If, at breakfast, one is fed silkily scrambled eggs, two squares of multigrain toast, twin wedges of Comté, and the best cappuccino outside of the finer cafés of Milan, almost anything is possible.

Those traveling in a group should consider Villa W, the hotel’s private residence with three bedrooms and butler service.

Why not bound up six flights of stairs? How about a freestyle swim against the heady currents of the Mediterranean? Or perhaps spend a day hiking up the craggy coastline of La Croix-Valmer? This is life at Lily of the Valley, a new hotel in the South of France.