Press

L’Independant – 24 July 2018: A New Concept at the Hotel

L’Independant – 19 mai 2018: Springsteen chez l’amie d’Australie

L’Independant – 10 mai 2018: L’Aude à Springsteen

L’Independant – September 2017: Du jazz et de la douceur

L’Independant – juillet 2017: The Artist’s residency opens its doors to diverse projects

L’Independant – September 2016: Artist Residency in the Village

Le Petit Journal – July 2016: Musical Soiree at the Hotel Sainte Valiere

L’Independant – September 2015: A New Life at the Cayla House

Testimonials

Robert Dessaix – novelist, essayist, journalist – Australia – September 2016

“Sainte Valière is just the right setting for hatching or honing a book, a play, a poetry collection: spacious rooms with a view, tranquillity, history, with inviting countryside, ancient cities and small villages to explore between bursts of inspiration.  It’s France.  It’s almost Spain.  It’s perfect.”

Residencies 2018

Marie Bondeson – artist – & Håkan Obbel – Sweden – October 2018

“We came with the intention to recover from a period of hard artistic work and get new energy. We  found a quiet, friendly, warm and open space. A good place for dreaming, a wonderful working space and a socially great house to stay at. Eloise and Sophie are two really caring people that do everything to make your stay as good as you can wish. The atmosphere in the house and in the village is both relaxing and energising so you can actually get things done. Thank you both for a rich experience.”

http://www.mariebondeson.se/

Gregory Mackay – graphic novelist – Australia – October 2018

“Staying at the Hotel Sainte-Valière was a creative and calming experience. The room was bright and airy, and the village was quiet and interesting. I found it easy to work during the day, and at night the hotel was silent and restful. The narrow streets of the village are contrasted by the surrounding countryside, extending off into the distance. The local area features ruins, streams, canals and other small towns. The food provided was excellent, and there was always interesting conversation among the hosts and residents. I highly recommend the residency to artists and writers interested in a peaceful setting.”

http://ggorgg.tumblr.com/

Justin Nott – theatre maker – Australia / UK – September 2018

“As an emerging – and independent – Australian artist, the rarest gift is time and space. Time is so integral to the development of an artistic practise. The way the world works now, however, means artists are expected to match the productivity of the greater capitalist machine in order to stay afloat and, even worse, prove their worth. This is in total incongruity with the nature of creativity: imagination, consideration, exploration, experimentation, reflection, and so on.

What Eloise and the rare treasure of Hôtel Sainte Valière offer is time and space. Time according to you. Space according to the stunning, romantic and evocative landscape of the south of France.

The two weeks spent dwelling through the Minervois and the Hôtel were amongst the greatest of my life. This is no exaggeration. I was allowed a delicately balanced fortnight of solitude, challenging conversation, unpressured autonomy, and, of course, the (surely famous) wonderful cooking by Eloise and her mother, Sophie. I was allowed to take my time: to observe light and shadow across cobbled paths or window frames, to read with depth and leisure the stack of novels I’d since neglected, and to scribble away at a new play that had been whirring in around my brain for far too long. I was allowed to just be with my creativity as it was allowed to come.

I somewhat reductively joked over yet another stunning dinner as the sun set over the cooling vineyards that Eloise should be known as Penelope Pitstop. I explained that this was for no other reasons than that her gift of the Hotel was a vital pit stop for artists on the seemingly endless and dangerous highway of the outside world. If there is some place else like Hôtel Sainte Valière, I’ve yet to find it. A rare – and precious – treasure indeed. I miss it every day.”

http://www.justinnott.com/

Ann McGinley – painter – Australia – September 2018

“I think it was Oscar Wilde who said “‘To do nothing at all, is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual.’

At Hôtel St Valèere, Eloise and Sophie have managed to create a state of suspension where the resident artist is freed from quotidian thoughts and concern. Time moves slowly in this small, historic village. As the church bell chimed the hours, I had abundant time to consider, delve and contemplate my art practice. This is something that is so valuable to the progression of creative thought but unfortunately increasingly harder to experience.

Eloise also acts as an effective conduit to the Languedoc environs and community whether this is an art class at the town hall, music at nearby restaurant, a swim in the river, or even an overnight trip to Arles. Or the more difficult pursuit of doing nothing.

