Domaine de La Chaux de Revel

The Domaine de La Chaux de Revel is located in the hamlet of La Chaux de Revel, in Saint-Martin-Valmeroux in the Cantal, about 1 km from the entrance to Salers, one of the most beautiful villages in France. It occupies a renovated former farm dating from 1856, at 1,000 m altitude in the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park, at the foot of the Puy Mary. The site is classified as a 3-star residential leisure park (parc résidentiel de loisirs): there are no bare pitches, only accommodation to rent.

There are eight unusual units, namely hotel-style wooden caravans, self-catering wooden caravans, a cabin on stilts called “Secrets des volcans” and a small buron fitted out for a couple, as well as three double rooms rated 3 keys by Clévacances. A second group of lodges, opened in 2025, adds to this for slow tourism stays.

Opening period: according to the rates page, three types of accommodation (rooms, p’tit buron, lodges) can be booked all year round except from 15 November to 15 December, and the website advises calling to ask about any other winter closures. The hotel-style wooden caravans close from mid-November to early March, the self-catering wooden caravans from mid-November to mid-March and the cabin from mid-November to mid-March. These dates should be confirmed with the domaine before any winter booking.

At weekends, the minimum rental is two nights, and three or four nights in July and August depending on the accommodation.

Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and ice climbing with a high-mountain guide, sledges to borrow, walks in the Salers area.

The domaine focuses on well-being and comfort rather than on camping facilities. A covered, adjustable pool, heated to 27 °C from late May to September, faces due south with a view of the Cantal mountains. It is reserved for people staying at the domaine, is unsupervised, and ranges in depth from 1.10 m to 1.70 m. Below it, a barrel sauna heated with lava stones can be rented for €14 for one or two people, and the cabin has an optional private infrared sauna.

A practitioner offers massages in the park, by reservation, at €65 per hour and €90 per hour and a half. The domaine’s restaurant is open two to three evenings a week: fondue bohème made with Auvergne cheeses at €23, candlelit dinner at €26 and mini saint-nectaire cocotte at €23, with a children’s menu at €15. Some weeks, no meals are served.

Breakfast is included in the hotel-style wooden caravans, the cabin, the rooms and the buron, and costs €8 per adult in the self-catering wooden caravans. Wi-Fi is free in the lounge, the breakfast room and on the terrace. A small shop opens on Sunday and Thursday in the late afternoon, a free shuttle runs to the 4 Routes de Salers bus stop, and there is an electric vehicle charging point and a defibrillator. Air conditioning is available in summer for €6 per day.

The domaine serves as a base for exploring the Salers area. On site, you can meet the farm animals on request, watch the wildlife along the path, such as foxes, roe deer, stoats or birds of prey, and relax in the sauna or with a massage.

In spring, the hike up the Puy Violent, which starts in Saint-Paul-de-Salers, climbs to a summit of the Cantal massif above 1,500 m altitude, where wild daffodils bloom. In summer, the Puy Mary, which peaks at 1,783 m, is the emblematic summit of the massif, the largest stratovolcano in Europe. In autumn, the stone villages of the Salers area and the cheese route invite you to take a stroll; the Festi’Vache, the annual festival of the Maison de la Salers, celebrates the cow and cheese.

In winter, the domaine provides small sledges and relays an introductory winter activities package with an independent high-mountain guide: Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, ski touring from Salers and ice climbing. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are also among the leisure activities recommended at reception. An activity booklet on the Salers area is published on the website.