La Bastide de Marie

La Bastide de Marie avoids the traditional version of Provençal “authenticity,” and in so doing, brings new life to the well-worn genre of the Provence farmhouse hotel. La Bastide is contemporary and sophisticated, in a region where one expects to see only the most staid and old-fashioned hotels — yet while some modern re-inventions come off as pranks, as flippant rejections of tradition, this hotel is a respectful update, true to its surroundings while showing the way forward.

Though this whitewashed stone building, in the heart of Provence’s Lubéron valley, may be centuries old, the La Bastide de Marie is a modern hotel. Thus the eclectic and contemporary look; alongside a hand-picked selection of furnishings scoured from Provence’s antiques dealers sit a number of more contemporary pieces, and a sort of parodic period design that feels more real than the real thing. And these days there’s more than just the old farmhouse — a separate five-bedroom villa offers the same services and atmosphere as the main house.

And though it’s a professional operation, a hotel of this kind must feel like a private home, a guest house, and La Bastide, delightfully, does. The staff is as polished as any but refreshingly casual, never fawning too enthusiastically. The cuisine, naturally, is one of the main attractions, and like everything else here is so well-crafted as to seem accidental, and is served along with wines made on the property — check with the on-staff oenologist for tours and tastings.

Please note: La Bastide de Marie is a seasonal hotel and is open from mid-December through January 1 and mid-April through mid-November.