A 17th-Century French Convent Just Won the World’s Top Eco-Spa Award
- GSS Staff
- Nov 3
- 2 min read
In Provence, Le Couvent des Minimes Hôtel & Spa L’Occitane has been named World’s Best Eco Spa 2025 for its certified sustainability and restrained design.
The world’s best eco-spa for 2025 isn’t in Bali or Thailand. It’s in the hills of Provence, inside a 17th-century convent once home to Franciscan nuns. Le Couvent des Minimes Hôtel & Spa L’Occitane, located in the village of Mane, has earned the World’s Best Eco Spa title from the World Spa Awards, along with **ECOCERT certification as a Sustainable Wellbeing Center — the highest sustainability label available in the spa industry.
The property spans 2,500 square metres of wellness facilities: indoor and outdoor pools, a hammam, two saunas, a salt grotto, and a sensory pool. Stone arches and cloister gardens frame the space. Nothing is over-styled; the design keeps the building’s natural proportions intact while introducing discreet comfort.
The spa’s approach draws on Provence’s landscape. Treatments use L’Occitane’s signature botanicals — lavender, verbena, almond, and shea butter — in ten rooms designed for facial therapy, deep massage, and hydrotherapy. The treatment menu is divided into four programs: Beauty, Regeneration, Balance, and Detoxification. Each may be tailored to focus on circulation, recovery, or skin renewal, with massage oils and techniques adjusted to the guest’s needs.
Beyond treatments, the property integrates yoga, naturopathy, meditation, and fitness sessions that take place in open air or under vaulted ceilings. The gardens supply herbs and flowers used in the spa’s aromatherapy oils, and waste management follows ECOCERT’s criteria for water and energy efficiency.
**ECOCERT certification requires audited proof of environmental performance, natural product use, and workplace welfare. Le Couvent des Minimes is among the first luxury spas in Europe to meet that standard in full.
