelles Gordes staircase

The hotel also has a very cool-looking elevator, though we appreciated the opportunity to get some bonus steps with the stairs, given all that we were eating here.

Airelles Gordes elevator

Inside the entrance to our room was the living room. WOW. I’m pretty sure this room alone made up for every limited service hotel I’ve stayed at over the years that had nothing on the walls. I counted at least 33 pieces of artwork on the walls throughout our room.

The living room had a couch, a couple of chairs, and a vanity.

Airelles Gordes suite living room
Airelles Gordes suite living room
Airelles Gordes suite living room

Waiting on the living room table was a welcome amenity (Airelles consistently offers great welcome amenities), including a bottle of Moet champagne, and some delicious sweets.

Airelles Gordes suite welcome amenity

The bedroom was next to the living room, and featured a comfortable king size bed, as well as a desk area. There was even a TV located in a mirror of sorts, as well as a decorative fireplace.

Airelles Gordes suite bedroom
Airelles Gordes suite bedroom
Airelles Gordes suite bedroom
Airelles Gordes suite bedroom

There was a further welcome amenity on the bed, consisting of a basket, a blanket, and a lovely scented candle.

Airelles Gordes suite welcome gift

The bathroom was down the hallway from the living room.

Airelles Gordes suite hallway

In that hallway was the minibar, which had a Nespresso coffee machine, as well as a variety of snacks and soft drinks. As is standard at Airelles properties, everything was complimentary, and restocked daily.

Airelles Gordes suite minibar
Airelles Gordes suite minibar
Airelles Gordes suite minibar

The bathroom was a great size, and featured double sinks, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet.

Airelles Gordes suite bathroom
Airelles Gordes suite bathroom
Airelles Gordes suite bathtub
Airelles Gordes suite shower
Airelles Gordes suite toilet

Toiletries were in reusable Airelles branded bottles, and were high quality.

Airelles Gordes suite toiletries

Perhaps most impressive of all was the view from our room.

Airelles Gordes suite view

The views only got more spectacular in the mornings (especially when it was foggy) and at sunset…

View from Airelles Gordes on a foggy morning
View from Airelles Gordes at sunset

Airelles Gordes offers twice daily housekeeping, and as is standard at Airelles properties, there was a different gift on the bed each evening with turndown service.

Airelles Gordes nightly gift with turndown service
Airelles Gordes nightly gift with turndown service
Airelles Gordes nightly gift with turndown service

What an incredibly charming room that strikes the perfect balance between having a perfect sense of place while not feeling outdated or shabby.

Airelles Gordes outdoor pool

Airelles Gordes has lots of amenities, but let’s start with the outdoor pool. The property has a beautiful outdoor pool with a sublime setting — it’s not often you get this kind of backdrop at a pool. This is a great place to lounge, and there’s service at the pool throughout the day. You can order food or drinks, and even enjoy complimentary ice cream.

Airelles Gordes outdoor pool
Airelles Gordes outdoor pool
Airelles Gordes outdoor pool

Even beyond the pool, there’s a huge lawn where you can hang out, which is a great place to pass time.

Airelles Gordes pool lawn
Airelles Gordes outdoor pool
Airelles Gordes ice cream at pool

Airelles Gordes spa & indoor pool

Airelles Gordes has a gorgeous Sisley Spa, which is open to hotel guests even without booking a spa treatment. If you want a spa treatment, you can find the menu here. I didn’t end up getting any treatments, but did visit the spa area otherwise.

Airelles Gordes spa reception

For one, the spa has an indoor pool, which is a great place to lounge if the weather isn’t otherwise cooperating. The spa also has all the amenities you’d typically expect, including a sauna and steam room.

Airelles Gordes spa indoor pool
Airelles Gordes spa indoor pool
Airelles Gordes spa indoor pool
Airelles Gordes spa sauna & steam room

Airelles Gordes gym

Also located in the Airelles Gordes spa is a gym. While it’s on the modest side, it had treadmills, ellipticals, a selection of free weights, and a yoga room.

Airelles Gordes spa gym
Airelles Gordes gym
Airelles Gordes gym

Airelles Gordes summer camp & game room

Airelles Summer Camp is the property’s kids club. I don’t think there were any kids at the property during our stay, but the area was still open. While most Airelles Gordes hallways look like this…

Airelles Gordes hallway

…there’s quite a fun transformation when you walk down the hallway to the kids club.

Airelles Gordes hallway to game room

The kids club had a game room, which had several arcade games, and even had one of those machines where you can “claw” out a toy. The catch? It was free to use, and you get a toy each time you play. It was almost so easy that it wasn’t fair.

