Here’s an hotel in an area somewhat bereft of honest-to-goodness Logis de France accommodation. Its setting, in an unremarkable Minervois village happily by-passed by the Carcassonne – Béziers road, is made special by the Canal du Midi which skirts the hotel on the northern edge of its somewhat unkempt grounds. Homps, by the way, takes its name from a Gallo-Roman villa called Ulmos (meaning elms).
The Arbousier has a cavernous restaurant, big enough to accommodate hungry boat crews as well as all those who kip in one of the good-sized bedrooms. The owners are very much in evidence in the hotel. Virginie Rosado’s innate charm ensures that all runs smoothly in this former chai (a barn for storing unbottled wine).
The menus are straight-forward, the prices are very reasonable and the customer satisfaction is self-evident. In warmer weather, the restaurant moves outdoors under the plane trees that shade the towpath – a delightful setting for a rustic feast as the canal boats glide gently by. The wine list has some carefully chosen Minervois vintages.