La Bastide de Negrin

Breakfast was a treat every morning, especially Trish’s homemade cakes. Since my friend and I don’t eat pork, they thoughtfully brought us fresh salmon instead. We stayed three days at Trish and Ian’s, and the room was lovely and nicely decorated. The garden has a pleasant pool and a giant chess game, and the stone house has so much charm and character. Trish and Ian made us feel at home right away, helping us out with suggestions for things to do and places to eat. We’ve stayed at plenty of great B&Bs, but this is our favorite so far. We’re already planning to come back. Thanks for such a lovely experience!

The beds were so comfortable, and our nights were quiet. In the mornings we looked out onto a table set beneath the pergola with homemade bread, fresh croissants, jams, yogurt, fruit salad, cheese, and ham. The meals at La Bastide de Negrin were another highlight. Trish is a very good cook, and her time living in Africa, Hong Kong, France, and Britain shows in the range of recipes she shares. We had dinner there one evening, which we’d requested when booking, and gathered beforehand in the cozy living room by the fire. We were welcomed in the late afternoon by Trish and Ian Rodwell, who run this B&B and made us feel at home straight away. Tea and homemade cakes on the paved terrace, beside the large pool and potted plants, were a lovely way to enjoy the last of the warm sunshine. The house sits in a small rural hamlet below Seillans, with a vineyard on one side and olive and flowering trees on the other. It’s about an hour from Nice and the Côte d'Azur. During our family weekend, we explored the hilltop villages nearby: Fayence and its busy local markets, Bargemons with its galleries and museums, Tourettes, Clavier, and especially Seillans. We had two delicious meals there, one evening at Chez Hugo and lunch the next day on the sunny terrace at Hôtel des Deux Rocs, perched above the village. Seillans was home to Surrealist artists Max Ernst and his American wife Dorothea Tanning. There’s a small museum about their work, and Max Ernst’s bronze sculpture, "Le Genie de la Bastille," is in the Place de la République. You can walk from the Bastide to Seillans in about 40 minutes. At the end of March the weather was perfect throughout our visit, and we could enjoy exploring without anticipating summer crowds. La Bastide felt like a home away from home, and we can warmly recommend it.

Good.

A lovely couple runs this magical place. I highly recommend it!