The Hotel itself is welcoming. The rooms are spacious and there is abundant studio space and light. Through the open windows, while working, I could sense village life ­ locals walking to the épicerie for their croissants, a coffee and a gossip; cars on their way to the neighbouring villages of Ginestas or Paraza; or tractors rumbling to and from the surrounding vineyards. The large kitchen offered respite on hot days, a place to eat breakfast or lunch or prepare a much needed coffee; but more importantly the origin of many delicious meals prepared by Sophie or Eloise. Equally respite could be had in the library on the top floor with views of the surrounding hills or in the magenta downstairs salon. In the evening after a profitable day of idling, working or exploring the countryside by bike or car, the terrace was the place for sharing conversation, food and the region’s wonderful wines.

I hope I again have the opportunity to experience such creative idleness.”

http://www.annmcginley.net/

Nikola Hoffmann – painter – Germany – September 2018

“Residency with heart. I was staying (unfortunately only) two weeks at the lovely Hotel Sainte Valière. Arriving in the picturesque small town of Sainte Valière and stepping into the hotel feels like entering into a whole different world. The charm of the 19th century and the landscape make you feel living in another time. But especially the warming welcome and hospitality of Eloise and her family makes you immediately happy and feeling like you’re in the right place.

My stay was really special. During the day I was painting downstairs in the atelier with the sun shining through the beautiful windows. As I was very lucky and had the opportunity to also paint in the upper atelier (the other residents were using their room to work) I could benefit from the high windows for painting in the afternoon, when the sun made his way up to the second floor.

In the evening Eloise and her mother Sophie cooked delicious dinner for us which we enjoyed outside on the terrace accompanied with wine and great talks. The community was just great. We had a great connection and did some trips to the other towns together, for which we could use the car that was available for the residents. We also did an overnight stay at Arles. Eloise’s mother was so kind to let us stay in her apartment. It was really generous like they were all the time with us. Thank you so much for the wonderful time!”

https://www.instagram.com/_nikosart/

Amber Carne – painter – Australia – September 2018

“Hotel Sainte-Valiere was everything I imagined and more. Set in a peaceful village amidst vineyards with the Black Mountains off in the distance, it is an idyllic location to immerse yourself in your creative project. It’s a perfect balance of time alone to think and create and interaction with other residents at meal time or excursions in the local area. Eloise and her family have created something truly special. An authentic cultural and artistic experience that will have you wishing you’d stayed longer.”

Dario Vacirca – researcher, art and theatre maker – Australia – September 2018

“Hôtel Sainte Valière is like a dream. And a reality. Mixed together in a timeless space, that affords the ponderer a place to (re)view the world from. The opportunity to travail through the vineyards, on the way to the river, to become lost in the quiet streets, and to share ideas, stories and AMAZING food with other fellow art-revellers – is a priceless and extremely rare gift. Sainte Valière is now lodged in the deep part of my psyche, alongside memories of swimming in remote islands, and making art in extreme conditions in Mexico, one of those cornerstones of my experience where I know I can retreat to whenever I need to be in my focussed art-soul-relational body.”

http://dariodariodario.com/

Belle Bassin – visual artist – Australia – September 2018

“In September last year I stayed at Hôtel Sainte Valière,

Arriving in the sleepy town of Sainte Valière that illuminates only for quick moments of bells ringing and croissant purchasing, just to go back to sleep again for the day, I was relieved to see purple thistles and grape vines growing, to be back in a sun-drenched Mediterranean town.

In the old mansion of Hôtel Sainte Valière the ceilings are high and the rooms are spacious, I spent two days deliberating over whether I should work in the cool front room, or the lofty library with views over the town. It was a very complex decision, it took 6 meals on the back porch, a few coffees, 3 glasses of wine, a walk around town, considerations of other dimensions and intentions and exchanges of eye contact to decide, on the inconsequential decision.

Then I moved onto my work where I considered all the options over a series of days, should I work with image 10, or 23, and if I do work with image 23 should it be a sculpture, a drawing, a performance, a video or a read aloud text. Then I eventually did some drawings and had a very nice time.

The air was excellent, Sophie and Eloise were attentive and kind, it was a much needed moment in the year where I had a chance to work in a much more relaxed way.

Thank-you for putting this space together Eloise and Justin. It’s a really special place.”

http://www.bellebassin.com/

Katerina Knight – textile artist – UK – July 2018

“The space which Eloise has created at Hôtel Sainte Valière for Artists encourages both creative and cultural exchange, through engaging conversation over lovely food and wine amidst a dreamlike landscape. The surroundings offer the perfect balance of inspiration to produce new work whilst allowing undisturbed time for reflection and thinking. Hôtel Sainte Valière is everything you could ask for and more, I will treasure my time spent here.”

