My fiancee and I were looking for a four star hotel in the Roussillon region of France, near the beach, for the end of August holiday weekend. We chose Roussillon because we wanted a French beach without all the crowds of the more popular locations, given the time of year. BUT, we also wanted a first-class experience. Not having much luck finding any four star or better hotels along the beach, we gambled on the year-old Chateau Valmy, a B&B in a Chateau on a working vineyard, and not in one of the beach towns.

The gamble paid off big. The Chateau was very modern in a smart way, fresh from a complete refurbishment. The facilities are few, but what should one expect from a five room B&B? The pool was very nice and had plenty of space to accommodate guests even at full capacity. The Chateau is also only a 5 minute drive from the beach, so we were actually much closer than we thought, but safely removed from beach-town kitsch and traffic. The Chateau is really quiet and set atop a small hill at the base of the Pyrenees and surrounded by trees and vineyards.

The best part of our experience was the owner, Martine, and her hospitality and recommendations. We checked-in Saturday evening (of the busiest weekend of the year) and asked for a dinner recommendation. 15 minutes later we were booked in what turned out to be one of the top tables at Neptune, the Michelin starred restaurant in Collioure, and the top restaurant in the Roussillon. Our table was literally out on a parapet hovering over the picturesque harbor.

The next day she gave us detailed directions to the best section of beach known only to locals, served by a wonderful beach cafe where the locals drank rose and sangria and ate mussels in their bathing suits right on the beach. It was a great recommendation.

She followed that up by sending us to a perfect bar that night, also on the beach, but back in the beach town near the Chateau.

Martine is fashionable, well-connected, yet very warm and hospitable to her guests. She is a natural hotelier!

Back to the Chateau. Our room was "Why Not", the cheapest room in the Chateau at 180 Euro/night, and the only one without a bath tub. Martine explained that her husband thought all the rooms should have a bath, but they couldn't fit one in the bathroom. Rather than not rent the room, they said, "why not". Other than the missing tub, the room was more than satisfactory: very modern decor--pictures hanging on the sloped walls and transluscent dressers--with a large flat screen TV and a window with views across the valley. It was a steal for 180 in a place like Valmy.

When we told Martine that we were interested in tasting her wine, she offered to open up the tasting room in the "cellars" just for us, and let us try all of Valmy's wines as we wished. I thought the Premier was wonderful and very well priced. We had a bottle of a different vintage at Neptune and both were superb.

In summary, the Roussillon area, and Argeles-sur-Mer and the whole of the Cote Vermielle are gems undiscovered to the anglo-american tourist class, as far as I can tell, which is reflected in the light crowds, traffic, and amazingly low prices. Layer two of undiscovered gems is Chateau Valmy. I suspect that if the owners don't give up the business, in a year or two their prices are going to skyrocket and booking for August won't be so easy. The top layer of undiscovered gems is Martine herself.

If Hemmingway were to vacation today, he'd head to the Roussillon and drink wine at Valmy.