2. From Cannes to St Tropez
Where to stay Les Rosées, Mougins
Manager
Kilpérick Lhobet has renovated the 400-year-old mas with his mother. Danièlle,
a talented upholstery designer.
Mougins may be an overly picturesque
ProvenÇcal village, but there’s nothing remotely twee about this sumptuous,
four-suite guest house, tucked away on a country lane outside town. Manager
Kilpérick Lhobet has renovated the 400-year-old mas with his mother. Danièlle,
a talented upholstery designer. The main house is divided into a vaulted lounge
(lime-washed walls, fireplace, tapestries) and a brown-tiled kitchen. High
points include the honey-coloured Isadora suite (Lize Mineli once slept here)
and a wooden shack with antique furnishings. If you book ahead. Lhobet will
prepare a three-course dinner, and serve it on your terrace.
L’Auberge du Vieux Château, Cabris
West
of Grasse, Cabris is a sleepy mountain village once frequented by Sartre and
Camus.
West of Grasse, Cabris is a sleepy mountain
village once frequented by Sartre and Camus. The remarkable views of the
countryside and distant, shimmering sea are reason enough to visit: but add to
that a delectable three-course dinner and a pretty room to sleep it off, and
the lure is compelling. Hosed in the vestiges of a medieval fortress, the
four-bedroom Auberge du Vieux Château is surprisingly affordable, even in peak
season. The young, Ducasse-trained chef, Francesco Pelucchini, creates
flavourful Mediterranean cusine: main dishes include grilled beef served with
cannelloni, and fish à la plancha with green beans. Simple rusticity rules in
the bedrooms: rooms 10 and 11, with romantic baldaquin beds, both face south to
the sea: room 14 has views of the hills.
Hôtel des deux Rocs, Seillans
Coquelicot
is lined with Napoleonic medals; top-floor Mimosa has great views of the
countryside.
Seillans has been voted one of the
prettiest villages in France, and Hôtl des deux Rocs is a charming, retro-chic
country inn owned by a friendly young couple, Julie and Nicolas Malzac. The 17th-century
mansion, with its restored stone faÇade and teal-blue shutters, is right out of
Manon des Sources (there’s even a gurgling fountain in the square where meals
are served). Each of the 13 bedrooms is different, whether swathed in
soft-yeallow and orange Pierre Frey fabrics, or rustic with exposed-beam
ceilings. Coquelicot is lined with Napoleonic medals; top-floor Mimosa has
great views of the countryside. The chef David Carré, excels in satisfying,
inventive dishes such as a spiced fish stew and a chocolate cake filled with
warm caramel.
La Villa Mauresque, Saint Raphël
La
Villa Mauresque is an astonishing folly built in 1860 by architect Chapoulard
Midway between St Raphaël and the red rocks
of the Easterel, La Villa Mauresque is an astonishing folly built in 1860 by
architect Chapoulard: two white neo-Moorish castles surrounded by flaming
bougainvillaea in an acre of palm-and-pine-shaded park. The hotel was recently
refurbished and its 16 splendid suites are named after artists and writers (the
Henry Miller is in bold scarlet; the Rimbaud has a dreamy bathtub surrounded by
bay windows; elegant Baudelaire has a tall, antique-brass canopied bed). Most
chrming is the upper-floor Picasso suite, with its huge terrace and sweeping views.
The more modestly priced bedrooms aren’t nearly as eye-catching as the suites,
but guests still get access to equipment for water-skiing, scuba diving and
kayaking, as well as a 98ft sailboat.
Where to eat La Tonnelle, He
Saint-Honorat
La
Tonnelle, a vast seafood brasserie, opened in 2008 with a decked terrace right
on the edge of the turquoise sea
La Tonnelle, a vast seafood brasserie,
opened in 2008 with a decked terrace right on the edge of the turquoise sea.
Headed by young chef Arnaud Ronxin, it promotes local specialities such as
petite friture (fried fish) and Ronxin’s signature dish of lobster grilled with
onions and wild rosemary. After dessert (try the Menton lemon sorbet doused
with Lerincello liqueur), wander through the forest of green oaks. The island
is only a 15 minute ferry ride from Cannes, but the city will have never seemed
so far away.
Jilali B, Théoule-sur-mer
Jilali
B, Théoule-sur-mer
Locals flocks to Jilali B for the
affordable but refined Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, a mix of saffron fish
soup, asparagus orange mousse, stuffed sardines and red mullet with hummus.
Chef Jilali Berrekama’s highlights include homemade duck foie gras served with
mango and a toasted brioche, and a slow-cooked shoulder of lamb with olives from
the nearby groves. Desserts are mostly refreshingly light combinations of
spices and fruit, such as the heavenly, rosemary-infused peach panna cotta.
L’Ecole des Filles, Le bar-sur-Loup
L’Ecole
des Filles still looks like the girls’ school it once was; a simple two-storey
ProvenÇcal stone building with a cheerful yellow faÇade
L’Ecole des Filles still looks like the
girls’ school it once was; a simple two-storey ProvenÇcal stone building with a
cheerful yellow faÇade. Talented young chef Stéphane Lucas opened his
restaurant here in March 2009. Meals are served in the courtyard, or in the
cosy dining room with its kitsch animal knick-knacks. The menu features
generous portions of seasonal dishes such as fresh split-pea soup and risotto
with févettes (shelled broad beans), as well as terrific comfort food (pork
roast with carrots and mashed potatoes).