Airelles Gordes game room
Airelles Gordes game room
Airelles Gordes game room
Airelles Gordes game room

Beyond the indoor space, there’s a pool table, ping pong table, foosball table, and a kids pool.

Airelles Gordes kids club terrace
Airelles Gordes kids club terrace
Airelles Gordes kids club terrace

Dining at Airelles Gordes

As you’d expect, Airelles Gordes has a very strong food & beverage game. It’s almost problematic how good the food is, because there’s only so much one can reasonably eat over the course of a few days. Here’s a summary of the hotel’s food & beverage outlets, to give you a sense of what to expect:

  • L’Orangerie is the all-day dining restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it’s located on property, and serves Mediterranean cuisine
  • Clover Gordes by Jean-François Piège serves lunch and dinner; it’s located on property, and serves Provencal cuisine
  • La Bastide de Pierre serves lunch and dinner; it’s located off property in town, and serves Italian cuisine
  • Le TIGrr serves dinner; it’s located in town, and serves Asian fusion cuisine
  • The hotel also has a bar, located just off the lobby

If you book a full board rate, you can enjoy any of your meals at any of these venues. With those basics out of the way, let’s get into the details…

Airelles Gordes breakfast

Airelles Gordes serves breakfast daily from 7:30AM until 11AM. While it’s technically served at L’Orangerie, in reality it’s served in a separate room that’s different from where lunch and dinner are served. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating, depending on your preference.

Airelles Gordes breakfast room
Airelles Gordes breakfast room
Airelles Gordes breakfast outdoor seating

Breakfast consists of a buffet, and then you can also order a variety of things off a menu.

Airelles Gordes breakfast menu

Ultimately breakfast buffets in France aren’t going to be as expansive as what you’d find in Southeast Asia or the Middle East, though everything was high quality and delicious. There was one room that had a variety of yogurt, fruit, veggies, cold cuts, and a few hot options.

Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet

Then there was a table in the main dining room with all kinds of freshly baked goods, including bread, croissants, pastries, and more.

Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet
Airelles Gordes breakfast buffet

There were all kinds of great drinks at breakfast as well, ranging from freshly squeezed juices to cappuccinos.

Airelles Gordes breakfast drinks

The items on the menu were delicious, including the avocado toast and omelets.

Airelles Gordes breakfast
Airelles Gordes breakfast

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie

L’Orangerie serves both lunch and dinner, and you can find the menu here. This is such a cute restaurant, as the indoor space has some cool decor, while the outdoor space has great views.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie indoor dining room
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie indoor dining room
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie outdoor dining area

Lunch here began with a tasty amuse bouche, as well as some sinfully tasty ciabatta.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch

Before we even talk about what we ordered to eat, this hotel deserves credit for having the classiest Diet Coke presentation I’ve ever seen.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch

To start, I ordered the marinated tuna with crispy risotto, soy caramel, and peanuts, while Ford ordered the foie gras terrine with artichoke salad, mousse, and brioche.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch

Then for our mains, I ordered the coral butter wild scallops with sunchoke mousseline and crisps, and scallop sauce, while Ford ordered the vegetable and pistou consomme with fresh herbs.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch

We were way too full too enjoy a dessert, but were still brought some petit fours.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie lunch

We also had a delicious dinner here one evening. To start we ordered the salmon gravalax with cauliflower salad and bavaroise, as well as a special that was available that evening.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie dinner

Then for our mains, I ordered the lobster ravioli with ricotta and pumpkin seeds, butternut veloute, and lobster bisque, while Ford had the sole amandine with lemon, parsley, almonds, and almond potatoes.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie dinner
Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie dinner

We didn’t have any room for dessert, but were given a to-go bag with some delicious sweet treats.

Airelles Gordes L’Orangerie dinner

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes by Jean-François Piège

Clover Gordes by Jean-François Piège serves both lunch and dinner, and you can find the menu here. While we loved both of the on-property restaurants, I think this one was our favorite. The indoor dining room was nice, though the outdoor dining area was incredible, especially around sunset. What a treat.

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes indoor dining room
Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes outdoor dining area
Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes view

Each meal at Clover Gordes starts with some bread and radishes, as well as an olive oil tasting, as you can select the type of olive oil you like most.

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner

Our very friendly server, Juliette, recommended that we split a few starters. We tried the fennel salad with stracciatella and grated poutargue, the marinated bluefin tuna with orange, basil, and sweet pepper, and the flamed eggplants on the embers, with tomatoes, basil, and olives.

