Château Les Oliviers de Salettes

Lavender crowds the grounds so completely that the scent reaches you before the stone walls do. This 32-room luxury boutique hotel in the Drôme countryside occupies a centuries-old château, with rooms split between the castle's grand suites and the more intimate Bastide, both carrying that faint aristocratic undertone no renovation can quite scrub away. A spa, pétanque, and cooking lessons keep things busy; the restaurant, Lavandin, handles dinner.