A hideaway for the spirit

The uncontaminated landscape of Causses and Cévennes, in a village for yoga, wellness and design

Sometimes a view from above can change your outlook. Or even your life. Almières is in a majestic location overlooking the Gorges du Tarn in southern France, near Point Sublime, a Unesco world heritage site. A “lofty” place in terms of geography, geology and spirituality. In this small village, after many travels, in 2017 Marise – a former manager in the world of journalism and a yoga teacher – and Monia, a music therapist, decided to purchase and restore a farmhouse from 1739. «We couldn’t let this legacy of beauty disappear. Nature needs us, and we need Nature. We wanted to build a refuge, a place of welcome and sharing», Marise explains.

Four years ago Almières Retreat (almieres.com) opened its doors, thanks to the work of the architect Didier Richard and the interior designer Carme Pardo. The facility is composed of a main house with 5 rooms plus a lodge, a music room, a yoga area and a former sheepfold of 42 meters transformed into a living area, a kitchen – with large windows – and a dining zone, for healthy cooking demonstrations. A few meters away, higher up, stands the house of the owners, with an incredible view. Almières goes beyond the concept of a hotel, offering personalized retreats for a maximum of 8-10 guests, surrounded by ten hectares of green landscape. The restoration conserves the atmosphere of past centuries, thanks to three years of work with an accent on respect for local history, using local materials and suppliers. The guestrooms (from 48 to 70 sqm) designed by Carme Pardo are all different, but with the same vibration of sensorial harmony, thanks to natural fabrics, wooden walls and pale colors.

«We couldn’t let this legacy of beauty disappear.Nature needs us,and we need Nature. We wanted to build a refuge,a place of welcome and sharing»