Meet Debby, owner of a 3 bedroom villa in Provence. Come on, who can resist Provence? Try this: Close your eyes and imagine the typical Provencal scene. The beautiful scenery, the warm sun, the wonderful food. Then read Debby’s words and you’ll realise what you imagined really is there. Then go and book a stay in this most romantic of regions!
“The wisteria in April, the poppies in May and June, the lavender and sunflowers in the summer and the lush vineyards with the ripe grapes in late August and September. The Luberon is just beautiful with perched hill top villages, pretty cobbled streets and fabulous cafes and restaurants in which to while away the time.”
1) Tell us a little about your villa.
Our house in Pont Royal was completed in January 2008 – when we signed for it in September 2006 we only had the plans and the building site to go by but we knew by the location that we would have beautiful views from the garden and having seen some of the other properties in the Domaine designed by the same architect we knew we were buying a good quality property. Our house is semi-detached, built in a typical Provencal style with shuttered windows and typical Provencal fixtures and fittings. The ground floor is open plan and spacious with french doors leading onto the large wraparound terrace and pretty private garden. Three good sized bedrooms upstairs, the master with en-suite and a large family bathroom. We have kept the interior bright and clean with white walls, tiled floors and white voile curtains – we hope our guests find it easy to relax and make themselves at home. As the Domaine of Pont Royal is gated with 24 hour security we have the added bonus of knowing that the property is well protected and we also have the services of our wonderful house manager who has 30 years of experience looking after clients and guests within Pont Royal.
2) What made you buy your villa in Provence? Was it financial, emotional, a connection with the area, or something else?
Quite simply we had been holidaying in Pont Royal for about five years, staying in a villa owned by friends – we loved the area, the climate, the food and the people and when we visited in summer 2006 and saw the crane in the distance that indicated building work we had to go and investigate and fell in love with the look of the proposed development of Le Hameau des Trois Collines – we came home to Belfast but couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of owning a little house in our favourite part of the world – so we returned and took the plunge and haven’t regretted it since. Our house is primarily our family home in Provence and with our four children now grown up and spreading their wings it is the perfect place to get together and spend time as a family away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We love to hear from our guests who have had a wonderful time and enjoy sharing our little place in the sun with others.
3) What’s the best thing about this part of France? Is it the scenery, the pace of life, the locals, the activities, etc?
Of course living in Ireland we love the climate of Provence and enjoy escaping to the sun whenever we can. However Provence can also have extremes of temperature and we have enjoyed a couple of snowy weekends in January when the landscape has been stunning. There are favourite things about every part of the year – the wisteria in April, the poppies in May and June, the lavender and sunflowers in the summer and the lush vineyards with the ripe grapes in late August and September. The Luberon is just beautiful with perched hill top villages, pretty cobbled streets and fabulous cafes and restaurants in which to while away the time … we love to just get out and explore and aim to visit at least one new place with every trip we make – we really feel that we have only just scratched the surface so far. The wonderful cities of Aix and Avignon are close by and with so much history at hand there is never time to get bored. The people of Provence are so friendly and willing to help us with our rudimentary French which is hopefully improving as the years go by … we have made friends for life with our neighbours from all over Europe and the locals who love us to bring crumpets, oxo cubes and jelly whenever we visit.
4) What are the 3 special touches you add to enhance the guest experience?
1. We try to make our house a home from home so we provide a vast selection of dvds, games and specialist books about the area – including expensive “coffee table” type books and regional cook books.
2. All our guests arrive to a welcome pack with a local bottle of rose wine and of course they have the services of our house manager who is on call 24 hours a day at no extra cost to our visitors.
3. A personally written guest manual with tips and ideas that we have garnered over the years.
5) If a guest had just one day staying in your villa what would you recommend they do for the perfect experience?
After an early morning dip in one of our two beautiful pools I would suggest breakfast on the terrace in the morning sun, then collect the shopping basket and head to a market in the Luberon(there is one close by on every day of the week) – there I would suggest they buy a spit roasted chicken and ask for a tub of the potatoes cooked below the chickens, a green salad and tomatoes, a baguette, local cheese and some fresh fruit … after a wander around the market and the village and a simple lunch at a pretty cafe, head back to the villa to while away the late afternoon in the garden or by the pool knowing that dinner for the evening has been taken care of. In the early evening enjoy an aperitif before serving your roasted chicken, potatoes and salad followed by fruit and relax with a glass of something special and enjoy the spectacular view of the moon peeping over the mountains and eventually rising into the night sky accompanied by the wonderful sounds of beautiful Provence.
To rent this 3 bedroom villa in Provence from Debby, please use the contact details found in the above link.
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