Chateau d'Olmet

Rooms

A great deal of effort has gone into making the 3 suites, 2 rooms and 1 self-contained gîte as swish and comfortable as any top-end boutique hotel. You're surprised with little indulgences at every turn: sublimely comfy Hypnos beds (the best night’s sleep we can remember) with top-end sheets; deluxe rain showers, Nespresso machines, and high-end French toiletries. Although there are no TVs (except in the apartment), you're given a tablet filled with movies - perfect for rainy days or lazy evenings.

Each room has its own distinct style, arrangement and mix of bohemian artefacts. We stayed in the top-floor Salagou, an open-plan suite with a massive four-poster bed and bookshelf of eclectic art and travel books. Lunas is the other top-floor suite, with a gorgeous Moroccan-style carpet and a separate sitting area. The 3rd suite, Le Jardin, is on the ground floor, with direct access onto the garden. Of the double rooms, Villecun is small-but-perfectly-formed, with a fun pink poodle print on one wall, and Parker has a bathtub for lazy soaks.

For couples seeking a little more independence, the 1-bedroom La Terrasse Apartment is a cute, bucolic bolthole for two. It has a comfy double bedroom, cosy lounge complete with wood-burner, and a spacious kitchen/dining room. There are exposed stone walls and original beams throughout. But the jewel in the crown is the private terrace that boasts vast views across the countryside; best yet, you have it all to yourself.

Features include:

• Fan
• Hairdryer
• WiFi

Eating

Breakfasts are a treat, served under the blue sky in the lavender-fringed garden in warmer weather, and in the renovated barn in cooler months (8:30-10am). Expect a spread of simple but extraordinarily good local and seasonal treats (salami with hazelnuts, honey from the neighbour’s hive!) and plenty of patisserie from the local boulangerie. Washed down with a cafetiere of French coffee, it’s a perfect start to a day of exploring the bucolic countryside. Breakfast is not included for guests staying in the apartment, but it has a fully-equipped kitchen for self-catering, and a welcome basket of fruit, yoghurt, fruit juice, jam, bread, milk, coffee and tea is provided on arrival.

Evening meals a couple of evenings a week can be arranged with prior notice and take the form of formal 3-course dinners on Monday and Friday nights. Gorgeous mushroom quiches and regional charcuterie left us bursting at the seams.

Guests can use the well-equipped kitchen to fix their own light meals, and there's a well-stocked honesty bar filled with wine and snacks. Beyond the bar, you'll find a handful of lovely eateries a quick drive away, just ask Eric for his advice on where to eat, especially if you're staying here out of peak season as rural restaurants have erratic opening hours.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement

Activities

• Just chill out. Sun worship by the pool, read in a deckchair, wander around Olmet and watch DVDs
  
• The nearby town of Lodève has a lively morning market, with typical French local produce and beautiful linens
  
• There's excellent hiking throughout the region. Cirque de Mourèze is a unique natural dolomite rock formation with fabulous hiking trails (30 minutes’ drive)
  
• Borrow bikes to explore or go on horseback - there's a riding stables in Olmet
  
• Lake Salagou (20 minutes’ drive) has lovely beaches for picnics, as well as places to go windsurfing, fishing and kayaking
  
• The picturesque Saint-Guilhem-le-Dèsert is regularly labelled the ‘Most Beautiful Village in France’. Go and see why!
  
• Pèzenas, the region’s capital, is a renowned town with an excellent summer night market (30 minutes’ drive)
  
• Languedoc-Roisillon is Europe’s largest wine-producing region; ask Eric and Stephen to recommend local wineries and the best vineyards
  
• Spend a day in Montpellier: a beautiful historic city (45 mins' drive)
  
• Join one of the B&B's public yoga sessions (on the first Sunday of each month) or book a private lesson in the barn/garden

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cycling
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Horse riding
• Kayaking
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming
• Windsurfing
• Wine tasting
• Yoga

Kids

Chateau d'Olmet is an adults-only B&B.

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Chateau d'Olmet is perched in the hilltop hamlet of Olmet-et-Villecun, 15 minutes' drive from Lodeve, near the border of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrenees, in southern France.

By Air:
Béziers (73km) and Montpellier (76km) are 50 minutes’ drive away; Nîmes and Carcassonne are just under 2 hours. Toulouse is also an option (240km) - approximately 2.5 hours' drive away. You'll definitely need to hire a car to get here as there's no public transport to the hamlet.

By Train:
If you'd prefer to travel overland from the UK, there are good services to Montpellier and Avignon. If you're coming from London and your train is not direct, change in Lille (a platform change) rather than Paris (a station change).

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

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