The art of living well, what the French call l’art de vivre, is one of the guiding forces behind Relais & Châteaux, the collection of 580 independent hotels and restaurants around the world that launched in 1954.
As co-owner of Domaine Les Crayères in Champagne and Paris restaurant Le Taillevent with his brothers, Laurent Gardinier, who became president of Relais & Châteaux in 2023, has long cultivated an epicurean mindset rooted in aesthetics and attention to the smallest of details.
Gardinier, who sat on Relais & Châteaux’s board of directors for 17 years, started working in the family wine business at a young age. A former officer in the French navy who studied economics, his background is well-suited to a leadership role in hospitality.
“I love all aspects of a hotel. It’s gastronomy. It’s real estate. It’s design. It’s management. It’s a special 360-degree business,” he explains.
Relais & Châteaux, Gardinier points out, is an organization, not a company, “and I work in the service of its members.” Some of the small, upscale properties, most of them led by families, are in urban locations; many are in idyllic, remote settings. But they are all united by a soul. “They express the DNA of the local culture and the absolute passion of the chef, owner, or manager,” says Gardinier.
Casa Chameleon in Las Catalinas, Costa Rica
As Relais & Châteaux celebrates 70 years, Gardinier believes it’s important to look back at the past. During the post-World War II glory years, a group of hotelier friends from eight countryside establishments in France threatened by the arrival of a new highway that would eradicate a once thriving traffic flow banded together to establish a consortium in Lyon. By 1970, there were 77 French properties as well as 69 from abroad.
Today, Relais & Châteaux spans 65 countries on five continents, and is growing.
In 2024, for example, it welcomed 12 new members, including Curtain Bluff in Antigua & Barbuda; the Chelsea Townhouse in London; the recently opened Hôtel Balzac in Paris; Christian Louboutin’s Vermelho in Melides, Portugal; and Gmundner Lodge in Brack, Namibia.
The Christian Louboutin-designed Vermelho hotel in Melides, Portugal
Looking ahead, sustainability is paramount for the group, with focuses on everything from the preservation of biodiversity to the reduction of carbon footprints through single-use plastics to responsible cuisine.
In tandem with these eco-minded endeavors, Relais & Châteaux continues to deliver distinctive culinary experiences, one of the brand’s hallmarks and most sought-after components by guests. Consider the recent debut of Twiggs at Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont. Taking cues from farmhouses, it’s an informal alternative to the swish main dining room.
ōkta restaurant at the Tributary Hotel in McMinnville, Oregon
This milestone anniversary is also a chance for Relais & Châteaux to recommit to its values. “We don’t build or own our hotels, so we have to find the ones that fit with our expectations,” says Gardinier. “We get around two applications a day, but we are selective.”
Definitions of luxury have also changed vastly in recent years. “It still means gold and marble to people but also style or space to others,” adds Gardinier. “The luxury we have is the capacity of the owner or manager to understand the relationship between the environment of their hotel and where they operate. You might be driving on unpaved roads for over an hour to get there, but when you see the landscape, you’re aligned with where you are.”
