Domaine Chez Gilbert

Domaine Chez Gilbert — a lamplit safari tent on a timber deck at the edge of Douglas fir woodland, with a wood-fired hot tub beside it and wildflowers in the grass.

Vichy · Auvergne · France
Opening April 2027

Come for the quiet. Stay for everything else.

Domaine Chez Gilbert is a small, secluded retreat in the heart of the Auvergne, just thirty minutes from Vichy. Five individual places to stay are tucked among tall trees and running water — somewhere to slow down, explore, eat well and enjoy the simple pleasure of having nowhere else you need to be.

We open in April 2027. We can’t wait to welcome you.

Stay

Beautiful, private places to sleep, surrounded by nature and missing none of the comforts.

Unwind

Private Nordic baths, a woodland sauna, and all the time in the world to do nothing at all.

Taste

Local produce and good wine — on your own veranda, or at our table if you’d rather have company.

The stream

The stream running clear and shallow over golden stones, trees reflected in the surface, with a small stack of balanced stones on the near bank.
Clear enough to count the stones on the bottom. Somebody had already built a cairn.
A couple sitting in wooden armchairs on a canvas-shaded veranda with glasses of white wine, looking out over the stream, a wood-fired hot tub to one side.
Six o’clock on your own veranda, with the stream doing the talking.
Breakfast laid out on a wooden table above the stream: croissants, berries, jam, butter, orange juice and a full cafetiere in the morning sun.
Croissants, a full cafetière, and no reason to hurry.

Under canvas, never roughing it

Our two safari tents sleep two adults and two children, and they are lovely inside — a wood-burning stove, rugs underfoot, wool blankets, cool linen sheets. Rain on canvas is one of the great sounds, and you will be warm the whole time you are listening to it.

Three retreats, adults only

Just for two. A deep bed, a long bath, soft light and nobody within sight of your door. The sort of place where a morning disappears and you do not much mind.

A veranda of your own

Every one of the five has its own, with proper chairs to sink into and somewhere to cook if the mood takes you. Coffee at seven with the mist still on the meadow. A glass of something cold at six, with your feet up.

Eat in, or dine with us

Producers we know by name, bread from the village, cheese from up the road, and a wine list with real thought behind it. Have it brought to your door, or take a long lunch at our table and let the afternoon go where it likes.

The fire, if you fancy it

Most evenings there is a campfire going. Bring a glass, join the conversation, look up — the sky out here still has all its stars in it. Or take the glass back to your own veranda. Nobody keeps score.

Every creature comfort

Proper beds, proper linen, hot water that does not run out, good coffee in the morning. Wi-fi when you want it and no guilt about ignoring it. Nature, without the part where you are cold and slightly damp.

Worth the drive

And when you feel like going out

You will want a car, and you will be glad of it. All of this is an easy morning away — spa towns, vineyards, volcanoes and one of the great oak forests of Europe. Times are approximate, and every one of them is worth the detour.

We are Louisa and Mark, and this is the thing we have wanted to build for years. A corner of the Allier we fell for on sight, five places to stay that we are finishing with a great deal of care, and a stream that does most of the work for us.

More photographs to follow — of the real place, as soon as the light is right and the last of the sawdust is swept up. Leave us your address and you will see them before anyone else.

Meet the team

Louisa and Mark, smiling in sunglasses on a beach.
Louisa & Mark Your hosts We fell for this place on sight and have been quietly plotting ever since. We’ll be the ones who meet you at the gate, pour the first glass, and tell you which road to take in the morning.
Bertie, a tan dog in a leather collar, sitting by the footbridge with his tongue out, waiting for a treat.
Meet Bertie Head of walks Knows every inch of the stream and will happily supervise your morning. Available for company on request. Works exclusively for biscuits.

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