Lourmarin, Provence

When we were planning our trip to Provence, we pinned all of the towns and villages we wanted to visit and then looked for accommodation that was central to them all. On the map Gordes was the most equidistant to where we wanted to visit but I couldn't find accommodation with a pool that seemed to fit in with what we wanted. But then after some more research, I discovered Lourmarin.

Lourmarin is voted one of the most beautiful villages in France and rightly so. It also has plenty of restaurants, a market, lots of shops and galleries, plus our hotel Le Galinier had parking, a pool and was within a stones throw of the town centre.

We had previously spent one night in Aix en Provence and picked up our hire car but as we couldn't check in to the hotel until 4pm, we drove to the pretty hilltop town of Gordes for lunch and a wander.

When it was time to check in at the hotel, I knew we had made the right choice, as we drove up the gravel drive and parked in the pretty gardens we were greeted by the staff in a cool stone ceilinged kitchen and offered some lemon water.

More of a guest house than a hotel, our suite had an enormous comfy bed and a rolltop bath. Mr Poachie was a bit concerned by not having a shower in the room, it was 37 degrees and he doesn't love baths like I do! He just made do with the private shower by the pool. The pool also has an honesty bar with drinks and snacks, a large dining table, towels and a dishwasher.

We walked into the village and bought some supplies for our room, snacks and water and also some wine. The wine was so cheap here, I was buying incredible rose for only 6 euro! After a dip in the pool back at the hotel we got ready for dinner.

During our stay here (we stayed for four nights) I think we ended up eating at most of the restaurants be it for breakfast or supper and you are spoilt for choice.

We also really enjoyed the market shopping, wandering around trying different foods and buying local produce. Despite already having holiday basket bag with me, I ended up buying another one as I couldn't resist! I also bought some soap as they smelt so wonderful. Mr Poachie bought a linen shirt and we also bought some bits for lunch.

The hotel offered exercise classes (which we didn't participate in) and petanque games, again which we didn't go to! We did intend on taking part but it was too difficult to leave the pool...

Whilst this hotel was very nice, very clean and centrally located, we thought the staff were a bit odd. When we arrived we asked if there was a bar as we wanted something to drink and she said no, so we walked into the town to buy some drinks and when we came back to sit by the pool we realised that there was an honesty bar by the pool. A few days later there were no beers in the fridges so Mr Poachie went to the 'reception' (the reception area is just staff sitting in the kitchen and living area on a laptop) and he said they were out the front of the property smoking and when he asked them about replacing the beers they just said they were in the fridge, but they weren't! 

We weren't overly fussed as we went and got our own drinks but it was just a bit odd and it seemed unprofessional for them to be smoking at the front of the property. The hotel is not cheap so I was just expecting something a little better than that! 

As I mentioned previously, the town has everything you need and the other great thing about Lourmarin is that it isn't too far to drive to the nearby towns such as Roussillon, Gordes, Saignon, Bonnieux and many more.

I would definitely recommend visiting Lourmarin if you don't end up booking accommodation here, it's so pretty and the food is super.

A bientot Lourmarin!