Le Clos Des Sens Annecy

Located on the hill above Annecy-le-Vieux, Le Clos De Sens is a charmingly confidential and luxurious hotel, rated 5 stars, with 11 distinguished and spacious rooms.

When the cold weather comes, imagine the idea of a spa bath for two, in front of an open fire. In spring to get away from it all, move outside to the swimming corridor and the aromatic garden.

NATURE ROOMS
Situated in the original building of Clos des Sens, these bedrooms are cosy and intimate. Each has a uniquely designed fireplace (some of which are wood burning), a balnéo spa bath at the foot of each bed and a balcony with a view over Annecy and the lake.

CHAMBRE RACINE
The most recently redesigned and decorated, this room is situated directly above the restaurant.

As with all our rooms, this room has a uniquely designed fireplace, a balnéo spa bath at the foot of the bed and an extra large shower. The room’s balcony, with its view over Annecy le vieux and the mountains, also has direct access to our rooftop citrus greenhouse.

SIGNATURE ROOMS
Located in the eves of the old school, a listed historical building dating from the 19th century, the walls of these rooms all tell a story.

Both charming and cosy, they enjoy magnificent views of the lake and Annecy, and direct access to the restaurant’s herb garden. Generously proportioned, each room has a uniquely designed fireplace and balnéo spa bath.

LE PETIT DEJEUNER – BREAKFAST
Laurent Petit believes breakfast should be a succession of carefully marked flavours, selected from on our doorstep. Hence it is the ‘fruits’ of our local producers that make up the journey of flavours at our breakfast table.

Carefully designed to set you up for the day, an ethereal landscape by local painter Gilles Giacometti calmly watches over our breakfast room, while you look out onto our herb garden and its living sculpture by Marion Roffino, with Lake Annecy in the distance.

A NEW, LIVELY AND MAGICAL SHOWCASE
Our new, elegantly serene, contemporary dining room invites you to enter another world. Between shadow and light, the room vibrates with the subtle rhythm and ballet of the table service, the fireplace and the fairy-like crystal artwork created by glassmakers Aurélie Abadie and Samuel Sauques.

A poetic garden, presenting the Chef’s sublime vegetables: kohlrabi, artichoke, endive roots, fennel….The majestic fireplace, its surround made of sculpted, sanded spruce that is polished with Chinese ink, was dreamed up by sculptor Theirry Martenon and made with wood sourced from our Savoie region.

Using ancient methods, he has carve the wood to highlight its natural forms, colours and textures, inspired by nature – the texture of rocks, tree bark, leaf veins – it draws and emits light, from dusk to dawn.

Emitting a powerful force over the room, a monumental block of blue Savoie stone draws you to the entrance of our kitchen. Cut from a unique quartz stone, its veins date back to the origins of the world – symbolic of the honest authenticity of our ‘cuisine’.

Truth and transparency – the philosophy of Laurent Petit, the soul of this place. It is here that the peaks, the lake, the ancient chestnut trees, our hosts and hostesses, the teams in the kitchen and dining room unite in praise of nature.

LAURENT PETIT’S LAKE AND PLANT CREATIONS
F Pinay Rabaroust – Atabula (12/2016): “a language bursting with truth, honesty and decisiveness. Clear-cut. Uncompromising. Laurent Petit and his cuisine are one and the same thing. They are in total harmony, however complex.

The result is impressive. On both a human and a culinary level. Behind each dish there is a story, a power, something which enthrals you until the next one – a bond which binds you.

What you find here is a history of personal progress and an echo to the local region – what the French call “le terroir” – in this case the three lakes of Annecy, Geneva and Le Bourget and the soil of the Savoie.

The menu – “Laurent Petit. Lake and Plant Cuisine” is faithful to its origins. And the love in the dish is probably the feeling which you feel the most at the Clos des Sens today. Here there is depth – and truth.

Here beats the heart of the kitchen of the Clos des Sens – our ability to attract diners, make them unconditionally loyal to the restaurant and to the dishes in a dialogue perfectly crafted by the Lord and Master.

Laurent Petit and his cuisine are one and the same. The mirror effect is disturbing, amusing and astounding. The Clos des Sens is one of France’s most beautiful restaurants. Here emotions are authentic and we continually push back the limits of culinary daring with no holds barred”.

TABLE ART
Sophisticated tableware contributes to the emotions. Laurent and Martine Petit have brought together a selection of unique items created by local craft people. Bespoke plates and dishes reflect the aesthetics of the culinary creations, with their shapes and forms enhancing the flavours and savours of our kitchen.

The contemporary preciousness of Sylvie Coquet’s porcelains create a wonderful dialogue with the elaborate rusticity of Jean-Pol Bozzone’s rough clay pottery, who through the practice of Raku attains the art of utter simplicity and life – the search for the quintessential.

