Parisian lifestyle luxury hotel Les Bains (opened 2015) announces new opening in Les Camargue, the coastal region of southern France tucked between the Mediterranean Sea and the delta of the Rhône River.“I never get tired of it,” says owner Jean-Pierre Marois (French filmmaker).
Les Bains Gardians spread across the 10-acre property in the Camargue Regional Nature Park are 67 rooms, including 48 gardian cottages, seven conference rooms, plenty of reception spaces as well as a spa, two pools, tennis courts, 10,000 square feet of private arenas — and 25 resident horses.
Similarly to Hotel Costes (also in Paris), Les Bains made headlines when they opened, but in time, both hotels have been gathering countless negative reviews especially about their mediocre service standards, often times arrogant, losing attractiveness and desirability.
Beyond opening another luxury hotel, what the Frenchman wants to do here is push the envelope in terms of environmental and social sustainability. Never mind luxury standards. More than a third of the project’s sizable budget went into overhauling the sanitation system, and this mandatory step took over a year.
Les Bains Gardians, Le Camargue (South of France)
Also playing into the sustainable ethos of the place are the traditional lodgings of the region’s gardians, or herdsmen. These structures with thatched reed roofs typical of Camargue’s traditional architecture have natural temperature control and ventilation thanks to their materials and positioning.
Giving them and the rest of the property the barefoot luxury vibe Marois intended was a task he entrusted to interior architecture duo Hauvette & Madani, whose sense of punchy simplicity matched what he envisioned.
“The [cottages] are not luxurious dwellings, so we considered what comfort could be with this rustic building as a starting point,” she says. Regional nods include textiles developed with Les Indiennes de Nîmes, a local textile brand specialized in gardian garments.
Expecting the Parisian brand to head to Saint-Tropez, Ibiza or other glamorous party locales would be forgetting the brand’s. Here, it’s live music from local groups, with the occasional DJ residency. There will be exhibitions and artists will also be invited to create site-specific permanent works, selected by curator Jérôme Pauchant.
Food will play a decisive role at Les Bains Gardians, too. Come July, the Le Pont des Bannes restaurant will open, reviving a local institution under the direction of executive chef Bruno Grossi. Expect a blend of Camargue specialties and Mediterranean cuisine, heavily geared toward seasonal produce.
Les Bains Gardians, Le Camargue (South of France)
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