Inside My Stay at the #1 Resort in France, Where Celebs and ITK Fashion People Go to Unplug

Welcome to Fashion's Finest Stays, a travel series where we lend our fashion-editor POV to the world of hospitality. Here, we'll give you exclusive insider access to the world's most renowned hotels and resorts, uncovering every detail you'd ever want to know before you book.

Of all the celebrity-adored hotels in the world, the first that likely come to mind are the buzzy names widely known to be hot spots where the A-list crowd descends. Then there are the stays that fly almost completely under the radar, where it's more about achieving a sense of quiet and calm than it is about seeing or being seen. Crillon Le Brave is the very definition of the latter. Tucked discreetly into the Provençal hills in the South of France, the 17th- and 18th-century stone village-turned-hotel was named the number one resort in France in the Travel + Leisure 2025 World's Best Awards, and after spending three nights in May, I fully understand why.

If you haven't heard of it before, well, that's kind of the point. The hotel, which is a cluster of honey-stone village houses turned into a five-star hideaway, is the spot where fashion insiders, actors, Formula One drivers, and royalty alike go when they want to disappear for a few days. There's no "see and be seen" atmosphere—just centuries-old architecture, incredibly local food and wine, and panoramic views of Mont Ventoux.

Here, see inside my Crillon Le Brave experience and what makes the South of France hotel one of the fashion crowd's most wish-listed spots.

I first came to know about Crillon Le Brave via Jenny Walton and have had it bookmarked as a wish-list stay ever since. Images of its slim rectangular pool framed by tall, slender cypress trees make up the iconic imagery the hotel is most known for. Over the years, famous guests have included everyone from F1 drivers and British royals to A-list actors. (Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas apparently spent a few nights at the hotel during their South of France wedding celebrations.) Its owners are the family-run hospitality group Maisons Pariente with just three (soon to be four) other hotels around France, including the fashion insider–beloved Parisian destination Le Grand Mazarin.

Following a major renovation, the hotel reopened this April, unveiling an expansion of the guest rooms. The update added three restored historic houses—including 10 new rooms and suites, bringing the total to 26 rooms and 17 suites—a fully renewed spa, a second adults-only pool, and a new culinary space for hosting cooking lessons and other events.

What makes Crillon Le Brave so special and so unlike anywhere else I've stayed is its location. It's not that the hotel is situated in a charming town in the foothills of Provence, which would have already been a major draw in itself. It's the fact that the hotel is completely intertwined with the hilltop village, and it's hard to distinguish where one ends and the other begins. Walking from your room to breakfast, for instance, means meandering through the cobblestone "streets" and underneath curved archways. The entire experience had me feeling less like a hotel guest and more like a proper resident of the village. The architecture and design take care to incorporate original details wherever possible, revealing hidden clues and corners of the village's 17th-century origins. My favorite example of this was in my bathroom, where a small window was built right into the wall of the shower, revealing a sweeping view of the valley below. Talk about special.

There is farm-to-table dining, and then there's the menu at Crillon Le Brave. The restaurant on the property adheres to Écotable, which is France's leading sustainable restaurant rating, and it comes with stringent standards for short supply chains, seasonal menus, and at least 15% of products being organic. It poses a creative challenge for the kitchen—if it's not in season or can only be sourced from a distance, it won't be available—but it also means that everything that landed on my plate was remarkably fresh and creative.

While I could have easily passed several days without ever feeling the need to leave the property, its location offers an abundance of excursions and experiences that you can't find elsewhere. I left twice—once to explore the local market in the town of Bédoin just 10 minutes away and a second time for a vineyard tour and wine tasting at Chêne Bleu. If you're into cycling, I noticed a few guests taking the opportunity to bike along a route that makes up part of the Tour de France.

The 2026 updates include the newly unveiled Maison Tilleul, a space that's dedicated to events like cooking classes and workshops. I took a cooking class with the lead chef Thomas and learned how to make a few dishes that are very typical of the region. The space will also be used to host retreats, kicking off with Crillon Le Brave's very first culinary retreat held by photographer and cookbook author Chloé Crane-Leroux alongside her mother and coauthor, ceramicist Trudy Crane, this October, bringing the seasonal, plant-based sensibility that runs through their cookbook, The Artful Way to Plant-Based Cooking.

While I'd say the pool is, naturally, the main event at Crillon Le Brave, the spa was a close competitor, and I was grateful to be among the first to experience it after a major facelift. Upstairs, treatment rooms for massages and facials utilize Tata Harper products, and downstairs, it's all about the contrast therapy. Hot and cold plunge pools are set inside a literal stone cave, and a few steps up are a sauna and steam room to rotate between.

While a stunning view and great food drew me to the property, all the smaller details and thoughtful touches made a lasting impact on my experience. Every night, I would come back to my room after dinner to find a little treat sitting on my bedside table. It was always something new and different and was accompanied by a note card with a line of poetry. Small gestures, like the custom luggage tag affixed to my suitcase and a small pouch of local dried lavender, made my stay feel incredibly personal.

Since the surroundings were very rustic, I wanted my wardrobe to reflect that laid-back, effortlessly cool French energy. I packed airy maxi dresses from Almina Concept and Dissh, which I layered with my favorite Sézane trench coat since the weather was still on the crisp side during my visit in mid-May. For shoes, a pair of sleek flat sandals and polished ballet flats made for the ideal outfit finishers, as the vibe here was more casual than dressed up. As for a handbag, I felt very local carrying my Liffner striped basket tote to shop the markets and lounge by the pool.