Le Mas de la Rose

In the South of France there’s no need to reinvent the hospitality wheel. Le Mas de la Rose is a stone-cold classic of the Provençal farmhouse-hotel genre, a 17th-century example that’s been thoroughly restored without sacrificing any of its historical charm. The setting, at the foot of the Alpilles, is appropriately bucolic, and the estate is as well, with its typical lavender and olive groves.

Each room is subtly different, though all are lovely, in a soothing faded-to-white color palette with textures that beg to be touched. Some rooms add bathtubs and/or terraces, while the suites and the apartment sleep up to four. There’s a beach-style outdoor pool and a Jacuzzi by its side, and leisure offerings include tennis and petanque courts as well as billiards and ping-pong.

As fine a place as Le Mas de la Rose is for lounging around, the surrounding countryside beckons as well, as do Arles and Aix-en-Provence. Just be back in time for dinner — Le Potager du Mas, the hotel’s restaurant, is worth the trip all on its own, thanks to its menu of local, seasonal dishes, all crafted from locally sourced ingredients including fruits and vegetables grown on site.