The radiant Amandine from Gruffy, has made a series of lace-like porcelain on which we serve our breakfasts. The gentle off-white porcelain crafted by potter and ceramists Maïeul Cardon from the Hautes-Alps, adds a subtle finesse to the table with its supple lines.

His unique crystallisation process (a chemical reaction to the enamel) achieves a magical metamorphosis, resulting in rhythmic, irregular and geometric motifs.

While sculptor and woodman Pierre Scavino from Chartreuse, has created a series of fascinating pieces using beech wood, or ‘hêtre échauffé’ – wood carefully selected once it has begun to deteriorate and is naturally decorated with black ink designs of wild fungi.

And finally we have Maxime Cadoux from the Bauges. A violinmaker by trade, Maxime transforms locally manufactured Opinel n°8 knives with his elegant and detailed carvings.

THE LOVE OF WINE: WITH 1,500 REFERENCES
Martine Petit has always prioritised passionate ‘artist’ wine makers who strive for the ultimate interpretation of their unique, pedigree soil. An on-going quest, aimed at finding the perfect marriage between dishes and wines.

The driving force, she steers the ship while allowing our wine servers to express their own visions and sensitivities. Today, it is our talented sommelier Thomas Lorival who perfects the art of dish and wine (and other drinks) marriages.

He contributes to the evolution of one of the most exceptional wine lists in France, with over 1,500 references, 500 of which are held in reserve for maturing and 200 come from the Alps. And all of which originate from estates and plots where each vintage tells a story.

THE CHEESE CELLAR
A jewel of the Savoie region, our cheese refining cellar is the living heart of our lounge area. Here, local cheesemongers Pierre Gay, a ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’, and reputed Alain Michel, have joined forces to refine our cheeses.

Over 40 varieties make up our impressive cheese selection, many of which are stored in their original large form. The cellar is crafted from the same wooden planks, a local spruce, that have been used for centuries to mature Reblochon cheese in the mountain pastures.

Within the thoroughly modern setting of Clos des Sens, Martine and Laurent Petit conserve one of the area’s most powerful and ancient culinary cultures.

THE DESSERTS
Striking a festive note, Clos des Sens’ desserts are a gourmet opera in two, three or four acts. Created by Laurent Petit as a prolongation of his culinary journey, they are, importantly, composed by a ‘cook’ and not a ‘patissier’.

Intended to reflect the identity of our local region, our desserts alternate between coaxing, mysterious and ethereal. The ‘musts’ include homemade evanescent chicory tart; agastach and raspberries; ‘Bricelet Mèlèze’; pine nuts; white Tomme sorbet, rosehips…

CAFÉ BRUNET
Imagine a 14th century country house in the centre of the village of Annecy le Vieux. Facing the church and with a shaded terrace, Café Brunet is just a short stroll from Clos des Sens… Irresistible!

“Martine and I decided to take this village bistro back to its roots by relooking at ‘old originals’ – cuisine canaille!” Under the direction of Mathieu Fortin, an enthusiastic team welcome guests for a genuinely tasty experience.

BRASSERIE BRUNET
Brasserie Brunet can be found in the heart of Annecy, a stone’s throw from the train station. A high-end brasserie founded in 2018, its style is timeless. Inside, the original wooden beams and stonework give it a truly authentic feeling.

From his open kitchen Chef and business partner of Laurent Petit, Nicolas Guignard explores some of the great French classics and traditional Savoyard dishes. For example: ‘la bouillabaisse’ revisited with fish from the surrounding lakes; or the unmissable ‘Tête du cochon grillée’’.

Front of house, Delphine Perrier gives a warm welcome to our clients, guiding them as to the best wine to pair their meal. A ‘not to be missed’ restaurant for our local Annéciens, Brasserie Brunet is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

LAURENT PETIT
I have many strong memories of my childhood in Bussières. Delectable smells from my father’s butchery permeated the house – meat pies fresh from the oven, steaming brawn, salamis and saussison drying, blood sausages cooking, smoking pork belly, sausage meat being mixed.

Experiencing these aromas inspired my earliest fascination with the culinary world. But my first true taste of this world was with Michel Guérard in Eugénie-les Bains. Thanks to an unexpected recommendation by Nicolas de Rabaudy, I discovered a world that marvelled me.

I believe that since that day, ‘la cuisine’ has been my daily guide, it gives an immeasurable thirst for life.

THE CUISINE ‘LACUSTRE & VÉGÉTALE‘
I want to pay homage to the land around me and to surprise you, subtly, deeply, gently, with finesse and at length. I want to introduce you to ingredients with which you may not be familiar and to surprise you with their delicacy.

