The Villa Gallici: A Relais & Chateaux Jewel in Aix-en-Provence
Written: Jul 15 '04 (Updated Sep 28 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Rooms, decor throughout, service, location, food, grounds and pool area
Cons: Quite costly
The Bottom Line: This hotel offers the finest in rooms, public areas, grounds, service, cuisine and location, in one of the loveliest regions of France
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| RobinLynn's Full Review: Villa Gallici |
I first read about the Villa Gallici a few years ago in two of my travel magazines , Travel and Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler. It sounded almost too good to be true, but I promised myself that if I was anywhere near Aix-en-Provence in the future, I would certainly try to stay there.
When we began to plan my trip to this region of France, Provence, this hotel was the first one I researched. Even their web site was magical. It depicted a palette of Cezanne, the Impressionist artist who spent much of his life in Aix. With each click of the mouse on a different color of the painter's palette, another beautiful room in the hotel was shown. I spent many hours obsessing over this beautiful web site, and finally booked two nights at the hotel , which is where we would end our two week stay in Provence.
The hotel lived up to my every expectation . Situated about ten minutes from the center of Aix, on a quiet street, the Avenue de la Violette, a beautiful wrought iron gate welcomed us. The grounds and entry were just magnificent, done in a Mediterranean style of architecture. A lovely arched entry with a Renaissance-looking statue standing next to it was the first thing we noticed upon entering the grounds.
We were greeted by a very friendly and helpful front desk staff. They promptly checked us in and showed us to our room. I was afraid it would not live up to my expectations, after all of my hours obsessing on their web site for the best room possible, but I not disappointed. I was almost overwhelmed by how stunning the room was.
The spacious room was decorated in yellow and blue, my favorite color combination, in wonderful French Provencal prints. It had a large bed with a big fabric canopy draped from the ceiling as only the French know how to do! Even the walls were padded and covered in a coordinating fabric, but with moulding on top of the fabric surrounding the lovely art in the room, making a second frame around the pictures
There were three chairs in a matching fabric, a lovely desk, a big bench at the foot of the bed in coordinating fabric, and two night stands. There were two built-in white painted cupboards for storage; one for hanging clothes and one fitted with lots of shelves. A coordinating fabric screen separated the sitting area, which had a very comfortable couch, chair and coffee table.
There were even more decorator touches throughout our room. A stunning black lacquer antique-looking desk was lining one wall and a rococo style bombe chest was on another, with a sprinkling of antiques and beautiful accessories adding even more style to the room. The overall effect was truly dazzling!!
The beautiful white tile and marble bathroom had a combination bathtub/shower, two sinks, a separate W/C room with bidet, hair dryer, and very fluffy towels and robes. Even the bath products were incredible, with each soap wrapped in a little gift box, with raffia trim and a gift tag from the hotel.
A special touch that greeted us on arriving in our room was a bouquet of fresh cut roses arranged artfully in a vase. They were recently cut from the wonderful gardens throughout the property, which had flowers overflowing everywhere .
Our room had two large French doors which led to our own private little garden, filled with fantastic flowering bushes and a rose arbor. The little garden was comfortably fitted with two lounge chairs and table with two more chairs. It was peaceful and we could hear the chirping of the song birds.
The public areas were a series of gorgeous rooms, where guests could have a cocktail, wine, or a cup of coffee or tea, and delicious pastries, especially the local specialty, an almond confection, called Calissons'd Aix. They were delicious! Overstuffed couches and chairs, and tables overflowing with beautiful books to enjoy were everywhere. I found myself wandering around the public rooms, just admiring all of the attractive and thoughtful touches throughout.
There was a marvelous pool area graced with an abundance of gorgeous flowering plants and hanging arbors of flowers everywhere. Large clay pots abounded, filled with more glorious foliage. There were beautiful wrought iron gates and trellises providing support for the cascading red and pink flowering vines. The fantastic floral scents and the lovely chirping of the birds made relaxing in the pool area a sheer delight.
The hotel restaurant lived up to the standards of the rest of the hotel. Since we had perfect weather, we were able to eat outside on the dining terrace both evenings under the beautiful shade plane trees for which Aix en Provence is famous. The food and service were incredible and, although we ordered three courses, we actually were served seven, with lots of chef's specialties offered for us to try. The wine list was excellent and well-priced. Everything was delicious, with lots of wonderful seafood dishes, and the most amazing Grand Marnier soufflé I have ever had.
For breakfast a choice of a large, elaborate breakfast, or a continental breakfast was offered. We had the lighter meal, which included fresh juice, wonderful pastries, yogurt and fruit, and delicious coffee.
The Hotel Villa Gallici is a member of the Relais & Chateaux hotel group, consisting of small, very special hotels and inns. Each and every one we have visited have been wonderful. This property has eighteen rooms of various sizes. Dinner for the two of us, with a bottle of wine, was approximately one hundred and fifty dollars, with taxes and tip included in the price. Breakfast was about twenty dollars per person for the continental breakfast, with the complete breakfast costing about thirty dollars. The weakness of the American dollar against the Euro is factored in these prices.
Everything about this hotel was outstanding . The wonderful staff, incredible grounds , amazing décor, convenient location, and delectable food made this hotel the most memorable hotel stay I have ever experienced. What a way to end such an an incredible vacation, which we took to celebrate our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.
All I can say is, it was worth the wait!!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
RobinLynn
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Parkland, Florida
Reviews written: 192
Trusted by: 363 members
About Me:
My loves are my wonderful family, our amazing grandsons, and travel.
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