La Bastide des Escourches can host business meetings, conferences, workshops and small seminars for up to 30 participants, in a meeting room on a 19th-century country estate. The bastide stands in the hills on the eastern edge of Marseille, at the foot of the Garlaban massif, between the city center and Cassis. It has been run as a guest house for about twenty years.
Seminars and company events
The meeting room takes up to 30 participants. It is air-conditioned, soundproofed and connected to Wi-Fi, and its layout can be changed for a board meeting, a training session, a conference or a group workshop. A coffee-break service is offered, and quotes are prepared on request. For a team of 10 to 30 people, the format works well for a one or two-day off-site: work in the morning, lunch in the shade of the plane trees, a walk in the hills in the afternoon.
Because the estate also rents guest rooms and furnished houses, a small team can stay on site for a residential seminar. The park, the terrace and the pool give space for breaks and informal discussions away from the office.
Rooms and capacities
The meeting room is the only dedicated event space listed. Its capacity is 30 people. The terrace under the plane trees and the park can host breaks and outdoor time. The estate does not advertise weddings or large receptions, so it suits small professional groups rather than parties.
Accommodation
The guest house has three spacious double rooms and two suites, each with a private bathroom. En-Vau has a 160 cm bed, Sugiton two single beds, and La Candelle a 160 cm bed on the ground floor. The Belle Vue suite has two south-facing rooms and a lounge on the second floor. The Morgiou and Sormiou suite has two connecting rooms with 160 cm beds. The Monte-Cristo apartment, on the first floor of the bastide, sleeps four.
Four furnished houses add more beds: Le Garlaban sleeps five to six, Le Ruissatel five, Le Loft four, and Le Taoumé, the largest at about 120 m², ten to eleven. All guests share the pool. In total, the estate can lodge a group of the size its meeting room holds.
Catering
The guest house runs a table d'hôtes, with house specialties and dishes from the Marseille area cooked with produce from the garden. Coffee breaks are available for meetings. Lunch and dinner arrangements for a seminar group should be agreed with the owners when booking.
History and setting
The bastide was built in the 19th century in the hills made famous by Marcel Pagnol, and was converted into a guest house about twenty years ago. Its wooded park covers 10 hectares and is crossed by the Canal de Marseille. The terrace sits in the shade of plane trees, next to the swimming pool. The Garlaban, the Calanques, the Sainte-Baume and the Sainte-Victoire massifs are all close by, which suits a walk or a guided hike as a team activity.
Getting there
The estate lies off the route de la Montadette, in the Éoures area of Marseille, reached from the A50 via the Aubagne Centre or La Penne-sur-Huveaune exits. The owners advise not to follow GPS directions through the narrow Traverse de la Penne. Aix-en-Provence and Toulon are about 40 minutes away by road. Marseille Saint-Charles station and Marseille Provence airport are the nearest rail and air links.