My travels to Japan have left me with a clear sense of purity, and a desire to focus on the intrinsic qualities of our ingredients, to extract their hidden flavours. In my kitchen, Perch is cooked with salt, like anchovies; fish scales are known as ‘butterfly wings’; we make ‘crayfish tea’; and use Fera fish eggs… caviar of the lake.

My promise to you? We will take you to a new level of tastes – unrefined, dazzling, startling, unexpected. When you dine with us, you let go!

‘COOKING OUT’
After hiding in my kitchen for over twenty years, today I find great freedom and pleasure in ‘cooking out’ – meeting our diners, exploring and savouring the fruits of the land around me, promoting our producers and sharing the inspiration behind our dishes, their history and mine.

THE SECRET GARDEN
With the help of our gardener Lionel Perron, we have created our very own herb garden at Clos des Sens. Having this intimacy with nature serves as a constant reminder to be spontaneous.

Spending time exploring our 200 herb varieties and their abundance of perfumes, is an education in patience and creativity, that evokes both memories and sparks the imagination.

Among them: the purple Shiso with its intense taste of cumin, sometimes refreshing dialogue of the pimpernel and occasionally surprising bursts of cucumber and litchi. The enigmatic Agastache, with its persistent notes of fern.

The subtle tenderness of Sichuan pepper; not forgetting Cinnamon Basil; or the miniscule flower of the perennial Roquette, as petulant as the finest pepper corn; the iodine concentrate of the Borage Flower; the Physalis, Oregano; Absynthe…

THE PRODUCERS OF THE SAVOURS
Our region has a wealth of enthusiastic women and men who share a love of all that is tasty, simple and authentic with me. Attentive to quality, they care for their crops and take pride the subtlety of their savours.

My thanks to Rudy Lauberton for his root chicory; Philippe Héritier for his exceptionally succulent and tasty snails; and Dominique Griot for the aromatic depths of his saffron.

Thanks also to the Viret family who explained the seasonal variation of vegetables in the Albanais region, between Lake Le Bourget and Lake Annecy, and to Niels Rodin for his improbably scented citrus fruits. And my thanks to all the others who bring magic to my days and who constantly inspire me.

OUR ECO-RESPONSIBLE APPROACH
We have carefully and intelligently done as much as we can at Clos des Sens to integrate our site and gardens with the utmost respect for nature. All our purchases are from local suppliers, all our produce is fresh, and our carbon footprint is very low.

Every morsel of fish and vegetable is used in its entirety – and our waste is dehydrated to make a fabulous compost. We use two electric vehicles to get around, and have a number of electric bicycles available for our guests to use.

Our architecture, decorative elements, furniture and tableware are all crafted with local materials, resources and know-how.

My vision: to build a more responsible world, that not only respects the environment but that is more human and that celebrates our talents and hidden beauties. And of course, to share the true essence of my region, and reveal its inner spirit.

RELAXATION & WELLNESS
Whether you are staying with us for one night or longer, we will do everything we can to make your stay at the Clos des Sens unforgettable. We welcome our guests as friends, and our team will do everything they can to ensure your stay is comfortable.

Make the most of your time with us, our fine weather and the beautiful surroundings by floating in our lap pool, idling in the hot tub, reclining in one of our hammocks, quietly reading under our living larch ‘gloriette’, or taking in the aromas of our herb and vegetable gardens – you may even have the pleasure of bumping into our gardener Lionel!

THE LAKES
Clos des Sens is ideally located where the three largest alpine lakes are formed – the savage and secret Lake Le Bourget, the pure and exotic Lake Annecy and the imposing Lake Geneva. Three breathtakingly beautiful lakes – sources of inspiration, emotion and pleasure.

Dream while stretching out in a boat, swim in the waters as pure as enchanted lagoons, fish or walk on the banks… our lakes stir unforgettable feelings every day.

THE MOUNTAINS
Bountiful Nature does nothing by chance. Her gift of mountains, jewel cases that protect and nourish our lakes and add a thousand and one shades of greens to the blue waters, bring us closer to heaven and our true essence!

The softly flowered and verdant Bauges, Aravis and Chablais areas, are ideal for escapes forest, scrublands and mountain pasture walking, but are also treasures for their market gardeners, stockbreeders and gatherers, whose produce echoes their savours.

ANNECY LE VIEUX & ANNECY TOWN
Imagine a village on the sunny slopes of Annecy with panoramic views over the town, but away from the hustle and bustle. A haven of peace, a cocoon where you can hear yourself think and enjoy the essentials of life, lulled by a gentle breeze.

A place steeped in history, with its 12th century Romanesque church and bell-tower, its age-old chestnut trees and ancient stones. An ideal location for Clos des Sens’ gourmet restaurant, but also our 5 star luxury hotel, with five of its bedrooms housed in the old village school, built in 1866 and renovated with taste and elegance, respecting its past.

Website: www.closdessens.com

Rooms: 11

Price: from 217 EUR per night