Rio Walto – musician & theatre-maker – Switzerland – July 2018

“The region around Sainte-Valière is perfect to get lost. Grab a hat, get a bike and explore the magic land of vineyards. Back at Eloise’s Hôtel you will find a lovely old, spacious and sometimes mysterious house where you can stare at the ceiling for hours and hours. Thank you Eloise for taking care of us and creating such a lovely residency.”

https://www.riowolta.com/

Margarita Georgiadis – painter – Australia – June 2018

“My residency at Hôtel Sainte Valière fulfilled my every wish and expectation of what the perfect artists residency should be. Uninterrupted, peaceful endlessnessism of time, productivity and wandering through a spectacular landscape that feeds inspiration. A lifetime can be savored in a day here, with the wonderful knowledge that tomorrow will bring yet another lifetime of continuing magical experiences.”

http://www.margaritageorgiadis.online/

Danny Aviles – illustrator- US- June 2018

“I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived to Sainte-Valiere as it was my first residency but the time that I was there was definitely well worth it. Besides being a great place to work, my biggest takeaway will be the relationships that I made during my stay. I really value the conversations with all the people I had the opportunity to meet. The residents, Eloise and the people in the surrounding villages. These are things I will hold onto for as long as I can.”

https://www.dannyaviles.com/

https://www.dannyaviles.com/journal/2018/8/2/qui-ne-tente-rien-na-rien

Jade Lillie – arts executive – Australia – June 2018

“Hôtel Sainte-Valière is a peaceful and creative place where friends and artists come together, make new work, share conversations and focus on creative ideas. Eloise has created a very special place for artists that welcomed me to experience this beautiful part of the world whilst writing, walking, sharing meals and great conversation. I highly recommend Hôtel Sainte-Valière as a place to stay and undertake your own project, collaborate on ideas and sit in the beautiful garden whilst enjoying the sunset over the vineyards. It’s been such a pleasure.”

Adam McCulloch & Emma Sloley – writers – Australia/Mexico – may 2018

“A room of one’s own in a beautiful ivy-covered grande dame at the heart of a sleepy village nodding among the vines of the Minervois…this was how the story started for us in the summer of 2018. At the Hôtel Sainte Valière we found a place to write and to dream, where the company was stellar and the atmosphere somehow both tranquil and invigorating. Eloise and Sophie (and visiting chef Mary!) were wonderful and thoughtful hosts, providers of legendary meals and wine, and conversationalists extraordinaire. From cocktail hour by the fireplace in the scarlet-walled salon, to an evening cruise on the Canal du Midi, to a tipsy midnight feast of mushroom bourguignon shared around the kitchen table, the experience was nourishing in every way.”

https://emmasloley.net/

http://adammcculloch.info/

Debi Hamilton & David Francis – poets – Australia – May 2018

“Hôtel Sainte-Valière. What magic!  We have just spent two weeks as poets in residence at the Hôtel Sainte-Valière, and we’re hoping the enchantment doesn’t wear off any time soon.

Imagine a three-storey, 150-year-old house, with large guest rooms and high ceilings.  Add the surrounding village, where the smallness of the streets suggests a looming intimacy which is never quite realised because it’s so quiet (apart from the insistent marking of time by the two village church bells); then imagine all the solitary time you might want, seasoned with conversation and excellent food and wine at dinner time with your fellow guests; and picture all this being run by a woman who can whip up a stunning meal, draw you an artistic little map of a walk or drive you might enjoy, and hold you spellbound with her stories—and you still won’t have the half of it.
Our fellow guests will not be surprised to hear that we really enjoyed the food, wine and scenery of the area—we made up for many of their cloistered hours at the desk by exploring the surrounding villages and countryside at lunchtime—but they may be surprised to hear that we both managed to achieve a lot more writing than our daily lives at home allow.  And we slept better than we have anywhere else for years.
So, thank you Eloise for making such an experience possible—you have created a very beautiful space for writers both to work and to refill the well.”

Nabin Chhetri – poet – Scotland – May 2018

“St. Valiere was fabulous and it gave me the space to write in tranquility. I miss the Salon and the get togethers after dinner. At the end of the day, it is the lovely people who make things memorable. I miss the quiet, palatial room, from where, every day, the birds never failed to sing. The stroll around the vineyard, the wine around the fireplace, and the casual reading inside the room, everything was enigmatic.”

https://nabinkchhetri.wordpress.com/

Residencies 2017

Lizzy Sampson- installation artist- Australia – September 2017

“I spent a little under two weeks at Hotel Sainte Valiere to undertake a self-directed arts residency in September 2017. This was my first residency since becoming a parent, and Eloise was so accomodating of my family – arranging everything we needed for our stay. The food prepared by Eloise and Sophie is nothing short of magnificent – and the additional picnics by the river were always delightful. Having a car available to explore the surrounding villages, rivers and mountains was amazingly helpful and made being autonomous during our stay very easy. Sainte Valiere provided a very different sense of place, space and time and each hour of every day seemed to stretch – so that I really achieved a lot of thinking, making, exploring and doing in just 2 weeks. I feel like I just began to scratch the surface of life in a small village and would love to return to explore this further. A very accomodating, comfortable, creative and welcoming place to live and work. Merci Beaucoup.”