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner

For mains, I had the grilled Provence vegetable pie with parmesan, while Ford had the “beef meatballs like a pizza.”

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner
Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner

We split an orange millefleur for dessert, and were offered some petit fours in addition to that.

Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner
Airelles Gordes Clover Gordes dinner

Airelles Gordes La Bastide de Pierres

La Bastide de Pierres is the hotel’s Italian restaurant. It’s not on property, but rather is located just down the street, a short walk away. It’s much more casual than the property’s other restaurants, and is popular with people visiting Gordes for the day. La Bastide de Pierres serves lunch and dinner, and you can find the menu here.

Airelles Gordes La Bastide de Pierres exterior
Airelles Gordes La Bastide de Pierres outdoor seating

We had lunch here one afternoon, and split the niçoise salad and the truffle pizza. Yum.

Airelles Gordes La Bastide de Pierres lunch
Airelles Gordes La Bastide de Pierres lunch

Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr

Le TIGrr is Airelles Gordes’ Asian fusion restaurant. It’s located a short walk from the hotel, and it’s built into the side of the hill, so has awesome views. Le TIGrr has a different DJ every night, and has quite a party atmosphere, unlike the rest of the hotel, so that contrast is kind of cool. The restaurant is open nightly for dinner, and you can find the menu here.

Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr entrance
Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr outdoor seating
Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr indoor seating

They had wasabi martinis here, which we particularly enjoyed.

Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr dinner

To eat, we ordered a couple of types of sushi, some shrimp rolls, Cambodian style beef salad. and kung pao chicken dumplings.

Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr dinner
Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr dinner

Then for dessert we shared some mango and mochi.

Airelles Gordes Le TIGrr dinner

While we loved the ambiance here, I’d say this was the only dining venue that wasn’t exceptional. The service was friendly, but it was often hard to flag down a server. Furthermore, everything was simply brought out at once, so it seems like they could do a better job coursing things. Lastly, I’d say the food was good, but not memorable (unlike the rest of the food at the hotel).

Airelles Gordes bar

Airelles Gordes has a bar located just off the lobby, and you can find the menu here. It has both indoor seating near a fireplace, as well as an outdoor terrace. It’s open throughout the day, so it’s a great place to grab a coffee or cocktail.

Airelles Gordes bar
Airelles Gordes bar indoor seating
Airelles Gordes bar indoor seating
Airelles Gordes bar outdoor seating
Airelles Gordes bar drinks

Things to do around Airelles Gordes & Provence

So, what does one actually do when staying at Airelles Gordes, other than eating and drinking? 😉

This was our first time in Provence, and we really enjoyed our time, and feel like we could have spent a week exploring the area. There are all kinds of small towns in the region, and the concierge team was great with recommending which areas were most worth seeing, so we typically drove off for a few hours each day to enjoy the area.

Map of the area around Airelles Gordes

Below are just a few pictures from our excursions to nearby towns…

Sightseeing around Provence
Sightseeing around Provence
Sightseeing around Provence
Sightseeing around Provence
Sightseeing around Provence

Bottom line

Airelles Gordes, La Bastide, is a spectacular hotel that I can’t recommend enough. This hotel has it all — perfect service, an amazing sense of place, great food, and lots of amenities. If you’re a Francophile or are interested in traveling to Provence, this can’t be beat.

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  1. Bunnywags Guest

    Thank you for the thorough review. We are booked for a stay in May, and you definitely confirmed my choice.

    Question: we have never rented a car in Europe before, and it seems somewhat necessary to fully enjoy Provence. Any tips for first time (American) renters? We will be taking Paris-Avignon train…

  2. Emily Guest

    Probably the first and only hotel review I enjoyed reading. This indeed looks like a great property - albeit slightly heavy on portraits of the long-deceased. Will probably check it out during my next visit in Jan.

  3. HC Guest

    Loved this hotel. We were there around the same time (mid October) last year and can echo your suggestion. Good rates, emptier towns, and gorgeous weather.

    Did you try to drive their vintage car? We took it for a spin and had a lot of fun. It was an adventure going up and down the hills in that thing though.

  4. NFSF Diamond

    “ While it’s technically served at L’Orangerie, in reality…”

    You can have breakfast in L’Orangerie if you ask nicely :-P

    Elio was great, as was everything about this hotel.

  5. Colin Guest

    Great review. Love to see reviews of these types of properties. Thank you!

