Hôtel Crillon le Brave Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

On a fine summer’s day in 1988, Canadian Peter Chittick and his girlfriend, Carolyn Fairbairn (today she’s his wife), were doing what all travelers do in Provence – exploring this magnificent French region’s charming villages. Wandering in Crillon le Brave, an ancient hamlet of stone houses on a hill north of Avignon, they came across a handsome old stone mansion that belonged to a Parisian family and immediately thought that it might be converted into a very special hotel. They bought the house, and the Hôtel Crillon le Brave opened in 1989. Soon afterward, I made my first visit, and this delightful property became one of my favorite hotels in the south of France, as its framed copy of the December 1997 Hideaway Report announcing that the hotel had won a Grand Award attests.

Through the years, Chittick and his associates have continuously improved and expanded the hotel, which today occupies several houses that have been ingeniously linked to form a beautiful and exceptionally peaceful village-within-a-village, with stunning views of Mont Ventoux on the horizon from the terrace restaurant and small pool. What hasn’t changed is that this property remains a warm, friendly Provençal auberge that visually captures the region’s charm – with details such as tomette (terra-cotta tile) floors, painted wooden furniture and soothing color schemes of dove gray, white, moss green and lavender, depending on the room – without making a pastiche of it.

With the arrival of a dynamic new general manager, Sébastien Pilat, who formerly ran the Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de La Celle, the hotel is celebrating its 25th anniversary in ways that make it a more appealing destination than ever. Two new suites will open in May; plans have been drawn up to create a small spa and add an open-air Jacuzzi near the pool; and a talented new chef, Jérôme Blanchet, has taken over the hotel’s kitchens. Blanchet, who was most recently sous-chef at Le Chantecler restaurant of Le Negresco in Nice, offers sophisticated contemporary Provençal dishes such as foie gras with almonds and a gelée of peach and lemon verbena, and roasted John Dory with local black figs, eggplant tartare and a garnish of caper and lemon.

The hotel has an excellent wine cellar that showcases bottles from the surrounding region and the south of France, but visitors this year should not miss the superb 25th anniversary rosé produced exclusively for the hotel by the Domaine du Tix in the nearby town of Mormoiron. A blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah, it’s a charming wine that makes for perfect warm-weather drinking.