Hotel Jules Cesar

The Hôtel Jules César is styled, perhaps incongruously, after a Roman palace — you’d never guess at its provenance as a seventeenth-century Carmelite convent. Interesting enough from a historical perspective, but more so for the fact that today it offers something of a blend of both worlds: a little of the pomp and opulence of a royal residence, and a measure of monastic seclusion, even though it’s surrounded by one of Arles’s livelier neighborhoods.

Guest rooms surrounding the old cloister are quiet and shaded, packed with authentic antique furniture and rich Provençal fabrics. There’s a modern addition as well, with rooms in a slightly less old-fashioned style, but lacking some of the charm of the Neoclassical convent building. There’s little that’s daring about the Jules César, but it’s old-fashioned hospitality done right, a luxury that’s increasingly difficult to find in the era of the global chain hotel.

The hotel’s restaurant is one of the finest in Arles, serving classic Provençal cuisine and fine Mediterranean seafood in a stately dining room that’s likely to play host to at least as many locals as guests. Breakfast is served in the shade of the cloister, and there’s a swimming pool for a respite from the summer heat.