Domaine Chez Gilbert

A lamplit safari tent on a timber deck at the edge of the woods, with a wood-fired hot tub beside it and wildflowers in the grass.

Vichy · Auvergne · France

Welcome to Domaine Chez Gilbert

A small, secluded retreat in the heart of the Auvergne, just thirty minutes from Vichy. Five individual places to stay, tucked among tall trees on the banks of a beautiful running stream.

Come here to slow down, explore, eat well and enjoy the simple pleasure of having nowhere else you need to be.

Two family safari tents, each sleeping two adults and two children aged eight and over — and three retreats just for two.

The stream running clear and shallow over golden stones, trees reflected on the surface, with a small stack of balanced stones on the near bank.
Clear enough to count the stones on the bottom. Somebody had already built a cairn.
A family safari tent named Le Ruisseau, lit from within at dusk, with a deep veranda holding a sofa, dining table and outdoor kitchen, and festoon lights strung along the roof.
Le Ruisseau, with the lamps on and supper nearly ready.

Two family tents · sleeping four

Under canvas. Never roughing it.

Our two family safari tents each sleep two adults and two children aged eight and over, with proper beds, cool linen sheets, rugs underfoot, wool blankets and a wood-burning stove for cooler evenings.

Days here are meant to be spent outside. Let the children explore the stream, fish, swim in the pool and discover what is living around the natural pond, while you rediscover the pleasure of not having a timetable.

As evening arrives, cook together on your veranda or wander over for dinner. Stay for a drink around the fire, then head back through the trees and fall asleep to the sound of the stream and the occasional owl.

An adults-only safari tent open to the lawn, with a bed visible inside, a parasol and table on the deck, a stone fireplace to one side and a wooden hot tub to the other.
Doors open, kettle on, nobody expecting you anywhere.

The retreats

Three retreats. Just for two.

A deep bed, a warm stove and interiors that mix comfort with a little character. Soft lighting, beautiful linen and everything you need within reach.

No schedules. No rush. Make coffee, open the doors and stay in bed a little longer. Take a walk beside the stream, disappear for the day, or do very little at all.

Outside your door

A veranda of your own

Every retreat has one. Somewhere for bare feet, books, breakfast and bottles of wine.

Start the day with coffee and warm croissants while the woods are still quiet. Come back after exploring with something cold, put your feet up, and decide whether tonight is a night for cooking or joining us for dinner.

Two people wrapped in blankets with glasses of white wine on a lamplit veranda at dusk, a wood-fired hot tub steaming beside them and tall firs beyond.
The stove lit, the forest going quiet, and a bottle already open.

Food, wine and evenings

Come hungry.

We like good food without too much ceremony. Bread from the village. Cheese made a few miles away. Vegetables picked in season, from producers we know by name.

Breakfast and dinner are served here whenever you would like them — at our table if you fancy the company, or brought over to your veranda as a hamper.

And we take the drinks seriously too. A wine list chosen with real thought, bottles worth lingering over, and properly made cocktails as the evening settles over the Domaine.

None of it is compulsory. Bring your own food and your own wine, cook on your veranda, eat at ten at night if that is when you get hungry. Your days here are yours to arrange. We are here when you want us, and out of the way when you don’t.

Breakfast on the veranda: a cafetiere of coffee, a croissant and jam on a scrubbed wooden table, wildflowers in a jar, and the stream running past the meadow beyond.
Coffee, croissants, and the stream still running past.
A wooden-sided swimming pool with clear blue water, loungers and a parasol on the deck beside it, and wooded hills beyond.
The pool, the loungers, and an afternoon that goes nowhere.

Around the Domaine

Everything you need is a short walk away.

The people you’ll meet

Louisa and Mark, smiling in sunglasses on a beach.

Louisa & Mark

Your hosts

We fell for this place the first time we saw it — the trees, the water and that wonderful feeling of being hidden away from everything.

We’re now creating the kind of place we’d want to escape to ourselves: relaxed, comfortable, full of good things to eat and drink, and never too formal.

We’ll be the ones who meet you at the gate, pour the first glass and tell you where to explore in the morning. And when you need us, we’re here.

Bertie, a tan dog in a leather collar, sitting by the footbridge with his tongue out, waiting for a treat.

Bertie

Head of walks

Knows every inch of the stream, considers the woods his personal territory and takes his responsibilities very seriously.

Available for walks, exploration and cuddles on request.

Opening April 2027

We’re creating Domaine Chez Gilbert now.
We can’t wait to show you what it becomes.

Be the first to hear from the Domaine.
News as it happens, photographs of the real place, and first choice of dates for 2027.

This opens a message in your own mail app addressed to us — nothing is stored on this page. You can also just write to [email protected].