Hotel Review: Hôtel Crillon le Brave
Overall: *****9/10
Food: *****9/10
Design: *****9/10
Service: ******10/10
Setting:***** 10/10
Value: ****8/10
Unlike many Provencal hotels, Crillon le Brave hotel is the village. The Hôtel Crillon le Brave occupies a cluster of 17th and 18th-century sandstone buildings gathered around the village church at the top of a Provençal hill, connected by cobbled courtyards and narrow alleyways. The handful of private homes that still exist here share their village with one of the most quietly extraordinary hotels in France. If you are looking for the beating heart of Provence — the version that exists in the imagination before you ever go — this is probably the closest you will find it.
We stayed here as part of a Provence double bill, combining it with La Bastide de Gordes a short drive away. They make for a natural pairing: La Bastide grand and historic, Crillon le Brave intimate and deeply personal. Between them they cover everything Provence does best. And be sure to read our full article for best boutique hotels in the south of France.
The Setting
Crillon le Brave sits at the foot of Mont Ventoux, the famous bare-summit mountain that has defined this corner of the Vaucluse for centuries. The views from the hotel’s terraces and pool stretch across vineyards and olive groves toward the mountain in a way that stops you mid-sentence. Sunrise and sunset here are events. The light in Provence is not a cliché — it is genuinely different, and from the terrace at Crillon le Brave you understand completely why painters have been coming to this region for two centuries.
The village itself is tiny — far smaller than Gordes, which sits about 20 minutes away. This is worth knowing before you arrive. There is not a village square full of boutiques and cafés to wander through at your leisure. What there is, instead, is the hotel itself — its courtyards, its gardens, its terraces, its herb garden, the pink roses climbing the stone walls — and the surrounding countryside, which is extraordinary and best explored on two wheels.
The Rooms
The 16 rooms and 18 suites occupy the original buildings of the village, each one shaped by the architecture it inherited — wooden beams, ancient terracotta floors, wrought iron details, antique furniture, the kind of thick stone walls that keep rooms cool even in August. No two rooms are identical. The ones facing Mont Ventoux are the ones to request — the views are spectacular and they justify the premium without hesitation.
The property has the feel of a private house that has been extraordinarily well looked after over several generations. Nothing feels designed for Instagram. Everything feels chosen for the people actually staying there.
The Food
Excellent — and the kitchen’s relationship with the surrounding countryside is genuine rather than decorative. La Table du Ventoux, the main restaurant, serves food that tastes of Provence in the most literal sense: herbs from the hotel’s own garden, local producers, seasonal ingredients handled with skill and confidence. Breakfast on the terrace, with the morning light on Mont Ventoux and a buffet that leans heavily into the region’s best products, is one of the better ways to start a day anywhere in France.
The restaurants were a highlight of the stay — genuinely so, not as a polite concession to the kitchen. The food matched the setting, which at a hotel this beautiful is not always guaranteed.
What To Do
The honest caveat about Crillon le Brave is that the village itself offers less to walk to than Gordes or many other Provençal towns. This is not a problem if you approach it correctly — which means borrowing bikes from the hotel and riding out into the surrounding countryside.
We did exactly this, pedaling through the vineyards below the village on roads that see almost no traffic, past winemakers and lavender fields and the kind of scenery that makes you feel slightly guilty for how beautiful it is. It is one of the better afternoon activities we have done anywhere in France. The hotel can also arrange vineyard visits, guided hikes toward Mont Ventoux, hot air balloon rides over the Luberon, and day trips to the remarkable markets and villages of the Vaucluse. Gordes, the Abbey of Sénanque, and the lavender fields of the Luberon are all within easy reach.
The point of Crillon le Brave is not what surrounds the village. It is the village itself, the hotel it has become, and the quality of doing very little in an extraordinarily beautiful place.
The Service
The warmest of any hotel on this particular trip, including La Bastide de Gordes. The staff at Crillon le Brave have a quality that is genuinely rare at this level — they are helpful without being performative, warm without being intrusive, and engaged in a way that feels personal rather than trained. Recommendations for local restaurants were specific and accurate. Requests were handled without ceremony. The general managers Guy and Dagmar Lombard are present and genuinely invested in the experience their guests are having.
This is a hotel run by people who care about it, and you feel that in every interaction.
Pairing With La Bastide de Gordes
We did three nights at each and the combination was close to the ideal Provence itinerary. La Bastide for grandeur, history, and the drama of one of France’s most celebrated hilltop villages. Crillon le Brave for intimacy, warmth, and the feeling of actually living inside the Provence countryside rather than looking at it from a terrace.
The two hotels are about 20 minutes apart by car. If you are planning a Provence trip and can afford both, the pairing is worth planning around.
The Honest Caveats
The village is very small. If you want to be able to walk to shops, markets, multiple restaurant options, and general village life, Gordes or other larger Provençal towns will suit you better. Crillon le Brave rewards guests who want to be in the countryside, not guests who want to be in a town.
Request a Mont Ventoux-facing room. The village-facing rooms are lovely. The mountain views are transformative. At this price point the upgrade is worth it.
The Bottom Line
Hôtel Crillon le Brave is one of those rare properties where the experience consistently exceeds expectations that are already high. The setting is extraordinary, the food is excellent, the service is among the warmest we have encountered at any luxury hotel in France, and the combination of village intimacy and Provençal countryside puts it in a category of its own. It is not La Bastide de Gordes — it is smaller, quieter, less grand, and less formal. It is also, in its own way, just as memorable.
Best for: Couples and families seeking an intimate, deeply Provençal experience. Anyone who wants to cycle through vineyards, eat extraordinarily well, and do very little in one of the most beautiful corners of France.
Not ideal for: Guests who want a bustling village on their doorstep or extensive on-site facilities.
Rates from: approximately $400/night