Domaine Ribiera, Hotel 5 Etoiles, Spa & Golf - Forcalquier

We have just returned from a lovely stay, the hosts made us feel very welcome and the room was so spacious and comfortable. The notes and cakes in the late afternoon left in our room and the L’Occitane gift on our final evening were such thoughtful touches- thank you. Also the food at the restaurant was amazing, we had a truly gourmet experience. We shall miss the peace and tranquillity and the beautiful surroundings.

This resort hasn’t quite cracked the code yet. It’s a beautiful location, with roomy, stone built rooms. We stayed in a family suite for a week. The good stuff: It’s a beautiful location and Provençal architecture The rooms are well air conditioned The rooms and public areas are well appointed Staff (mostly) lovely The restaurant is very good, but very expensive (London AA rosette prices). Breakfast is fine, usual selection of baked goods and eggs on demand. Stuff that could be improved: It is sold as a golf/spa resort and guests do have access to a driving range, but the course itself is very limited with some of the greens made of plastic grass, so it’s not a golf resort. The gym is fine, with a tread, bike and free weights. Indoor pool is great (small) and we understand spa treatments are available, but couldn’t find a tariff/menu so didn’t order one. The outdoor pool area is good, not amazing, but with plenty of potential to reach 5 star standard. The pool seems to be cleaned once/day which is insufficient if it’s a busy day for wasps. The hot tub was unacceptably unclean the whole week we were there, but not something we particularly missed as a family. The service, on the whole, was delivered with a smile, though we waited all week for our room phone and bathroom extractor fan to be fixed. The concierge works well when supervised and given detailed instructions/encouragement. The outside areas could do with a bit more attention. Weeds in paved areas, pipes not hidden, random areas of plastic grass poorly laid. The place felt a bit unloved/underinvested by the owners, which may be because it is currently for sale for €13.5m. In summary, DdR has plenty of potential and is charming, but doesn’t yet meet 5 star standards due to lack of recent investment and, probably, lack of clear purpose/vision. The place is crying out to be an event venue for weddings/parties/upscale corporate stuff with a baseline trade of romantic spa/gastronomic getaway venue for wealthy mid life couples. Thank you for a charming stay, we enjoyed ourselves immensely being based at DdR, we hope the new owners find inspiration and purpose to give this place focus and success in a new guise.

It is an excellent resort. The suites are large and well appointed with our own jacuzzi. The personnel in the spa are excellent as well and so is all the staff. The owner (Loic) is personally involved in every aspect of the hotel. Definitely a s-star resort.