I need to get away, the better to return. Ideally somewhere in the sun, behind ancient stone walls, with a phone on airplane mode and someone else in charge of breakfast.
Destination: Nice, and the Hôtel du Couvent.
Housed in a former convent overlooking the old town, the hotel’s 88 rooms and suites seriously cultivate the art of having nothing to do. A hectare of terraced gardens cascades down toward the Mediterranean, complete with a kitchen garden, an herbalist, and a twenty-meter lap pool. Bread is kneaded and baked on-site, while a farm in the Nice backcountry supplies the kitchens with fresh fruit, vegetables, and eggs.
Yet the finest excuse to cancel the day’s plans lies underground. Inspired by the ancient Roman baths of Cimiez, the Thermes du Couvent offer their own Roman ritual: tepidarium, caldarium, frigidarium, a grand pool, and treatments, alongside a studio dedicated to movement, from Pilates to meditation.
One could easily venture out. Stroll down to the Cours Saleya, swim in the Mediterranean, visit Matisse or Chagall, dine somewhere in the old town. Everything is just a short walk away.
But between a lunch at the Guinguette in the heart of the kitchen garden, a few laps in the pool, a ritual in the baths, and a nightcap in the cloister, a question inevitably arises: was it ever really necessary to leave the convent?
Taste
Old Nice · Monastic chic · Roman baths · Mediterranean gardens · Long lunches · Quiet luxury · Disappearing for the weekend
