Orion Treehouses – sleeping above Saint-Paul-de-Vence since 2004

Above the ramparts of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, four red-cedar cabins stand in the branches of a private forest — built not as a theme-park novelty but as one of France's first treehouse lodges, opened in 2004 by Diane Van den Berge, a pioneer of eco-chic glamping in Saint-Paul-de-Vence since 2004. Each of the four cabins — Bagheera, King Louie & Mowgli, Colonel Hathi and Shere Khan — borrows its name from Kipling's Jungle Book, and each has its own glamping kitchen, designed by Isabella Sallusti, strung with a terrace among the pines. At the centre of the seven-thousand-square-metre estate lies a chlorine-free natural pool, filtered through plants, gravel and sand rather than chemicals, the detail that led the Guardian's Richard Hammond to compare a swim here to bathing in Evian. The MICHELIN Guide has selected Orion Treehouses among its Saint-Paul-de-Vence addresses, a nod to a stay measured less in square metres than in birdsong and the distance from the nearest sealed road.

01The house

Diane Van den Berge had spent years moving between grand resort hotels before she came across, nearly twenty years ago, a scattering of 'cabanes Nelson' — simple treehouses that fused comfort with the canopy. The discovery pulled her back to childhood stories of Robinson Crusoe and Tom Sawyer, and to the idea that the tree line, not the lobby, was where real luxury began. She laid the first planks above Saint-Paul-de-Vence before 'insolite' accommodation had a name in France, and Orion grew, cabin by cabin, into one of the country's earliest treehouse eco-lodges.

The project has since drawn coverage from Condé Nast Traveller, the Telegraph, the Times, the Guardian, La Maison France 5 and Côte Magazine — recognition less for scale than for an idea that has barely changed since 2004: that a bed in the branches, built with care, can outclass a conventional suite.

02Rooms and treehouses

All four treehouses share a private bathroom, a terrace and a glamping kitchen, but each has its own temperament. Bagheera is the simplest and sunniest, built for two adults and a small child. King Louie is linked by a footbridge to the miniature Mowgli cabin, so a family's children sleep a few steps — and a world — away from their parents. Colonel Hathi climbs two storeys to the highest terrace on the estate, sleeping up to four adults or two adults with three children. Shere Khan, tucked at the treeline, is the one guests request by name, for its teak bathtub and romantic decoration.

Insider tip

Open 30 April–15 October; minimum three nights; book by the week in July–August.

Plump pillows and French linen dress the beds, some of which are four-posters, and several decks come with a hammock slung between the cedar posts. Between them, the four cabins can accommodate a total of fourteen people, which makes the whole domain bookable as a single private estate for a family or a group of friends.

03Where to eat

There is no restaurant at Orion: the kitchen is the point. Each treehouse has its own 'alfresco' glamping kitchen — fridge, sink, griddle and oven — so cooking becomes part of the stay rather than an interruption to it. Guests who prefer company can prepare their meals at the large communal table overlooking the natural pool, sharing wine as cicadas take over from the frogs. For dinner out, the restaurants of Saint-Paul-de-Vence's walled centre are a short walk down the hill.

04Wellbeing in the forest

The ecological pool is the reason most people book. Rather than chlorine, the water is cleaned through a filtration bed of plants, stones, gravel and sand, giving it a green cast and the look of a woodland lake rather than a hotel pool. A barrel sauna sits a few steps away, and a path through the Colibri Forest — Orion's own patch of regenerating woodland, replanted to encourage biodiversity — leads to an open-air massage lounge. It is a routine built around the seasons rather than a treatment menu.

05The neighbourhood

Orion sits in the valley just below Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the fortified hill village that has drawn painters for generations. From the estate it is a walk up to the ramparts, and not much further to the celebrated Fondation Maeght, the modern art foundation set among its own pines on the opposite hill. Nice, Cannes, Menton and Monaco are all within reach for a day out, while the hinterland behind Saint-Paul — villages, vineyards and walking trails largely untouched by the coastal crowds — starts almost at the treehouses' gate.

06Making the most of a stay

The estate opens each year from 30 April to 15 October and closes for winter, when the trees are left to themselves. Guests can arrive any time after 4pm — a key waits in a safe beneath the cabin for late arrivals — and pets are welcome on a lead.

The whole domain, which Tripadvisor ranks #2 of 23 B&Bs and inns in St-Paul-de-Vence, can also be hired privately for family reunions, seminars or photo shoots, with all four treehouses taken over at once.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.