Honey stone and tall glass on a hill above a biodynamic vineyard outside Aix, each suite hidden behind a wall of its own. Step out of yours and the estate starts handing you things: a Tadao Ando chapel, a Frank Gehry music pavilion, Louise Bourgeois's spider crouched over a reflecting pool, Richard Serra's steel leaning into a hillside. Paddy McKillen, the Irish property developer who owns the lot, has spent two decades commissioning permanent work from Pritzker winners and blue-chip artists and setting it loose among the vines. The wine is made here too, and made very well. The art is public; the hotel very much isn't.
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Interiors are by Hong Kong designer André Fu and read as studies in white, warmed by light oak, marble and furniture built for the hotel. The owner's own pictures hang in the public rooms, Sean Scully and Léger among them, alongside a photograph of Picasso at work. A heated pool looks out over the rows, the spa has a hammam and a Japanese onsen, and the bar keeps going well after dinner. Each suite is entered through its own walled courtyard, an olive tree at its centre.
Expect suites, not rooms, and every one comes with a private terrace and a wall of glass pointed at the vines and the Luberon hills beyond. Pavilion suites are the entry point, whilst villa suites open right out, with a linen four-poster, marble tub and a dining table that seats six; a handful add private pools. Two-bedroom versions suit friends travelling together, and the Résidence is the largest of the lot. Then there's the Prouvé house, a prefab by French designer-engineer Jean Prouvé: practically a museum piece you can sleep in.
Give the art walk a good half-day: a few kilometres through woods, olive groves and rows of vines, taking in Ando's chapel, Niemeyer's auditorium, Jenny Holzer's benches (you're meant to sit on them and read) and our favourite, Andy Goldsworthy's oak room. Book a tasting of the estate's biodynamic wines afterwards, then let lunch at the château run long. Aix is a short drive when you want fountains instead of sculpture.
Art you meet by accident. No labels shouting for attention, no queue, just a Serra leaning out of a hillside and a spider standing over black water, found while walking off lunch.
Francis Mallmann's open fire down at the château is the hottest table on the estate (in every sense), so book it when you book your suite.
The art walk belongs to everyone, and hundreds of thousands come each year, so the estate hums by day even whilst the hotel above stays private.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Villa La Coste can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made France trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended France trips featuring Villa La Coste or get advice and suggestions from one of our France specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Villa La Coste start from around $690, or US$690, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
An aromatic wonderland where lavender whispers sweet nothings to the olive groves, and the light seems to dance with an artist's touch.