  6. JDee Diamond

    Hi Ben

    I think there's a typo re one of Ford's meals, viz. Ford had the “beef meatballs like a steak.” is listed on the menu as “Beef meatballs like a pizza.”

  7. Matt Guest

    Wife and I stayed here in 2019. Truly great.

  8. Julia Guest

    How big was the sigh of relief from you and Ford when you guys saw that avocado toast was on the menu?

  9. glenn t Diamond

    I can understand why you were knocked out by this hotel! There would be no reason to leave the hotel and grounds~ epic!
    The cost seems more than reasonable given what you have on offer. All up it would cost a small fortune to maintain the hotel and grounds to the high standard illustrated.

  10. Motion to Dismiss Gold

    I didn’t even know that hotel existed but it seems like a dream. Glad you had a wonderful time! I will make it a priority to be there within the next few years.

  11. JS Guest

    Yet another pic of avocado toast. Has there EVER been a hotel/trip review without a picture of avocado toast? I'm sorry - but yawn......
    Other than that, great review as always!! :)

    1. Malc Diamond

      Fair point, but it's pretty unusually good-looking avocado toast.

    2. Julia Guest

      True, but I wonder what would happen in there was avocado toast on the menu...and there was no Shakshouka as well! Good thing there were omelettes...

  12. Malc Diamond

    @Lucky -- Was that Fontaine de Vaucluse in one of the photos? We were there in the summer – so beautiful.

    1. Fab Guest

      Fontaine de Vaucluse is the 4th picture. the 3rd one is l'Abbaye de Senanque, the 2nd & 5th is l'Isle sur la Sorgue.
      Ben, you should have visited Avignon, the Mount Ventoux and Les Baux de Provence which has a terrific view on Camargue.
      And yes, summer time can be very tricky to enjoy as it is higly crowded by tourists.

  13. David H. Guest

    I was lucky enough to stay here a few years ago - it was the peak of summer travel and even though it was so busy it was the most AMAZING time I've ever had in a hotel. I felt so taken care of, so relaxed and so well fed... I didn't want to leave. I dream of going back - thanks for bringing back all those memories.

  14. LSP Member

    Beautiful property! Any idea what variety of tree covered those wonderful patios? It almost looked like citrus.

  15. SamB Diamond

    That bathroom is dreamy, swoon. It really feels like you're staying in someone's private home, not a cookie-cutter hotel. The views and pool are spectacular. Love that there's a kid's club, too. It's nice when ultraluxury hotels are accommodating of kids.

  16. saeed Guest

    I hope you went to Carrieres des lumieres in Gordes...if not you definitely should next time.

    https://www.carrieres-lumieres.com/en

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ saeed -- Oops, we didn't! I guess that's a reason to return.

  17. Art_Czar Gold

    @Ben - beautiful property. We're planning a trip to Europe next year. What was the room rate you ended up paying for your stay?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Art_Czar -- We paid 1,020 Euro per night for the full board rate.

  18. pstm91 Diamond

    Ben, were most restaurants and stores in town still open in October? I've read conflicting things about this.

    So glad you highlighted Elio and Jose. They are beyond terrific. I had a client stay this summer and they went above and beyond. She wanted a specific tennis racket that they didn't have on property; Jose purchased it for her at a local store. They helped arranged a French tutor for her. I could write...

    Ben, were most restaurants and stores in town still open in October? I've read conflicting things about this.

    So glad you highlighted Elio and Jose. They are beyond terrific. I had a client stay this summer and they went above and beyond. She wanted a specific tennis racket that they didn't have on property; Jose purchased it for her at a local store. They helped arranged a French tutor for her. I could write a huge paragraph here on the ways they assisted her. Ultimately it was during the heat wave and she decided to cut her lengthy stay because it was just too hot to do anything besides the pool, but I cannot say enough good things about this property.

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ pstm91 -- So happy to hear others were treated well by them too! That's quite some service. Yes, most restaurants were still open, but not all. Then again, many of the best restaurants are connected to the hotel, and if you're booking a full board rate, that's probably where most end up eating.

  19. Never In Doubt Guest

    “ While we would have loved to take Miles”

    Like I said before, get kids used to being abandoned early. It’ll make it much easier to abandon them later!

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Never In Doubt -- Not sure where exactly on the scale of sarcasm that comment falls, but to provide a bit of background...

      We're really excited to travel with Miles and can't wait for him to get older. We plan to travel with him extensively, but first our goal has been to get him on a consistent sleep schedule (for obvious reasons) and get his vaccinations, so that he has some protection when he's...

