New boutique hotel opens in the South of France

A new hotel in a 17th century convent in the heart of Hérépian, a village near Lamalou-les-Bains, the spa town in the Languedoc, has just opened, and serves as the ideal base to explore the Regional Park of the High Languedoc in the South of France.

Each of the large 13 suites of Le Couvent has been individually designed and beautifully furnished, and all have en-suite bathrooms and a small kitchen so you can cook the food you buy in the local markets. Many of the suites have south-facing terraces with views over the Monts d’Orb.

Le Couvent has old beams and flagstones where once nuns used to tread, together with a spa pool, refreshing in summer and heated in the winter. A treatment room is alongside, offering the latest beauty and anti-ageing secrets, including massages and facials, using local products such as lavender, honey and wine.

The breakfast area has vaulted ceilings, as does the small cellar bar, which will be ideal for early evening drinks and wine tastings. All rooms have internet access.

“The High Languedoc is one of the most beautiful and undiscovered places I have found in all my travels,” says Patrick Bacheiri, who will be running the hotel. He was formerly a director at Club Med.

Hérépian is a small but lively village with a number of good shops, restaurants and bars, including L’Ocre Rouge, one of the most popular restaurants in the Hérault, and Charcuterie Aninat, which featured in the Rick Stein television series on the Languedoc.

Many visitors will spend their days walking along the banks of the Orb River, or sipping pastis while they play boules under the 200-year-old plane trees with the locals.

Energetic types can play golf in Lamalou-les-Bains, less than five minutes away; visit the food markets in Bédarieux and Pézénas, walk or mountain bike in the Espinouse Mountains, fish in the Orb River or canoe down it to the stunning town of Roquebrun, play tennis and discover remote hideaways such as the small hamlet of Douch, a Resistance stronghold in the Second World War.

The Mediterranean Coast is within easy striking distance with its endless sandy beaches and oyster beds, as is Montpellier, recently dubbed France’s “most exciting city” by Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Carcassonne, the famous walled city, the Canal du Midi, Narbonne, the first settlement of the Roman Empire, and Perpignan, the capital of French Catalonia.

The Languedoc is France’s oldest and most varied wine region. Guests can visit any number of neighbouring vineyards and winemakers including Domaine de Clovallon, La Croix Ronde and Ollier Taillefer, all within a fifteen minutes’ drive of the hotel.

Food lovers will find this region a paradise: every village has its own market full of artisanal products, cheeses, meats, vegetables and olives. There are truffles and chestnuts in the woods – but you have to bring your own hunting dog!

Hérépian is less than an hour from the international airports of Montpellier, Carcassonne, Nimes and Perpignan, the train station of Montpellier – TGV to Paris in less than three hours – and about half an hour’s drive from the A75, the new free autoroute that goes through the Massif Central to Paris.

Bed and breakfast for a couple at Le Couvent is €157 per night.

Le Couvent is a development by Garrigae Investissements, an award-winning Languedoc-based company.

For further media information or to arrange a visit, log on to Couventherepian.com.