The French fashion prodigy reinvents the iconic suite at Les Sources de Caudalie
Ever since it opened in 1999 deep in the Graves vineyards, Les Sources de Caudalie has given its sophisticated and cosmopolitan clientele a chic and luxurious retreat. With these very guests in mind, the iconic L’Île aux Oiseaux Suite has been given a new look by the darling of fashion editors, the young and talented Maxime Simoёns – now mentored by Sydney Toldano, CEO of Christian Dior, following LVMH taking a stake in the Simoёns brand this year.
A meeting of two passionate minds
At Les Sources de Caudalie, Alice Tourbier has created create an art de vivre which blends successfully with its surroundings and its Aquitaine roots. The vine is the architect of the landscape here, and an integral part of this five star hotel experience – which marries the attention to detail of a classic Palace with the warmth and generosity of a family home.
Having entrusted the design of L’Île aux Oiseaux to Maison Martin Margiela for ten years, Alice Tourbier – always on the lookout for the latest trends – has passed the keys of the suite to Maxime Simoёns. His brief: to use the suite as a creative workshop, in order to write the next chapter of its story. This creativity and a clear vision came after a particularly inspiring long weekend on-site for the creator – “When Alice contacted me, I was immediately seduced by her proposal. This conviction was confirmed once I was at Les Sources de Caudalie. I was utterly drawn in by L’Île aux Oiseaux’s gorgeous location, its peacefulness and its natural luxury.”
“This is what I wanted to set down here: all the emotions that I felt. It was as if the design of the suite was writing itself, straight from the design of my clothes,” he explains.
Having worked with Jean-Paul Gaultier, Dior and Balenciaga, the young creator, who opened his maison in 2009, is now firmly at the heart of the Parisian fashion world. His clean and architectural style emphasises the quality of the materials and finishes on the cornerstones of ultra-modern cuts and proportions. L’Île aux Oiseaux highlights everything that has been said about Maxime Simoёns’ extraordinary talent. Passionate about design and used to working with the human body, Simoёns put himself in the guests shoes in order to better understand the space, as he had done in the creation of his Parisian fashion house.
“Maxime’s silhouettes are profoundly feminine, blending structure and fluidity marvellously. These are the key qualities of the L’Île aux Oiseaux project. A hotel room is not just about architecture and design but also, and above all, it is a place to live in – and feel comfortable. Maxime has managed to infuse this project with the aesthetics and deep comfort required of an establishment like ours. We are so delighted with this collaboration,” enthuses Alice Tourbier.
L’Île aux Oiseaux by Maxime Simoëns
Inspired by the wooden cabins on stilts on L’Île aux Oiseaux, the uninhabited, mysterious bird sanctuary in the middle of the Bay of Arcachon, the L’Île aux Oiseaux Suite at Les Sources de Caudalie has been created within two wooden summerhouses on stilts, in the grounds of the hotel next to the lake. The Suite’s setting, its materials and its surroundings, all influenced Maxime Simoёns to create interiors that would contrast with this bucolic, almost dreamlike, setting with the modernity of its materials and colours.
Using black and white, dotted with greens and blues, the new décor also plays with the contrast between matt and shiny – and every element is highlighted by bespoke furnishings and especially chosen prints.
The new designs for l’Île aux Oiseaux deftly bring together the key aspects of both Maxime Simoёns’ fashions and the essence of Les Sources de Caudalie. Elegance, attention to detail and deep comfort combine with quality that is at once fun and relaxed: just like the superb food in the Michelin-starred La Grand’Vigne restaurant and the sublime signature treatments in the Caudalie Vinotherapie® Spa.
A Guided Visit
Stepping into the Suite’s sitting room, guests can immediately savour the comfortable ambiance created by Maxime Simoëns. Completely insulated, the suite, set in a wooden summerhouse on stilts perched beside the lake in the grounds, creates a soundproofed cocoon which shelters its guests and contrasts with the surrounding gardens and vineyards.
Simoëns’ design is based on a green and blue colour scheme. His own very distinctive motif, which resembles a classic bar code is used throughout: in a lampshade, in the wall coverings, the doors of a cupboard – giving a clean graphic modernity to the suite. Half sofa, half chaise-longue, the Pietro Arosio lounger designed for Silvera, imbues the Suite with a white serenity, echoing the white painted parquet floor, and accentuated by the low table next to it. Made to measure in black galvanised steel, the lounger is embellished with a pattern resembling a chicken’s foot, a nod to Maxime’s autumn/winter 2013-2014 collection. Clever use of lighting fills the rooms with gentle translucence throughout, adding to the ambiance. Panelled mirrors create an irregular image in which a delicate white dove, perched on a tree, is reflected.
More mirrored panels on the white lacquered cupboards reflect the enormous made-to-measure bed, complimented by cushions covered in black feathers – also used in Maxime’s fashion shows. Above the bed, the outline of a chicken’s foot is lit up in neon, against a wall of intense blue, begs to be admired from the comfort of the Charles Eames armchair.
From the bedroom, a granite-coloured carpet leads to the black-granite bathroom. The iconic bar code, here in black and white, echoes the barred mirror above two pristine sinks. On the wall, framed butterflies reveal another passion of Maxime Simoёns’, who is a seasoned collector.
Rates for L’Ile aux Oiseaux by Maxime Simoëns
From 505€ per person for an overnight stay including breakfast and dinner for two at La Grand’Vigne restaurant (5 course tasting menu, exclusing drinks)
840€ per night – suite only
Prices are subject to availability and based on two sharing.
To book, please visit website or contact reservations@semperey.com / + 33 (0)5 57 83 83 83.
Les Sources de Caudalie, Chemin de Smith Haut Lafitte – 33650 Bordeaux-Martillac, France.
