Experiences
Retreats
Wellness & pilates
The house taken whole, a teacher who comes each morning, and nothing on the calendar you did not put there. Pilates and yoga in the house, breathwork on the lawn, treatments through the afternoon, and Quentin cooking to the programme rather than against it. For groups of eight to sixteen.
The programme
What a week here holds
Morning practice on the lawn
Practice before the heat, under the plane trees or in the vaulted room if the mistral is up. Hatha, vinyasa or restorative, with local teachers who come to the house. Mats, blocks and bolsters are here.
One or two sessions a day
Pilates in the house
Mat work in the vaulted room of the old oil mill, where the stone keeps the air cool all day; reformers brought in on request. Small groups or one to one, with a teacher who adjusts the week as it goes.
Small groups, or one to one
Breathwork and meditation
A quiet room with cushions and nothing else in it. Guided breathwork at first light or after the treatments, and silence for anyone who would rather sit alone.
Morning or late afternoon
Massage and bodywork
Masseuses who come to the house rather than a clinic: deep tissue, lymphatic drainage and relaxation, booked by the hour and given in the massage room, in your bedroom or in the shade of the garden.
Booked by the hour
Sauna and the pool
The sauna is lit in the late afternoon, with towels left out; at Chabran it is under the roof beside the massage room, at Calabrun beside the indoor pool, which is heated all year. The outdoor pools are heated from May to September, and on request in April and October.
A sauna in six of our eight houses
Menus written for the week
Quentin cooks to the programme: lighter lunches, early dinners, and everything from the garden and the markets. Tell us the dietary needs once and they are held for the whole stay.
Walks before breakfast
An hour into the Alpilles and back before the house is properly awake. A guide comes with you on the longer routes, and the coffee is waiting when you return.
From the gate
The house, taken whole
Eight to sixteen guests, three to seven nights, and no one else on the property. The house manager, Quentin and the gardeners are the ones who run the week. Spring and autumn are the seasons for it, when the Alpilles are quiet; in summer, weeks only.
8 to 16 guests
Three to seven nights
Spring and autumn
Request a retreat
Tell us which part
Choose what you want in the week, tell us the dates and how many you are. The house manager comes back with the teachers, the shape of the days and the price.