Villa La Tosca

A nine-room seaside hotel half an hour west of Bordeaux, Villa La Tosca sits in a quiet cove with the kind of verandahs that make afternoon plans dissolve. The building draws on the Arcachon tradition of grafting Italian villa bones onto a French coastal setting, and the interiors follow through with good light, space, and Asian antiques. No restaurant, but tell the team ahead of time and a private chef will cook for you in the garden or by the fire.