This Made-In-France Countryside Retreat Is Loved By Horses From All Over The World

Vibing on Disney+’s Rivals, the screen adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s horsey ‘80s blockbuster? You’re not alone. At online retailer Asos, searches for riding boots are up 260 per cent year on year, with pony motifs and blazers having made the jump from paddock to urban enclave everywhere from Peckham to Palma. Our hot tip? Buy yours preloved, then set off at a gallop to Le Barn, an under-the-radar escape (in the UK, at least – in-the-know Parisians have been coming here for languid long weekends since its 2018 launch) that promises to shatter any preconceptions you may have about what a French countryside retreat looks like (hint: it’s less sang-froid; more Serge Gainsbourg).

Just an hour’s drive from Paris Gare du Nord, the 73-key hotel represents a new breed of Gallic getaway, evoking all the warmth of a cool friend’s country pad. Beyond the farm-style entrance’s covetable aged leather curtains and neat rows of Aigle wellies, you’ll find there’s no formal front desk (instead, a bar, with a showstopping tapestry hung above it); no check-out times on Sundays; no dress code; unisex washrooms in communal areas (stocked with eucalyptus-scented Be-Pôles soap and lotion); and a meritocratic modus operandi among the 55-strong team that means you’re as likely to be served your hand-pressed pear and rosemary juice by the general manager as you are by a bartender. Vegetarian? No problem. Gluten-free? Ditto. (“It’s France, Mum, but not as we know it.”)

Nestled in the vast Rambouillet forest, itself set within the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Natural Park, Le Barn shares a 200-hectare estate with Haras de La Cense, one of the world’s leading holistic horsemanship schools. The brainchild of French hotelier Édouard Daehn and Franco-American entrepreneur William Kriegel, the property was designed to reflect the pair’s shared love of horse riding and nature – get-rich-quick hospitality venture, this ain’t. When Kriegel isn’t here, hanging with his beloved horse Rowdy, he’s most likely to be found at his ranch and training centre in Montana, paintings of which are dotted around the property, along with books written by Kriegel that have been credited with revolutionising our understanding of the horse-human relationship.

Away from the stables, activities on offer include cooking classes, boating, wild swimming, hiking, cycling, badminton, Pétanque, board games, yoga and an on-site spa, making Le Barn a genuine unicorn in the industry: an accessible, restorative and enriching stay in the French wilds. Whether you're looking for somewhere to hole up solo for a digital detox, hang out with friends or family in the great outdoors, feast on cheese fondue fireside, or simply a knockout bed for the night en route to the Alps or south of France, here’s everything you need to know about Le Barn.

Rooms

Blurring the lines between outside and in, the hotel’s light-flooded 73 rooms and suites span the 17-23m² Classic – meadow-facing, with warm wood interiors and a custom-made multifunctional china cabinet at which you can work, snack, or watch the horses outside – to Le Barn, the hotel’s largest suite. At 55m², it’s the kind of chic hideaway you live in full-time in your fantasy parallel life, throwing soirées at which you serve top-notch regional fromage, charcuterie and wine, accepting compliments on your custom-designed furniture, bespoke artworks, state-of-the-art audiovisual set-up and fragrant private garden.

Across the board, bathrooms are pure perfection, featuring either a shower or tub, with tactile tiling inspired by that of the Métro. Small, thoughtful details are a Le Barn speciality: we adored the vintage paperbacks on the bedside table, pillows – two firm; two squishy – and big balcony. While, on first impression, our Superior room seemed a little… well, compact, by checking-out time, we were sure we’d never find a space in which we felt as serene, secure or snug ever again.

What’s for breakfast?

Everything you’d hope for from le petit dejeuner, from what you might eat after a yoga class in the city – granola, yoghurt, chia seed pudding, croissants, madeleines, omelettes and fresh fruit – to what we imagine a local farmer might eat after getting up early to check that the ragondins hadn’t been at his crops – porridge, hearty local sausages, blood pudding, cooked mushrooms and tomatoes. (Introduced to France from South America in the 19th century for its fur, the ragondin, aka “swamp beaver”, is today the bane of French growers.) But first, coffee, which is divine, and available on a help-yourself basis.

Lunch and dinner

Thanks to Eurostar, it’s totally doable to leave London after your morning walk, arrive at the hotel’s wisteria-draped, glass-ensconced La Serre restaurant for a 1pm lunch booking, and still be home in time for supper. These are logistics you can expect to find yourself mulling over, post-Le Barn, with unfussy lunch and dinner menus starring locally sourced and on-site-grown produce in traditional dishes that are way more than the sum of their parts. From julienned carrots from the garden served atop a mound of creamy ewe’s milk cream cheese, and doorstop sandwiches stuffed with green leaves and just-made tzatziki, to a crepe-thin cannelloni filled with earthy mushroom purée, and crowd-pleasing stuffed rotisserie chicken, you’re in safe hands. And when a dessert menu features such delights as expertly executed îles flottantes and deconstructed lemon meringue pie? You don’t skip it.

