Secret Montpellier
Where do The Good Vikings stay in Montpellier? You’d walk past the entrance. But from an unprepossessing side-street in the historic centre of this sun-hot metropolis you might suddenly find yourself in a twinklingly lit barrel-vaulted archway, then the cool of a stone courtyard with a wide staircase that leads to the double-doors of one of the loveliest small hotels you'll find in France. It's a little like entering a secret.
Hôtel Baudon de Mauny is a true hôtel particulier. Which means it isn't a hotel per se but rather an historic private mansion. In this case an 18th-century listed townhouse, where interiors have scale and architectural grandeur, the original terrazzo, ornate plasterwork and floors flagged with fossilised shells. The current owner is the seventh generation of the family who have lived here since 1829.
“Staying at this hôtel particulier feels a little like entering a secret.”
Alain de Bordas and his wife Nathalie began renovations in 2007, to turn what had become a series of apartments back into a prestigious singular property, part home and part chambres d'hôtes. Montpellier architects Michelle Ferri and Vincent Castelnau have worked closely with Nathalie de Bordas in realising her vision of spaces that remain historically imposing but add art-forward modernity through innovative materials like waxed steel and concrete. A double-height breakfast room with a wall of ochre limestone hides a near pitch-black ante-room where a buffet laid with local provisions is dramatically illuminated by white origami-like sculptural lighting. Another secret for the lucky to discover. The de Bordas are hoteliers making memories and provoking design ideas for guests to take home with them.
