Le Clos Du Buis — Hotel in Apt

Bonnieux is a medieval hilltop village in the Luberon valley of Provence. You wouldn't expect, or want, a hotel there.||Some visitors pay for private accommodation in the narrow streets that wind up the hill to the pinnacle of the old church. We stayed at Le Clos du Buis.||It's bed and breakfast, if you like, but so much more.||We had the aptly titled Luberon room which had a terrace with views on three sides. We looked out on the garden and the pool but, crucially, across to the other side of the valley and another medieval hilltop village, Lacoste, at the top of which stands the ruined chateau of the notorious Marquis de Sade.||The excesses of the 18th century libertine were such that he was banged up in the Bastille. He gave his name to the noun sadism - deriving sexual gratification from inflicting pain on others. ||I guess I wouldn't fancy going to any of his chateau parties.||The Luberon room was, to my mind, the best in the house. Apart from the views it had a spacious walk-in shower - not always a given with accommodation in France.||The basis of breakfast was a range of breads, cheeses and ham.||Le Clos is at the lower end of the village, near to restaurants and a bar. One of the restaurants, L'Arome, is in the Michelin guide and features a 14th century vaulted dining area.||The village is a great jumping off point, not just for the beautiful Luberon valley but for trips to the Cezanne-famed town of Aix-en-Provence and the walled city of Avignon, with its famous bridge and Palais des Papes, where in the 14th century a papacy to rival Rome was set up by dissident clerics.||The Luberon, Bonnieux and Le Clos gave us a memorable holiday. My only regret is that I didn't get to meet the great John Malkovich, an actor whose calling card is subtlety and who has a house there.||How cool is that? And what...

Bonnieux is a medieval hilltop village in the Luberon valley of Provence. You wouldn't expect, or want, a hotel there.||Some visitors pay for private accommodation in the narrow streets that wind up the hill to the pinnacle of the old church. We stayed at Le Clos du Buis.||It's bed and breakfast, if you like, but so much more.||We had the aptly titled Luberon room which had a terrace with views on three sides. We looked out on the garden and the pool but, crucially, across to the other side of the valley and another medieval hilltop village, Lacoste, at the top of which stands the ruined chateau of the notorious Marquis de Sade.||The excesses of the 18th century libertine were such that he was banged up in the Bastille. He gave his name to the noun sadism - deriving sexual gratification from inflicting pain on others. ||I guess I wouldn't fancy going to any of his chateau parties.||The Luberon room was, to my mind, the best in the house. Apart from the views it had a spacious walk-in shower - not always a given with accommodation in France.||The basis of breakfast was a range of breads, cheeses and ham.||Le Clos is at the lower end of the village, near to restaurants and a bar. One of the restaurants, L'Arome, is in the Michelin guide and features a 14th century vaulted dining area.||The village is a great jumping off point, not just for the beautiful Luberon valley but for trips to the Cezanne-famed town of Aix-en-Provence and the walled city of Avignon, with its famous bridge and Palais des Papes, where in the 14th century a papacy to rival Rome was set up by dissident clerics.||The Luberon, Bonnieux and Le Clos gave us a memorable holiday. My only regret is that I didn't get to meet the great John Malkovich, an actor whose calling card is subtlety and who has a house there.||How cool is that? And what...

We stayed there for a family holiday in August. The place is lovely and has a beautiful garden, and pool. Breakfast is also good. However, the owners made us quite uncomfortable. We were offered just one key, which led to situations we were locked out of the building as no standing receptionist was on duty (on one occasion owner opened clearly annoyed and said he is now leaving and the house will be empty, so need to organise ourselves better with the key). On the day of the check out, the owner came at 9.45 (while we were having family breakfast) and said the check-out is at 11 sharp and we can’t be late, making us quite stressed. It culminated with the rather strange situation around payment - while an email from the property was sent 2 months earlier that half of the amount was charged and paid, the owner insisted that she never received it and we were made to pay the full amount on the day of the departure. For the price the hotel is charging, I would expect a more polite and flexible approach to guests, not to mention better clarity...