La Bastide De Cabries

A real quiet place outside Marseille, perfect for a night. The hotel is fairly basic but the rooms are comfortable, clean, and the staff really nice. They made a lovely dinner for me. Wifi is working perfectly also. The surrounding area is so quiet... I slept through the night no problems.

Quiet, comfortable, good breakfast, wonderful patio, very nice and helpful owners. Fountains in the courtyard and the trees and vines made the terrace a great place to have an informal dinner and enjoy the peaceful French countryside.

Lovely hotel conveniently located between Aix en Provence and Marseille with a TGV station at your back door and MRS airport 20 minutes drive away. It is set in amongst a very quiet residential area near to the main road connecting Aix to Marseille, which if it weren't for the signs on the road as you approach the hotel you probably wouldn't even know it was there. It certainly gives it a very private and exclusive feel. The hotel itself was once an old tea house, and the other historical facts associated with it make it very interesting but I won't give any spoilers away. The hotel is small but charming, there is a beautiful garden and courtyard which you walk through on arrival and the owners/employees are very friendly and a good source of information. The service from the gentleman who worked there when we stayed was excellent. The room we stayed in was comfortable, a little bit small and lacked in storage space (we had to share the wardrobe and drawers) but it was decorated to a satisfactory modern standard whilst retaining the old/historic feel to the property. Shower facilities were excellent, one of the better showers you get in hotels i.e. not a dribbler...if that makes sense. Bed is comfortable, in fact I slept better in this bed than I did in the Marseille Sofitel we stayed in which says a lot, but I suppose beds are a personal preference and this is a nice firm one. Being woken by the sound of birdsong each morning was lovely. We didn't try out the restaurant unfortunately as well we've never been one to dine in the same place we stay (slightly boring) and enjoy exploring the local area, feasting on local produce where we can find it. However it appears to have numerous accolades and awards associated, certainly priced at the high end of the evening meal spectrum but I'm sure its lovely all the same. Breakfast was served in the continental style out in the courtyard and consisted of fresh fruit, yoghurt, bread assortment, orange juice and tea/coffee. After the 4th day we were craving a bacon roll or some meat but this is available I believe for an extra supplement. So down to the negative points...well there isn't much really. However what you should be made aware of is that to stay in this hotel a car is ESSENTIAL, if you don't drive or aren't hiring a car don't bother! I'd imagine you would feel pretty isolated should you need to rely on taxi, which apparently have to be booked the day before you want to go anywhere.... The only negative we found to hiring a car whilst on holiday and being in a rural location was that together we couldn't have a drink with our evening meal or have a few drinks in town being conscious of us having to drive back at night. We knew what we were getting into when we stayed here and it didn't spoil our holiday at all but it certainly had an impact on our enjoyment. This was our first visit to Southern France so we chose this location based on where it was and convenience to road/rail links etc. We certainly made use of that, visited Aix most evenings and pretty much covered the whole of Eastern Provence and saw lots. We had heard and read horror stories about driving in the likes of Marseille and Aix, (very misleading, its challenging but not as bad as the guidebooks make out - SAT NAV helped), which is why we avoided staying in town and opted for a rural location for the first time. This hotel feels more like the sort of place you'd stay at for a quiet weekend away, there isn't really anywhere to lounge and it isn't a place for sunbathing, own transport arrangements are essential. However if you enjoy the freedom of exploring and seeing an area without the rigidness of coach tours and excursions, and don't want to stay in the city, then this would be an excellent hotel to consider.