Le Mas Candille in Mougins – a Provençal farmhouse in Hugo Toro's rendition

Above Cannes lies a 1700s farmhouse which, after two years of renovation, reopened in the summer of 2024 – now featuring Hugo Toro's interiors and a Clarins spa.

Seven kilometres from Cannes, on the heights of Mougins, lies Le Mas Candille. The Michelin Guide describes it as a renovated 18th-century farmhouse, somewhere between a private villa and a small luxury hotel. In the summer of 2024, the house reopened after around two years of renovation, with entirely new interiors by the French-Mexican designer Hugo Toro.

Le Mas Candille is rated five stars by Atout France. It is also, according to the magazine Luxus+, the first hotel under the Clarins brand.

01A new owner and a partnership with Clarins

The estate has been owned by the entrepreneur Jean-Philippe Cartier since 2020. According to Luxus+, the new Mas Candille is the result of a collaboration between him and the Courtin-Clarins family, who are behind the beauty house. This is most evident in the spa.

According to Luxus+, the hotel has 41 rooms and six suites, spread between the main building – le Mas – and the adjoining Bastide.

02Hugo Toro's Provence with a Californian touch

Hugo Toro has roots in France and Mexico and trained at Penninghen in Paris, the University of Applied Arts Vienna and UCLA. His previous projects include Villa Albertine in New York and the Midland Dining Room at St Pancras in London.

According to the hotel, not much remains of the old at Mas Candille. Toro has wanted to create the feeling of a Provençal farmhouse with an American undertone, a house where you stay for several days. He has painted rugs and curtains, designed furniture in stained oak, and chosen the objects himself. In his own words, he has taken codes from the past and twisted them in his own way. Michelin describes the result as restrained extravagance, where every room is different but all share the same style.

03The Glow House – the Clarins spa

The spa is called The Glow House by Clarins. According to Luxus+, it spans 450 square metres with three treatment rooms, a sauna, a hammam and a 25-metre pool that is heated all year round. In addition, there is an outdoor pool which, according to Michelin, is open seasonally. The gardens also feature a boules court.

04Candela, the pool and Le Bar du Mas

The hotel's restaurant is called Candela and serves Italian and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. By the pool is the Pool Restaurant & Bar, which is open on sunny days, and evenings can start or end at Le Bar du Mas.

05Mougins, Picasso's last village

The old village of Mougins lies in rings around a hill, with alleyways, galleries and restaurants. Pablo Picasso spent his final years here, at the Notre-Dame-de-Vie estate, and the village is today home to the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins. From here it is close to both the perfume town of Grasse and down to Cannes, and Nice airport is, according to Michelin, 25 kilometres away.

The entire coastline is brought together in VERA PI's guide to the French Riviera. Nearby, read about La Villa Archange in Le Cannet and the Hôtel Martinez, and find more Riviera destinations at metromode.co.

06How to make the most of a stay at Le Mas Candille

Stay several nights, as Toro intended the house to be experienced. Spend an afternoon at The Glow House and an evening at Candela, and visit the old village and the museum. During the film festival in May, the area around Cannes fills up, so book well in advance.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.