'Le Mas Candille'... what's that about? It's an elegantly converted eighteenth-century farmhouse hotel, open for its first season. 'Candille' refers to a host of cypress trees all deliciously topiarized to look like Roman candles. Anyway, it's a place for utter seclusion and peace. You know, it doesn't get much louder than the sound of the ice melting in your gin and tonic.
Where is all this then? Mougins, a hilltop medieval village a handy 20 minutes from Nice airport and seven kilometres from Cannes. There are wonderful views of the pre-Alpes, and dense canopies of greenery, which is a bit of a surprise since you expect the sun to fry-dry the vegetation in summer.
So what's the vibe? The farmhouse, as it's referred to - although it's more of a stately home - has a couple of pools and a Jacuzzi, all with great views and direct access to bars. And for the summer they're just putting the finishing touches to a 'Zen' Shisedo spa set in a Japanese garden, which you'd need at least a week to rebirth through. The service is discreet but on the button. Quite literally sometimes.
What about the sleeping arrangements... are you sleeping in stalls? Come off it. There are around 40 rooms, more like suites, with private terraces, each individually decorated with antiques, wallhangings, paintings... the detail throughout is impressive. The ambience makes you feel you're staying in an extremely rich chum's house as opposed to one of those rather detached luxury hotels. The risk is that you could easily outstay your credit card's welcome. Difficult to fault, though... you sleep like a baby and dream of the next meal.
Which is? On the poolside terrace restaurant there are bowls of picked red berries, a fresh bucket of croissants, pots of coffee plus an array of the latest newspapers. But the real mustard, the grand fromage, is the superb Restaurant Candille, an absolute assault on the taste buds.Tatin de foie gras with Armagnac essence, roast wild duck with tandoori spices, Swiss chard cake and caramelised mango... totally creative and surprisingly light. The chef is the top-rated Serge Gouloumes, and the restaurant has scored 16/20 in the prestigious Gault Millau Guide. And Mougins itself is stuffed with great eateries.
And if you don't want to just lie around watching the flesh, what is there to do? It's certainly not all about the burning bodies, sunfactor and seafood. There's culture coming out of every medieval village, coastal and mountain. A few highlights are the Picasso museum in Antibes and the Foundation Maeght in St Paul de Vence, a great modern collection, full of Giacometti and Modigliani. And Grasse (the home of French perfume) is round the corner. The list is endless. This is the Riviera after all.
· Hotel Le Mas Candille, Boulevard Clément Rebuffel, 06250 Mougins, France. 00 33 492 284343. Doubles from £284. Bookings can be made through the Flexi Group Riviera Collection, which organises individually-packaged holidays to the south of France. For Riviera Collection reservations call 0870 9090 754, or email: reservations@rivieracollection.com.
