The journal · spring
May, the roses.
Every spring, the grounds stage the same event: thousands of roses open within a few weeks. It is the time of year when the garden decides everything — including which room to book.
The number is real: thousands of roses, in two and a half hectares (6 acres) of grounds never shared by more than twelve guests. In May, breakfast by the pool comes with their scent, and so does reading in the shade of the chestnut trees — and the walk down to the village starts along a path lined with flowers.
It is also the gentlest season to enjoy Gordes: the days are long, high summer hasn’t yet brought its crowds, and the Tuesday morning market can be browsed at an easy pace.
The room of the season
The Fleurs room, front-row seats.
55 m² (590 sq ft) facing the rose garden, and a private terrace under the flowers that give the room its name (fleurs is French for flowers): in May, the Fleurs room is the best seat in the house — and the first to go.
Before you come in May
The garden, in questions.
When is the rose garden at Villa Hautvallon at its best?
In spring: May is when the thousands of roses in the grounds open — the garden’s event of the year, which carries on into June. The rest of the year, the 2.5-hectare (6-acre) grounds keep their century-old trees and their quiet hours.
Which room looks onto the roses?
The Fleurs room: 55 m² (590 sq ft) facing the rose garden, with a private terrace set under the flowers that give it its name. It is the room to book early for May and June.
Can visitors tour the garden?
No — the grounds are reserved for guests of the house, never more than twelve at a time. The roses are something you enjoy by staying: at breakfast by the pool, or from the Fleurs room’s terrace.
Next in the journal: lavender without the crowds, as summer sets in.
Villa Hautvallon
Book the month of roses.
May and June book up early — the Fleurs room first.