      @ Never In Doubt -- Not sure where exactly on the scale of sarcasm that comment falls, but to provide a bit of background...

      We're really excited to travel with Miles and can't wait for him to get older. We plan to travel with him extensively, but first our goal has been to get him on a consistent sleep schedule (for obvious reasons) and get his vaccinations, so that he has some protection when he's out in public more.

      He's still really young, and at this age we know that he's just as happy being taken care of and loved by our family as he is with us. Stay tuned for an upcoming review about our first trip with Miles, though...

    2. Jimmy’s Travel Report Diamond

      I’m going to go out on a limb, and guess Never in Doubt was not serious (in a negative sense) in their comments. After raising a couple girls my wife and discovered two things. 1) The family trips with our girls as a family were extremely rewarding and helped shape the individuals they grew into. 2) The couple trips we did also were a great investment into our marriage and gave our daughters a chance...

      I’m going to go out on a limb, and guess Never in Doubt was not serious (in a negative sense) in their comments. After raising a couple girls my wife and discovered two things. 1) The family trips with our girls as a family were extremely rewarding and helped shape the individuals they grew into. 2) The couple trips we did also were a great investment into our marriage and gave our daughters a chance to get closer with our parents, as well as become more confident and independent as they matured.

      Both were important to our family values, and the family we are.

    3. Never In Doubt Guest

      I was kidding to prove a point!

      Which is to highlight Ben’s mental gymnastics/self justifications about leaving his son behind while traveling, which were backed up in his comment reply!

      The young Doubts were both traveling with us within 6 months of birth, and they’ve never been left behind for leisure travel.

      Our 20 year old has been to 54 countries, and the 17 year old to 41. A ~4 year head start +...

      I was kidding to prove a point!

      Which is to highlight Ben’s mental gymnastics/self justifications about leaving his son behind while traveling, which were backed up in his comment reply!

      The young Doubts were both traveling with us within 6 months of birth, and they’ve never been left behind for leisure travel.

      Our 20 year old has been to 54 countries, and the 17 year old to 41. A ~4 year head start + independent travel post high school has built at least a temporary lead, that the youngster is ready to challenge!

    4. hp12c Member

      That's really cool for your kids. Different families do all sorts of things differently, and there's not an objectively best path or method.

    5. ML Guest

      How to tell the world you are a tool… MY kids have “never been left behind”.

    6. Never In Doubt Guest

      ML, you sound like someone whose kids would probably be happy to have been left behind!

      hp12c, correct, there isn’t an objectively best way! My point was than Ben should own the way he’s chosen! Don’t say “we’d have loved to have taken him”, take him! Or don’t take him and say “We wanted this time without him!”.

    7. reddargon Diamond

      Bro, calm down. Ben doesn't have to "own" anything, and people are more complex than having black and white feelings. You can both want a trip for yourself, and also want to share the trip with your kids, because both options are rewarding in different ways. Acknowledging nuance is not a bad thing.

    8. Sean Guest

      Why didn’t you get your Virtuoso Travel advisor rate?

  20. Eli Guest

    Which airlines did you fly?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Eli -- We flew Lufthansa first class from Miami to Frankfurt, as we lucked out with finding award availability. Since I reviewed this exact route last year, I decided not to review that flight again.
      https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/lufthansa-first-class-747/

    2. AnishReddi Gold

      What did you fly back, Swiss because of the Zurich hotel review?

    3. Nomad_dc Guest

      @ Ben- darn…
      - husband’s birthday Lufthansa first on miles (what are the odds?)
      - Ben’s birthday on the Maldives, of course Emirates first award availability opens up
      - Purser friend almost last flight and no sweat, Emirate award opens up (and two seats of course)
      -Purser friend last flight (for real this time) and you bet, there is an open seat on Emirates first class

      No wonder they call you lucky…

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

JS Guest

Yet another pic of avocado toast. Has there EVER been a hotel/trip review without a picture of avocado toast? I'm sorry - but yawn...... Other than that, great review as always!! :)

4
David H. Guest

I was lucky enough to stay here a few years ago - it was the peak of summer travel and even though it was so busy it was the most AMAZING time I've ever had in a hotel. I felt so taken care of, so relaxed and so well fed... I didn't want to leave. I dream of going back - thanks for bringing back all those memories.

3
glenn t Diamond

I can understand why you were knocked out by this hotel! There would be no reason to leave the hotel and grounds~ epic! The cost seems more than reasonable given what you have on offer. All up it would cost a small fortune to maintain the hotel and grounds to the high standard illustrated.

2
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