Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus

The echoes of great artists and writers linger in this simple yet spectacular hotel

A unique hotel with a big heart. In the 50s and 60s this was the place to be seen. Picasso lived here and Hemingway, Cocteau, Fritz Lang and John Houston were regulars, as were the great bullfighters of the 20th century, who came to fight in the amphitheatre and had their own magnificent room (unchanged but for the addition of a picture of a naked Charlotte Rampling posing in front of the room’s madly gilded mirror). The hotel was owned by Nello, a clown (he rode a tiny bicycle while telling jokes), and Germaine, a cabaret singer. It remains a place of pilgrimage, and while we were staying at least 5 couples walked in to take a look.

Come for the salon and bar, the leather armchairs and the massive mirrors, the enormous black-and-white photographs of Africa by Peter Beard with their scrawled passages from Out of Africa, and the incredible collection of giant posters advertising the ferías of Spain. It's impossible to accurately describe the joy of it all (some may wonder what all the fuss is about), but if the spirit in these words touches your heart and your imagination, then you’re an old romantic and you’ll love it.

Highs

• The bar and salon, both of which echo a wonderful history
• The Bullfighter’s Room, madly grand for 1950 and pretty much unchanged
• The spirit of the hotel: hard to match
• The people who work here, who do so with gentleness
• The location: right on one of Arles' pretty central squares, which allows easy walking to the Roman ruins and some great restaurants

Lows

• If you want contemporary designer bedrooms or the latest fashion, look elsewhere
• The lower-priced rooms are fairly simple, but they're comfortable, clean and not to be sniffed at
• Some may find the colour scheme rather dark
• Negotiating the surrounding narrow streets by car can be tricky