Is there a bar?

It’s the beating heart of the whole operation, with sofas and armchairs as comfortable as they are good to look at arranged around a centrepiece traditional tiled stove. Coffees, juices, wines, beers and cocktails are available day and night, with bigger gatherings spilling out onto the terrace, where, at the time of our visit, daddy-long-legs danced lazily across tables and the crisp autumn air was filled with the reassuring coo of wood pigeons. There’s also a bar in the garden, sending out crisp rosé in the summer months; vin chaud in winter.

Amenities

Away from the stables, activities include cooking classes, boating, wild swimming, hiking, cycling, badminton, Pétanque, yoga and Pilates – with all those provided by the hotel being included in the cost of your room booking. A fleet of ebikes awaits guests’ use, with the estate’s largely flat terrain lending itself to exploration on two wheels, and the hotel’s lake beckons wild swimmers – a rope swing into the water being popular with kids of all ages. There are nature trails and pony-themed treasure hunts, pretty picnic spots and a bijou projection room for movie nights spent watching classics of French and international cinema. A soon-to-open photo lab will give guests the opportunity to develop their own snaps.

The understated spa is a highlight, with its hammam, sauna and Nordic baths, plus Ayurvedic, Thai and shiatsu treatments that people travel here from all over the world for, despite the facility’s diminutive size and out-of-town location. We might have found this perplexing were it not for our appointment with the Kerala-born Sreejan, who, like Cher, only needs to go by one name, having, during 27 years of healing work, treated approximately 80,000 people, and whose magic massage powers were passed down to him from his mother.

What are the hotel’s eco-credentials like?

Built-in. A sustainable approach stretches from the hotel’s fabric – old buildings were renovated using natural, sustainable materials – to the kind of “waste-not, want-not” principles historically vital in rural areas. Produce used in the kitchen is local and seasonal and the property makes its own compost.

What about accessibility?It would be weird if this were a problem, considering that personal freedom is an integral part of Le Barn’s ethos. Adapted rooms can be requested when booking and communal areas are wheelchair-friendly.

What’s the crowd like?

Our visit coincided with that of a young team of delegates from a certain iconic US-based workwear label, whose baggy denim and on-point laptop cases made it instantly clear that Le Barn wasn’t anything like the gîtes our parents used to take us to back when Rivals was still only a book…

Within a short walk I can find…

Rolling meadows peppered with papillons blanc du chou (cabbage white butterflies), woods carpeted in ferns, fallen acorns and chestnuts, and streams and rivers crisscrossed by quiet country roads punctuated with horse-and-rider red-triangle caution signs. Be sure to tour the hotel’s 2,500m2 kitchen garden – meticulously tended to, it produced 1.5 tonnes of fruit and veg in its first year alone. The green-fingered (or those who’d like to be) can sign up for workshops run throughout the year in collaboration with the estate’s market gardener, during which you’ll learn to sow, plant and harvest the Le Barn way.

Things I should know

If being surrounded by horses as far as the eye can see is not enough for you, consider the brand-new Whisperer’s Experience. Taking place on Sundays, the two-and-a-half-hour masterclass teaches participants (in groups of up to six; minimum age 14) how to communicate and connect with horses, based on an ethos that deeply respects and understands the animal's innate emotional intelligence. Culminating in the lunge ring, you’ll get to put your new skills into practice by whispering in the horse’s ear – a practice believed to calm the nervous system.

Equally likely to calm the nervous system is some post-prandial stargazing. Le Barn’s campfire sessions are legendary, with stories, chocolates and nightcaps being shared around the flickering flames.

Visit in late September or early October and you might be lucky enough to catch Le Brame du Cerg – the natural spectacle during which the male deer calls out to attract the attention of females in the mating season. Le Barn offers privately guided nighttime walks through the Rambouillet forest – home to some 200 red deer – allowing guests to experience the unforgettable sound of competitive local stags. (If your visit doesn’t fall in autumn, ask one of the team nicely if they’ll share a Le Barn playlist, and instead listen to golden retro French pop for hours on end.)

Milestone celebration on the horizon? Book a whole-hotel takeover. Our plan is to do exactly that, treating our friends and family to a gorgeous Le Barn long weekend, just as soon as our horse comes in.