A very beautiful old house, in a charming village. a special service offered by Patrick and Menelick. Calm music, candles in the night, a small bassin for those who would like to refresh a little bit. And an excellent breakfast ...
All that in one of the most beautiful regions in France, 4 km from Uzes, 25 km to the swim in la Cèze, 4o km to Avignon.
Just try it, and you will be a new fan!

This hotel is a quiet, calm and tranquil place. It is for relaxing and unwinding. It is not for laid on entertainment or on site facilities. There is no restaurant. There is no bar. There is not a lot really.....and that is the whole point. What they have got is subtle and not like a hotel more like an escape.
Huge wooden doors open in to a dark stone room with slight smell of incense and the faint sound of classical music. Off this room runs the old stone stairs to the hotel rooms. We stayed in the Rose room, which was lovely.
A lovely courtyard garden with day beds and a plunge pool are all you need to escape. We ate at 2 recommended restaurants and were not disappointed (apart from rather expensive taxis), Lisa M being worth a special mention for its amazing gastronomic experience and setting.

What to say about Monte Arena....if what makes a good hotel for you is 24 hour concierge, room service, mini-bars and satellite tvs then stop reading now, Monte Arena is not for you....and you wouldnt appreiciate it anyway.

If however, you crave beautifully designed, luxuriously styled and elegant accomodation then look no further, Monte Arena is what you have been dreaming about.

Set just outside the perfect provencial town of Uzes (with lots of great restaurants, sights to see and cafes to relax in) and in a perfect spot to explore Provence, Monte Arena is a stylists delight, all the rooms are spacious and have been individually designed to perfection - this isnt like staying in a uniform, standard hotel room, this is like staying in an indivually created and loved suite where the furnishings have had time, care and attention made of them.

The atmosphere is relaxed, welcoming but not too intrusive and you can get a good run of the house with a beautful little garden with an area to eat, an area to relax and a lovely plunge pool to cool off in. The siamese cats are lovely too.

We stayed just 3 nights and wish'd we had stayed longer. To be honest they could charge 3x the price and it would still be worth it when compared to most of the overpriced hotels you get in the area. This is a perfect little hidden gem, and it would be selfish not to share it with everyone...

A perfect getaway....

First of all, this is a boutique B&B and I would definitely go back. My husband and I booked this short break (we stayed here for 3 nights) for our anniversary and the expectations raised on their website and Mr and Mrs Smith were most certainly fulfilled. What an absolute gem. I should also add I'm a very discerning traveller.

Rooms
+ interior design was like straight out of Elle Decoration. I was in awe, so much, that I actually tried to recreate some of it at home. Sadly, without much success. Lots of antiques, cluttered together in a tasteful way. Fantastic use of colour. All very romantic. Good room temperature (it was very warm outside but I suppose the stone walls keep the room cool).
- we booked the "green room" which didn't have a proper bathroom and most importantly, toilet. Shower and toilet were down one flight of stairs. And I was 3 months pregnant which meant several trips during the night down a dark staircase, which wasn't great. Still - I knew the room didn't have a bathroom when I booked it (and this is reflected in the price) - so I cannot fault them for it.

B&B / building
+ Difficult to describe how incredibly romantic this place is. Example: when we got back at night, all the lights were dimmed, there were candles everywhere (leading up the stone staircase), and there was an ipod playing soothing piano music. It's an old monastery, which I think the two guys inherited. They have created an oasis of calm, style and romance, from the lounge seats in the secluded, private garden to the cool stone vaults filled with candles, greenery and nice scents.

Breakfast
+ loved it, different kinds of bread and jam. (I don't like and never eat "British" cooked breakfast.) Yoghurts, fruits, orange juice and coffee.

Hosts
+ As other reviewers have remarked, incredibly attentive hosts. They recommended places to go, made bookings for dinner in Uzes for us and took a genuine interest in our travel plans. Above all, still managed to be discreet.

Uzes
+ romantic medieval town. Granted the selection of restaurants could be better, after three days we had pretty much run out of options. However the market place is so typically South of France that it felt like walking in a novel. Lots of history and culture to see in vicinity: lots of roman artifacts.

Definitely a short break success. With Ryanair flights into Marseille (and cheap car rental) I can see myself going back.... hopefully soon.