Jardins Secrets

Unique and stylish hotel, excellent service ( best in France we have had) and beautiful garden to sit and relax in. The rooms are opulent, high ceilings and wonderful furnishing. We found this a charming oasis in the beautiful city of Nimes. The breakfasts is tasty and fresh continental style. After a hot day sightseeing there is a small unheated pool to use. We loved it and would highly recommend a stay. As a note they do not have a restaurant for dinner, but they offer very nice small plates and snacks / drinks to relax by the pool or in Garden.

I am at a loss to understand how this hotel has acquired 5 stars. We had booked a two night stay to celebrate my birthday. A few days before I called the hotel to ask if I could cancel the second night- some friends had invited us to stay with them in Northern France. My request was refused on the basis that it was ‘high season’- which seemed contradictory as surely if rooms were in demand the cancellation of our second night would not present a problem. I then asked if I could be given a credit note for the second night but that too was refused. Being of the view that we did not wish to pay over €1000 for just one night we stayed for both nights and left early. The total inflexibility does not reflect 5 star status. Nor does the fact that there is no restaurant in the hotel. We were told that a table could be set up in our room or elsewhere in the hotel. As we prefer restaurants with some atmosphere we chose to walk into the Old Town to eat dinner elsewhere. When we saw that a continental breakfast was €28 per person ( and any additional juices charged at €10 each) we walked into town to have breakfast there too. There were no coffee/ tea facilities in our room. A bottle of water was there on our first night but not the second. By that point, rather than search for a member of staff (only 2-3 in evidence during our stay and rarely sat at the reception desk) I simply bought bottles of water from a local shop. Having enjoyed the most pristine clean pool at a villa we had just left in Provence the outdoor pool at the hotel looked decidedly murky and uninviting. I note that a previous reviewer described it as a ‘pond’ Overall, whilst the furnishings could be described as opulent the hotel is very much style over function. For example whilst the bath at first glance appeared large and stylish the chain on the bath plug was so short that I had to place my legs to one side of it to avoid pulling the plug out! Like everything else in this hotel the parking charges are exorbitant. Needless to say that we would not stay at Jardin Secrets again nor recommend it.

This is not the 5* hotel you imagined. There is no luxury to be had and hospitality is either non-existent or costly. Our first room was called Superior; it was small, damp, floored throughout in terracotta rough tiling with one large window that opened directly onto a common area. After one night we asked to be moved to the other Superior room which was slightly better in that it was not damp and, although small, had a small private terrace. This hotel has no restaurant and is not located near any good eateries, it is also a good walk from the Old Town. No complimentary coffee/tea in your room and 10euro per cup if you would like us to provide. We did not take the breakfast as it looked mediocre at best and of course expensive - 2 boiled eggs again 10euro. The secret garden is more secret jungle and the pool, not maintained, is more like a pond. This accommodation is more like a costly bed and breakfast and maybe 3* at that. Hugely disappointing. After two nights we moved to a real 5* hotel in the Old Town.

This place is a bit 'marmite'. You feel like you're staying in an eccentric old aunt's house (which I think it was). For me it was all a bit much. And I have to admit I was a bit spooked by the baby Jesus in the crib when returning late at night. The garden is lovely but I was sad for the two caged birds that couldn't enjoy sitting in the trees. I appreciate they're not indigenous and wouldn't survive if free, but I felt they shouldn't be there at all and it spoiled my enjoyment of the garden. The continental breakfast at 38 euros was over-priced compared to other places we stayed on the trip. We had to hand our key in before going out (it had a massive tassel so you couldn't really take it anyway) and had to buzz for someone to meet us at the gate when returning in the evening. It would be better to have the code so easier to come and go as you please. But i guess they are worried about guests stealing their treasures. On the plus side, the young staff were very helpful and spoke good English and the towels and bed linen were very luxurious.

Amazing, unique experience, open the doors and you move to a past life of 18 th century house and accommodation. Pool gardens outdoor setting, Spa, breakfast serve on your terrace. So private but interesting, my wife said it was magical! Be amazed by entry and welcome it is again unique!

This hotel is exceptional and is placed within a quiet section of old town nimes which is also spectacular. The setting is fabulous but the interiors and architecture are the true stars. Each room is stunning, the service friendly and impeccable. I would return over and over and thats even AFTER the owners pet turtle peed all over me!

Magnificent house and garden. The shady garden and pool are a perfect retreat from summer heat. Staff were all wonderful.

The best hotel in Nimes. Have read some reviews below and whole heartedly disagree- excellent service and a beautifully looked after property. It's not easy to keep a hotel like this impeccable - yet not a speck of dust to be found! We didn't have the breakfast but thought it was worth every penny. These days no parking in any hotel is free and thought the amount charged was reasonable. A must stay and we will be back!

This is a difficult review to write as this is surely one of the most unique hotels I've ever stayed in. Was it worth the high cost? In my opinion, no. Would we return? No. Did we enjoy our stay? Yes, indeed. This 'hotel' is really more of a bed & breakfast. The staff leaves once everyone is in for the night. There is no way to enter, once the staff leaves because guests must be buzzed in. The couple who own it are friendly and accommodating and have a fairly amazing flare for setting a vibe. It's like staying on a movie set. Everything is very 'staged' ... if you don't embrace 'cool clutter', know that this will be a bit like staying in an antique store. There are interesting finds everywhere ... right down to the 'for show' containers in the kitchen. The style was truly amazing ... like staying on a set for a Harry Potter movie. Know that about 60-70% of the mansion's interior areas are 'unusable' space. Sitting rooms that you'd probably never actually sit in, hallways with antlers, portraits and statues, etc. There is a courtyard with outdoor chairs and benches and a seating terrace laced with jasmine. (All of which looks like it's straight out of a Rizzoli architecture book.) One thing that was a bit weird is that even during the day, a LOT of lights in the building were off making it seem very dreary and almost 'abandoned'. At night, almost all the interior/exterior lights were off on property making it feel rather spooky. The room itself was a bit dark and 'moody' with red walls and black velvet drapes. The best place to stay would be on the second floor in the main part of the mansion. (I guess these are 'suites'.) The rooms are bigger, there is a bit more privacy and the bathrooms seem classier. They also have outdoor seating on the upper terraces. Bottom floor rooms (junior suites, junior suites with terrace, etc.) are nice but tend to be a bit smaller and have a less private feeling. Our room was a junior suite with terrace and it seemed a bit small and compact. The toilet was in a small closet behind the bed. Not much noise reduction ... so you and your partner will likely need to be comfortable with that. There was a big soaking tub in the actual bedroom ... and the shower was black tile and had a window with no shade! We were a bit 'shower shy' because there was an exterior door outside our shower window and anyone going down that ally could see into our shower clearly. The mosquitos were TERRIBLE! I would highly advise the owners to look into a Dynatrap machine. We sat outside at 6 p.m. and had 5 bites within the first few minutes. The mosquitos were STILL biting in the morning and afternoon, which was surprising! The bites were super itchy. A few mosquitos got into our room before we realized we needed to close the garden doors and pestered us all night. This was hands down the worst part of our stay. The bar looked nice but a small glass of bourbon was 40 Euros and cocktails were 20 Euros, so we skipped that and the 28 Euro/