Lavender locks in Provence

Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

Run by a delightful English-Scottish couple, this hôtel de charme will set more than one nine-to-fiver to dreaming of following in their footsteps. Right in the heart of tiny Le Paradou, the old stone house offers five rooms that have been individually decorated in such rich Provençal colors as apricot, poppy, and olive and furnished with large beds, televisions with movies on-demand and CD/DVD players, and objects from the owners' travels in Morocco, India, and Asia. An upholstered lounger under one of the shade trees next to the small heated pool in the garden is an ideal place to spend an afternoon dozing or reading, and a sitting room in the main building, a seventeenth-century coaching inn, is perfect for tea or an honor-bar drink. Though the rooms are a luxurious step up from the region's usual B&Bs--few of which have the Etro toiletries, bathrobes and slippers, or great contemporary art found at this hotel--the best part of staying here is the warm hospitality.

When to go: Provence is a year-round destination but particularly beautiful in May, June, September, and October.
Which room to book: Violette for its pretty moss-green color scheme, or Le Jardin Secret for total privacy.

Further reading:
* Hot List 2008
* Something else to take note of when in France
* Here's another couple entertaining abroad