Antoine Giorgini- film maker- France – September 2017

Jens-Martin Eriksen – author, essayist – Denmark – September 2017

“L’Hôtel Sainte Valière is a really great place for everyone who wants peace and quiet to work on their manuscripts. Wonderful spacious rooms in and old doctors house in a small village in the South of France, nice food and homely atmosphere, great wines and countryside to be explored close to Canal du Midi and historical city of Minerve. ”

Ida Rödén – illustrator, sculptor – Sweden – September 2017

“When you realize you can do it all – when your kids can be without you a full week, when you manage to convince an art foundation to financially support your adventures, and when you have the best husband that pushes you to follow just that dream – the one of doing it all. Well, that’s when you wake up in a spacious room where the sunlight is peeking through big windows revealing the narrow streets of Sainte-Valière. This Artist Residency was just what I needed – fantastic home-cooked food, solitude, car trips, stimulating dinner conversations with the hostesses and the writer in residence (Jens-Martin Eriksen), and the occasional meeting with locals to see what they are up to (to learn from the experts about the fate of the cathars). And, not to forget, time to make art – in this case thorny beetles hidden in thorny plants coloured with the juice from berries and greenery collected during my daily walks outside the village.”

http://www.idaroden.com/

« Vast spaces for reverie with superb dimensions befitting Man who seeks. Difficult to match with words the sensation Sainte Valière leaves you with. So instead we will return, with Fabien, and shoot a short film in the style of Rohmer. »

Fabien Gorgeart- film maker- France – Juillet 2017

Jeannine Cook – silverpoint artist – Majorca – May / June 2017

“Hôtel Sainte Valière – from Winegrower’s “Folly” to Artists’ Residence

Light footsteps flying down the spacious stairway, sunlight flooding through the big windows, laughter and a welcome soon sealed with a glass of wine: my stay at Hôtel Sainte Valière began deliciously.

I soon learned that this gracious house, one of the main homes built in this small hilltop village during the 19th century wealthy heyday of wine culture in the Languedoc Roussillon area of southern France, was originally called a “winegrower’s folly”. The Cayla family knew how to make a home of gracious proportions, and today’s guests at Eloise Caleo’s Artist Residency are the lucky beneficiaries (…)

My two-week residency flashed past but it was the prefect place to get down to working really hard. I wanted to complete two big silverpoint drawings for an upcoming exhibition and this was the ideal situation simply to push through and finish them in dogged fashion. My quiet and privacy were respected delightfully.

So many enticing trips, nonetheless beckoned… so many attractions to delight, and all close enough to hand to Sainte Valière that an artist can slip off for a while to change gears from creating to celebrating life in France.”

To read Jeannine’s full testimonial click here

Macdonald Jones – photo, sculpture, installation artist – USA – June 2017

“Hotel Sainte Valiere is a wonderfully calm & charming residency. There are lovely trails for walking or biking and many beautiful sights and neighboring towns to see and inspire you. The work space and large table by the window are perfect, and the food is excellent!”

Miranda Mills – documentary maker, performer – Australia – June 2017

“Hôtel Sainte Valière is a large welcoming unique artists residence in a small village. Here, I had the opportunity to both enjoy quintessential French country life and have time and space to focus on my particular oeuvre and groove! The environment is quiet and the rooms are elegant spacious and relaxed. Chez Eloise I was encouraged to take time for both reflection upon my own work and recreation. It is close to the Canal du Midi and walking, bike riding or exploring by car in small day trips is a delight.

I visited Minerve a medieval town on the edge of the Black mountain and swam in a crystal clean stream, cooled down in the ocean at the picture perfect ancient seaside fort of Collioure and passed through small villages, vineyards and olive groves that embody the essence of the French experience. I felt nourished by all this and my creativity began to flow again after leaving a very cold Tasmanian winter as I opened out in the beauty of a southern French summer away from the crowds.”

Raphael Pintart – journalist and screenwriter- France – June 2017