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Hostellerie Les Frênes****, nr. Avignon, Southern France.
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A marvelous and purely French country place to stay 15 minutes from Avignon.
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Peter and Linda D'Aprix 2007
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The serene delight of Hostellerie Les Frênes in the quiet outskirts of Avignon just 15 to 20 minutes from the city. It is a wonderful place to stay while touring the Papal City or visiting the nearby Luberon region or just enjoying a quiet time to de-stress, lie by the pool and pamper yourself. It is a truly enchanting spot set in a lovely private park in the shade of towering plain trees many over two hundred years old.
It is also such a pleasure to find the beauty and charm of a traditional French country hotel with the growth of so many modern establishments that could be anywhere in the world, no matter how luxurious. As you drive through the sweeping gravel driveway, you are met by a stately sun bleached Napoleon-style villa built in 1800. There is even a full villa at the bottom of the garden that can be reserved on an exclusive basis.
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Outside jacuzzi with the pool in the back ground.
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Front view of Les Frenes as you enter the grounds.
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The villa at the bottom of the garden.
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Peter D'Aprix © 2007
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All of the fourteen rooms and six suites (two of which have two bedrooms) are spacious and feature the soft and welcoming colors of Provence and old world ambience with period family heirloom furniture coupled with today's modern facilities. You know you are in France! All rooms and suites have luxurious adjoining bathrooms with exceptional facilities such as private Jacuzzis. They are also feature all the modern technological necessities of todays world including air conditioning, Wi-Fi for the vacationing executive who still has to be connected to the office 24/7, wide screen plasma TV, satellite with CNN, French, German, Italian, English and other channels, DVD player and a stock of DVDs to watch. Did we mention a well stocked mini-bar?
If you are traveling with your family, they also have several Provençal residences. These are also perfect for business groups seeking a location with few distractions other than peace and quiet to get down to work or for traveling groups to have a place to gather and go over the day's activities. There was one such group from England touring the wine regions of the delta and having a great time doing it, comparing notes and arguing the relative merits of one winery over another requiring additional tastings and much enjoyment.
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Chef Olivier Charlet (bottom right) and his 2nd (top left).
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Pea soup with whole peas, basil and small balls of Bourade (local fish).
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Dessert of candied and baked cherry tomato flavored with anis coupled with a sorbet of rosemary.
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Main course of Magret de Canard with mandarin sauce served with line of lightly steamed spinach and beet greens.
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Great way to start a meal - a strip of fannel with a thyme sorbet at the end, "tile" of rocket lettuce mousse with trig of deep fried parsley and half baby artichoke stuffed with goat cheese and mini-cubes of pimento.
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Excellent coffee in a novel cup with molded in spoon rest which doubles as the handle.
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It is also one of the few hotels in France that has mosquito screens on the windows! A blessing indeed during the summer bug season when so many delightful summer events take place in and around Les Frênes that last into October. There are garden parties on sundays, yoga classes on Wednesdays and special dinners featuring both jazz and Blues concerts. For those who want to keep up their muscle tone, there is a complete air-conditioned fitness room offering professional equipment for muscle and cardio training at the back of the pool with French doors that give a lovely view of the pool and park as you work off last night's dinner on one of the many exercise machines. Afterwards, the lovely pool offers relaxation in the sun while the outdoor heated Jacuzzi works out the kinks from muscles and tension of the mind or you can do the same in the Sauna.
Three 18-holes golf courses, horseback riding, bicycle rental, tennis club and fishing areas are all located at a few minutes distance of the hotel.
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One of several alleys of trees that grace the property.
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Back view of Les Frenes with the 2nd floor terrace for the rooms in the main building, then with the "al fresco" dining terrace in the foreground..
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The fitness center with yoga mats as well and a view out over the pool.
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One of the many stone statuaries. This of a cherub.
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The interior dining room decorated in a modern style at odds with the rest of the establishment.
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Shallow wading pool for kids in the foreground with the main pool behind and the "villas" behind in the distance.
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In warm weather, the lovely gravel terrace provides a tree dappled shady area to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. In less hospitable weather there is a dining room that to our taste is a bit grim painted as it is in a dark grey and muted colors which does act to accentuate the brilliant colors of the paintings, but makes a glooming ambience in which to enjoy meals. We were fortunate to be provided lovely weather for all our meals so the dining terrace was our gastronomic arena of choice. In the evening, soccer ball sized globes sitting on the grassy verges provided soft and romantic lighting.
Restaurant "Le Jardin des Frênes" offers a modern take on Provençal and Mediterranean cuisine using the finest and freshest local ingredients. Chef Olivier Charlet is both creative and innovative. We actually enjoyed his simple but immaculate lunch more than the more exotic dinner. With the warm sun dappling out heads, we enjoyed the starter of creme of fresh pea soup with basilic and Morue (fish) which was a delicious balance of tastes. The Magret de Canard was also a favorite served with a reduced mandarine sauce and Polenta with Swiss Chard. The final light touch was a tomato confit with a rosemary sorbet which is hard to find even in Provence and always a delight.
Rooms:
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The sitting room of the a room over the bar with its own terrace overlooking the back garden.
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Another big bedroom in the original Napoleon era building.
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The lovely golden sitting room of a two bedroom suite in the Annex.
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The bedroom of the same two bedroom suite in the Annex.
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Hostellerie Les Frênes is a marvelous and purely French place to stay to either just relax or use as a center to explore the delta area of Provence easy to get to and from. A warm welcome is guaranteed especially since the beginning of 2007 when the it became a member of the Stein Group, had a face lift, new mangement and a warm welcome was hot wired in.
This hotel is open most but not all of the year.
Things to do:
To the North :
Some kilometers ahead you can admire the vineyard of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and through the Wine road, you can visit Orange and its Roman Theatre, before arriving to Vaison-la-Romaine and Mont Ventoux.
To the East :
You can visit L‘Isle sur la Sorgue, which is well known for the antiques market, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux, Ménerbes, are all close by.
To the South :
You can reach Camargue in an hour, driving through the Alpilles, Saint Rémy de Provence, Les Baux de Provence, le Moulin de Daudet and Arles.
To the West :
You can drive directly to Villeneuve les Avignon, then from the Pont du Gard. To Uzès, (the last Dukedom in France). You can attain Nîmes by driving along the shady country roads.
Avignon Airport at 5 Minutes from the Hotel and Marseille Provence Airport at 60 Minutes distance.
From Motorway A7: Exit Avignon Sud Take direction Avignon, take right at the 3rd round about. Exit N°8 Direction Montfavet. At the church, take right at the traffic light. At 700 meters way, “Les Frênes” is on the left side of the road.
From Motorway A9: Exit Avignon / Remoulins Take direction Avignon, then direction Aix-en-Provence Marseille Exit N°8 : direction Montfavet. At the church take right at the traffic light. At 700 meters way, “Les Frênes” is on the left side of the road behind a fence of stone block columns and black wrought iron fencing.
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