My wife and I just returned from a 3 day stay at l’Oustau. I have read conflicting reports on this Site and wanted to share my own experience. I believe ones’ views are closely related to ones’ expectations. For me having lived in the South of France for over 30 years l’Oustau was a magical place : very expensive but an excellent restaurant (used to be among the top 30 french restaurants carrying a Michelin 3 star evaluation). Unfortunately my wife and I experienced the following :

- a small room with a strong odor of tobacco quite distasteful for non-smokers and a closet containing only 3 shirt hangers and 5 pants holders. On Sunday after a delightful but tiresome walk up to the village we came back to rest at 2 PM. The room had still not been made (although only 14 rooms in the building) and in order not to be disturbed during our nap we put the “do not disturb” sign outside our door. This did not prevent a call from the reception to know when our room would be freed for cleaning.

- our package included a gourmet diner. This was actually the motivation for our visit as the advertised prices are quite high as indicated by other travelers. Well the imposed diner choice was nothing special either in content or presentation. The fish served was returned to the kitchen as insufficiently cooked (I couldn’t cut mine and my wife’s was red around the bone) ! We were quite cool about the problem as such incidents do happen and just waived the waiter over. The dishes were promptly removed and cutlery replaced and 2 new dishes of fish brought out 15 minutes later. It seems this did create some commotion as the following dish – beef – was delivered in person by the Maître d’. However he had not investigated the order and was surprised when I asked him which piece was rare and which one was medium-rare. Well he had 50-50 odds but this was not his lucky day and had to change the plates around. Later a well provided cheese table was rolled over to our table but we passed as we were keeping room for desert. The waiter rolled the cheese table away and a few minutes later a waitress put down a basket of rolls on our table. We were trying to figure out what this was about as the rolls looked like breakfast rolls when another waiter rolled up the cheese table and offered us some cheese… and left with the cheese and the bread. All this to say that the food was fair but would not qualify for a one star in the Michelin and the service is by no means that of a 2 star establishment.

The building itself and the grounds are nice and the surrounding mountains and village worth the detour. Those who have not traveled extensively in France or in Europe and who are not limited expense wise will be delighted with l’Oustau. The others will be disappointed as numerous other establishments exist providing better lodging, food and service.

L'Oustau de Baumanière is undoubtly our most terrible hotel and RESTAURANT experience we never had. We used to go in the best places around the globe but this choice wasn't good at all.
I've booke the largest suite of the main building for my parents's birthday (N°1) but even if the design was quite original, we have been not really happy due to a cleanliness not good at all and just a few amenities of low quality. The size of the room was OK with a separate lounge but the decoration was only so so (with silk flowers...)... I don't understand why so many magazines have decided to show this hotel because there was nothing original in this room. Maybe it's better to choose the one with a tree inside the room but we haven't had this chance.
I've ordered a celebration cake (a millefeuille with berries) which was not that bad but the spoons smell and taste fish... It's not a good mix, trust me... but it was the first bad detail for restaurant...
It's incredible to give two stars to this restaurant. I've had the chance to try a lot of three and two stars Michelin in Europe but this one is under the level of a one star Michelin restaurant.
Service is boring with old waiters who are looking on you without stop but even if they normally have experience, they do a lot of mistakes like to cut cheese with a unique style (not elegant at all...). About food, only the lobster salad was OK with a satisfacting quality but it wasn't the case of the Tarbot with cocos which was the most disguting dish we have never had with a bad taste and a disagreable association with cocos. Consequently we have been obliged to decide to cancel the other dishes we ordered but nobody in the staff, even the Chef, has been worried... Incredible !!
This is a place i strictly don't recommend even if Les Baux is a fantastic geographic place but don't spend money for L'Oustau...

We recently stayed at the Oustau de Baumaniere during our trip to France. While we had read many great reviews about the restaurant, we had not seen much information about the hotel. Now we know why. The hotel is merely adequate. For the price we paid, I expected significantly better service and accomodations. The rooms are tired, boring and small and the service is just terrible. The restaurant is very good and Les Baux is breathtaking. If I ever did this trip again, I would stay in one of the suites in the caves at Riboto de Taverna -- That is a fabulous place!

We stayed 2 nights at the Oustau de Baumaniere during our week driving through the Provence. Personally, I think Les Baux is one of the most beautiful places on earth and Oustau de Baumaniere is the perfect hotel complimenting this location. The first night we stayed at the hotel, we also had dinner at the Michelin 2-star restaurant run by star chef Jean-Andre Charial. The meal was just out of this world, with everything prepared to perfection and all the vegetables grown on the property. At the end of the meal, Mr. Charial came around to talk to the guests and people even asked for his autograph! He's that well known in the region. The following morning we had breakfast on the terrace (same location as the dinner but with the sun shining and different table setting, the atmosphere changed but equally wonderful); fresh croissants, pain au chocolat, home made confiture, butter, fresh squeezed juices, yogurts, everything you'd expect from a French country breakfast. After breakfast, we just sunbathed by the pool and walked through the garden, the surroundings are beautiful.

Our room was very spacious and elegantly decorated. The bathroom was very stylish with marble and designer fixtures. We took pictures for ideas to renovate our own bathroom back home. I really can't complain about anything. Le Baux and Oustau de Baumaniere were the highlights of our Provence getaway.

Price-wise it's not for the faint-hearted. Dinner for 2 was about 500 euros with a wine arrangement. The room was about 400 euro per night. But believe me, it is worth it!