Provencale Peace

Provence’s tranquil countryside is the perfect setting for a restorative weekend break

- Marisa Cannon

Mornings at Terre Blanche are long and languorous. One day, I manage to summon the energy to get up before eight, creeping onto the balcony to survey the cluster of terracotta-tiled villas below. There is no one around, and the only sound to disturb the quiet is the soft twittering of sparrows overhead. By this hour, the early sun is peeking over the horizon, throwing shafts of dusty golden light across the countryside and brightening the honey hue of the lodges on the hillside.

Below, I hear the whirr of a golf cart as it runs along a lane nearby. Navigating the resort’s sprawling 740 acres, the buggies are its main mode of transport, carrying guests between spa appointments, lunch dates, golf rounds and its 115 private villas and suites.

Set in the sun-soaked terroir of Provence, the Leading Hotels of the World member has had a number of owners in its time, most notably Sean Connery, who bought the property in 1979. He commissioned the first fairways for the resort’s two championship golf courses, although the project never quite came to fruition under his direction.

In 1999, billionaire German entrepreneur Dietmar Hopp took over the site with the intention of turning it into a first-class golfing destination. Today it is a European Tour venue with courses designed by Dave Thomas, a golf school and a biomechanical performance center designed to analyze and improve your swing.

While my golf skills are limited, I’m fairly accomplished at swimming lazy lengths in the infinity pool, lying prostrate on a massage table and perusing the resort’s exceptional contemporary art collection, which includes 300 sculptures and paintings from Hopp’s private collection. Wandering the grounds, I discover works by the likes of Joan Miro and Antony Gormley.

A Taste of Country Life