Love it or hate it, the contemporary design by architect Jean Nouvel ensures that guests are unlikely to forget this hotel. Built in 1989 on the brow of a hill with panoramic views over the Gironde and the bridges of Bordeaux, Hauterive Saint-James is a place from which to escape the bustle of the city while remaining within easy reach for sightseeing.
The uncompromisingly modernist style, best described as urban chic or perhaps industrial boutique, is effective in blocking out the traffic noise from the périphérique below. Pick one of three dining options: everyone sneaks a look into the kitchen en route to the Michelin star restaurant which is arranged on 3 tiers to take advantage of the view. There is even a fumoir for your post-prandial cigar. A few steps away in the sleepy-but-smart hamlet is the hotel’s brasserie, the Café de l’Espérance, and there is a fish restaurant/wine bar by the gates.
Accommodation, as you would expect, verges towards minimalist (some are equipped with futons) but who cares when you can lie in bed and admire the view from your huge bay window. If small bathrooms are an irritant, go for an upgrade; the Harley Davidson suite, for example, will have a few surprises in store. And lest you forget that Bordeaux’s wealth is based on wine, the hotel’s 40 acre vineyard comes right up to the deck of its long black swimming pool.