In short… Located in the town of the same name, and overlooking the vineyards of the Vaucluse, Crillon Le Brave feels more like its own secret Provençal village than a typical 5-star hotel.
The backstory…. The centuries-old town of Crillon Le Brave was originally a fortified village that had been almost completely abandoned by the mid-20th century, The hotel began to take shape in the late 1980s when Peter Chittick, who was leading local cycling tours for Butterfield and Robinson at the time, discovered the village and began buying and stitching together the empty 18th-century stone houses into one property. In 2018, Chittick sold to family-owned Maison Pariente, and sisters Kimberley Cohen and Lesley Kouhana transformed Crillon Le Brave, with help from Parisien-based architect and designer Charles Zana, from an 11-room lodge catering mostly to cyclists into a luxury, 5-star property. They oversaw another renovation in 2025, which added three new buildings with nine additional suites, a second swimming pool, an expanded spa, and a gorgeous kitchen for culinary workshops.
The vibe… A charming maze of 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, cobblestone lanes and secret passageways that make walking to your room feel more like wandering around a medieval village that happens to have stunning views of Mont Ventoux on one side and the terracotta-tiled roofs of the village on the other. The result is wonderfully un-hotel-like. You might pass through a little courtyard, climb a staircase, duck beneath an archway, and suddenly find yourself in front of the swimming pool, on another hidden terrace, or walking past the kitchen’s herb garden.
The rooms… With its recent expansion, the property now has 43 rooms and suites across 12 buildings, with most retaining features of the original houses—exposed beams, stone walls and terracotta floors. The decor includes antique furniture sourced from Paris and custom rugs by Édition 1.6.9. My room had a terrace overlooking the village and a charmingly quirky curved hallway leading to the very spacious bathroom, which included Diptyque products in the shower, a fantastic clothes steamer, and a 19th-century framed botanical specimen print above the tub. A calendar of daily, local markets was thoughtfully included on the desk.
The food & drink… La Table du Ventoux is the hotel’s signature restaurant, where the view of the surrounding vineyards and, of course, Mont Ventoux, is unmatched, especially from the panoramic terrace. Chef Thomas Lesage’s menu focuses on local, seasonal ingredients (what else would you want in Provence?) including poultry from Mazan, rice from the Camargue, and strawberries from Carpentras. We arrived on a Sunday morning to a mix of guests and locals enjoying the hotel’s notable brunch buffet, and I have to give a shout to the Mediterranean-spiced, roasted carrots with Ventoux chickpeas that I loved so much I ordered it for dinner two nights in a row.
The dining room is very Provencal-chic, with wooden tables and woven chairs, but my favorite feature is the layers of framed photographs and paintings along the back of the long banquet. While the Pariente family are known collectors and art features prominently in all of their hotels, I was still slightly shocked to spot a Picasso hanging casually, unmarked, next to a corner table.
The cozy bar, housed in one of the property’s oldest buildings, serves drinks and casual bites and features vaulted ceilings, deep, comfortable sofas and a large fireplace—my dream location for a private dinner with friends.
The wellness…The Spa des Écuries is tucked into the former 18th-century village stables, and offers treatment rooms, a hammam, sauna, and the most magical, subterranean hot and cold plunge pools that sit beneath the historic buildings’ vaulted stone ceiling. Equally charming is the gym, which is housed in the former village church and was an ideal setting for the excellent breathwork class that the hotel arranged for our group. The two outdoor pools (one strictly for adults) are heated all season.
Extra tip goes to… The driver who graciously picked up the hotel bicycles we borrowed to ride down to the local market, only to realize on the extremely steep downhill that there was no way we were making it back up! (Yes, they have e-bikes, but they had all been taken out for the day.)
Be sure to… Ask to take a ride in the hotel’s cornflower-blue Moke!
Date of stay… May 9-12, 2026
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