A French Home on the Mediterranean Coast with Wild Horses

LOCATION Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France DESIGN Hauvette & Madani PHOTOGRAPHY Matthieu Salvaing WORDS Megan Rawson

Set across a four-hectare estate just a moment's walk from the Mediterranean coastline, this sensory-driven retreat reimagines French luxury as a return to spirited authenticity.

Co-founders Samantha Hauvette and Lucas Madani of Hauvette & Madani.

Les Bains Gardians, owned by French film director Jean-Pierre Marois, offers an escape to a place where nature, wellness, and spirit meet against the untamed backdrop of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhône River, the Parc Régional Naturel de Camargue is renowned for its untouched beauty, rich biodiversity and distinctive culture. Reimagined by French interior design studio Hauvette & Madani, the estate's transformation honours its storied narrative while retaining the raw beauty of the Camargue.

Grounded in the existing farmhouse aesthetic, the communal spaces exude warmth and comfort, with rustic textures and timeworn materials creating an inviting sense of home. The wild horses of Camargue roam the region’s vast wetlands, and free-spirited nature embodying the raw beauty of this unique French landscape.

Since 2010, Paris-based duo Samantha Hauvette and Lucas Madani have been crafting high-end projects, using their signature design language of 'patinated modernism’—combining the past with the present. At Les Bains Gardians, their design vision unfolds across sixty-seven guest rooms, forty-eight traditional cottages, a spa, a kidney-shaped pool and the famed Le Pont Des Bannes Restaurant; serving a farm-to-table Mediterranean menu.

In the Camargue region, the traditional ‘cabane de gardian’—with its distinctive thatched roof and whitewashed walls—stands as a testament to the region’s pastoral heritage.

Hauvette & Madani’s approach centred on ‘re-authenticating’ the estate and softening the lines between old and new. “The general idea behind the renovation of Les Bains Gardians was to restore the original soul of this place, which successive renovations had denatured,” Hauvette says.

A 1970s space-age modular sofa by Peter Ghyczy for Herman Miller introduces a futuristic contrast to the raw, earthy interior, defined by exposed timber beams and a paved floor.

The duo selected materials that echo the surrounding beauty of the location. “The materials we used include rough travertine, lime-painted walls, and the extraordinary landscape as the highlight of this meditative retreat.” Hauvette explains. Tamarisk shrubs, feather reeds, olive and cypress trees, and umbrella pines have all reclaimed their rightful place around the retreat while pink flamingoes and herons have returned to fish in the ponds under the gaze of the region’s iconic Camargue horses. “Our main desire was to respect the landscape by making it the main feature,” Madani explains. “The architecture fades away in favour of nature; it becomes its showcase. The rusticity of the Camargue, a true territory of nature, is sublimated,” he adds.

A striking balance of past and present, the checkered Moooi Chess table brings a contemporary edge to the restaurant and bar space, seamlessly paired with vintage pieces that add depth and character.

This philosophy is also reflected in the interiors, where organic textures and a muted, earthy palette ground the hotel among its natural surroundings. Selected vintage furniture and lighting pieces from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s instill the space with a sense of nostalgia. Notable pieces include the HAY Crate dining chairs in white, used outdoors, a 1970s modular sofa by Peter Ghyczy for Herman Miller, and a checkered Moooi chess table designed by the Swedish design group Front.

Furnished with simplicity, each of the cabanes draws its organic, natural palette from the surrounding native landscape.

Designed to set itself apart from the traditional markers of luxury, Les Bains Gardians is an immersive retreat where architecture surrenders to the gentle rhythms of nature. "We hope that this immersive experience in the great outdoors and the timelessness of the decor will bring visitors serenity and peace, far from today's luxury standards.”