With Bordeaux as the backdrop, Les Sources de Caudalie checks off all the prerequisites of a picture-perfect, sprung-to-life-from-a-postcard hotel with lush greenery, endless blue skies and sun-dappled scenery surrounding the elegant property.
A 20-minute drive from the centre of Bordeaux, the five-star hotel is situated among the vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, a 600-year-old winery. It feels a bit like a little country hideaway that also happens to be a Small Luxury Hotel of the World.
Les Sources de Caudalie excels at relaxation. Everything is designed to make you slow down. Here, you meander through the vineyards, bike to explore all the nooks and crannies, take a leisurely lap in the pool and savour your wine and your food. It also subscribes to the “French Paradox,” the idea that the French diet and lifestyle correlates with good health. And so I arrived at Les Sources de Caudalie in late September, ready to spend 48 hours taking it easy.
A Room with a View
Les Sources de Caudalie opened just over 20 years ago by Alice Tourbier and her husband Jérôme Tourbier who met at school and turned their passion into a hotel venture on the family estate.
The idyllic property has 61 rooms and suites, all of which have a distinct design and theme. I checked into one of the junior suites, which was inspired by the history of the Aquitaine region with high ceilings and wooden beams that gave the place a rustic look and feel. The room is designed to connect you with nature: the bedroom that leads to the terrace overlooking the pond, the generous windows in the living room that give you a glorious view of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, and even the bathroom windows that bring a little bit of the outdoors inside.
Inside my room, I was greeted with fresh fruit (the fruit definitely tastes better here), a bottle of Smith Haut Lafitte wine and a plate of the most delicious dessert that made me lose my mind. This is where I had my first (and it was there that I decided the best) canelé, a French pastry that’s a specialty of the Bordeaux region.
Naturally, Caudalie products hold court in the hotel’s washrooms. The products are just a taste of the French skincare brand, which you can fully experience by booking an appointment at the spa (and I highly recommend that you do)!
The Good (Spa) Life
You can’t check into Les Sources de Caudalie without booking a treatment at the Vinothérapie Spa. After all, Bordeaux is where Caudalie’s story began, in the family vineyard during harvest season where Mathilde Thomas and her husband Bertrand had a chance meeting with Dr. Joseph Vercauteren and discovered the antioxidant-rich properties of grape seeds. And the word Caudalie comes from the unit of measurement for wine. Where else do you experience a treatment than the place it all originated?
I’ve had treatments at Caudalie spas in Toronto, but it’s entirely a different experience getting a treatment at the birthplace of the brand. The spa is located right beside the hotel, but it’s also accessible via the outdoor pool. The treatment list includes the famous Crushed Cabernet scrub and the Premier Cru Facial.
I had the Caudalie Grand Treatment Facial using the Vinoperfect range, which focuses on radiance. After a gentle but thorough cleansing, I was misted with a halo of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir and Grape Water. This was followed by a gentle exfoliation and a hot towel treatment. After this, I received a hot and cold stone massage using the Divine Oil. Next came the Glycolic Peel Mask. While that was underway, I was treated to my choice of a blissful hand or foot massage (hard to choose but I opted for a foot massage). There’s a good chance that you fall asleep because I almost did. Post-mask, my skin was layered with an essence, serum and moisturizer.
After the facial, if you manage to peel yourself off the treatment bed, you can take advantage of the indoor and outdoor pools, jacuzzi and steam rooms. The water at the spa is drawn from the natural hot springs 540 metres below the ground. I lazed about by the pool in a blissful haze after my treatment. There’s also a giant jacuzzi tub in the shape of wine barrel into which I jumped as soon as I saw couple exit. It’s entirely possible to spend a full day here, consciously uncoupled with your phone.
A Tale of Two Pools
If you do your best relaxing by a pool, Les Sources de Caudalie has two. The first is an indoor pool housed in a separate building. If you make it for a morning swim, you might get lucky enough to have the whole place to yourself. The natural light filters in from every angle inside the space. You can lounge indoors or step outside to lap up the sun with a magazine or book.
The second is an outdoor pool with plenty of umbrellas and lounge chairs to keep you in permanent relaxation mode. On sunny days, this is where people flock. I spent a fair chunk of my time with my nose in a good book (or dozing off).
Eat, Sleep, Eat
Les Sources de Caudalie has three restaurants on site. The first is the Michelin-starred La Grand’Vigne (which was closed for a private event while I was there). It has a dreamy little vegetable garden that the kitchen staff can directly access before service. You can also take cooking classes here on Saturday mornings.
Then there’s Rouge, a wine and tapas bar where I settled in on my first evening with a book, bread and burrata. You can also eat at La Table du Lavoir, which serves up seasonal, bistro-style food and where you should opt to sit outside if you can. Another option is to ask the hotel to arrange a picnic lunch for you that you can either eat on-site or take with you outside the property on your bicycle (the dream!).
Exploring the Estate
Before I landed, I tried to calculate whether I could make a quick getaway into the city of Bordeaux, but quickly realized that I wouldn’t need to leave because there was plenty to see and do. There was so much to explore on the estate that I didn’t regret the decision one bit.
Behind the spa is a small farm that’s home to goats and chicken that supply La Grand’Vigne’s kitchen with fresh eggs. You can take one of the free bikes on the property and go exploring (and fulfill all your romantic fantasies involving riding a bike among the picturesque vineyards of Bordeaux).
Across the street, Château Smith Haut Lafitte—which is just as grand as Les Sources de Caudalie and owned by the same family—offers wine tours, tastings and workshops. You can buy a bottle or have them shipped (just ask them for a list of shipping places). You can also buy other souvenirs like honey produced on the property and wine chocolate. There’s also an art trail you explore on the estate that takes about an hour and a half to complete.
From Bordeaux, With Love
48 hours later, with my dwindling batteries recharged, I felt reinvigorated but not ready to leave. I spent my entire time during the short-but-sweet trip trying to savour every moment and commit this slow, good-for-the-soul pace to memory. I’d seen and briefly lived the Caudalie way of life that Mathilde Thomas spoke about so fondly.
