A very posh hotel in France (Hotels in France in general)

Member Name: depurple2

Product:	Hotels in France in general
Date:	29/09/06 (490 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful views, comfortable rooms, helpful staff, nice food

Disadvantages: Not much variety of food, no childrens' facilities, very expensive.

Le Mas Candille is a 5-star hotel located in the village of Mougins in the South of France. It is less than an hour's drive from Nice airport. Some of the roads are a bit steep though!


The room
The room we stayed in was one of the less expensive ones, although at over 300 Euros per night it couldn't be described as cheap. It was a lovely room, but the downside was it overlooked the car park (although there were some very nice posh cars parked there). The room had a double bed, desk and chair, and built in wardrobes. There was also a mini bar and a TV with internet access. The bathroom had 2 basins, a separate bath and shower (with body jets), and it even had a TV! There was a balcony with a table and chairs, and a really neat electric shutter to completely block out the light at night. Only problem was we didn't realise it was there on the first night (housekeeping shut it) and so we were very late up the next day.

The room had Molton Brown toiletries, and these were topped up throughout our stay, plus the usual sewing kit, nail file, shoe shine kit, etc. The bathroom had some funky digital scales and a hairddryer in it too. The housekeeper left some nice little cakes by the bed on the first night too.


The facilities
Le Mas Candille has 2 swimming pools - there is one small one, which is quite quiet, and a larger infinity pool. The large pool is located next to the restaurant terrace, so you will probably have people looking at you while you swim or sunbathe. Not many people tended to swim though - they were all far too posh for that!

The sun beds around the pool tended to fill up quite quickly, but there was a separate sun terrace as well, so you could usually get a sun lounger any time.

There are 2 jacuzzis, one located near the main pool, and one by itself in a little Japanese-style garden. The gym also overlooks this garden. The gym is quite small, but the equipment is good quality, and the view is amazing. One side of the gym (which is in a sort of wooden hut) is open to the air, and it is on the side of the mountain so you can see for miles while you are using the equipment.

There is a library, which is peaceful and has a good selection of books, some of which are in English. There is also a seminar room for business people.


The Spa
The spa is located at one end of the hotel. It offers a range of treatments - I had a facial, a manicure and a pedicure and my partner had a back massage. The therapists are very good, but don't speak much English. They use Shiseido products, and you can also buy the products afterwards, but they are expensive (around 20 Euros for a nail varnish).

One of the treatment rooms I was in had a channel of water running along the edge of it, with water dripping into it from a bamboo pipe. It was OK, but it might get irritating after a while. Not all the rooms have this though.

After your treatment, there is also a room where you can sit and relax. This has a view over the mountains and they will bring you drinks.


The food
Breakfast is served in La Pergola restaurant, by the swimming pool. It is a continental buffet breakfast. They do have a neat machine where you put the oranges in the top and it squishes them for you and the juice comes out the bottom.

You can also get lunch in La Pergola restaurant. It serves light lunches, like grill food and salads. I had pesto pasta, which was really nice.

The hotel also has a Michelin starred restaurant. The menus here are not very flexible - there are a variety of set menus to choose from, such as the fruits of the sea menu or the meat lovers menu. Sadly there wasn't a vegetarian menu, and I am one. The set menus are over 100 Euros. I ended up having the same meal both times we ate there - a starter of asparagus, main course of risotto. I did have different desserts - a chocolate one and a fruit one. The food was excellent, but I was disappointed by the lack of variety. My partner thought the food was great - he eats meat though. There was one nasty moment in one of the in-between courses though, when he ended up with a large piece of glass in his mouth which had been in the melon sorbet. Wine starts at about £60 a bottle.


Le Mas Candille is a lovely hotel. It has some nice facilities and a lovely setting. It did feel a bit "posh" for us though. It is definitely not a hotel for children either - there are no facilities at all for them.

Summary: If you fancy a relaxing break in the South of France, and have deep pockets, try Le Mas Candille