If you are looking for a Provence villa rental, then the one we had the pleasure to stay in this past August is definitely worth a look.  Huge rooms, oozes of charm, peaceful location and a great village, Goult, nearby!

Before I go into describing all that was so nice about this Provence villa rental, if you want a shorter version, you can check this video tour.

By the way, make sure to read my quick guide to the best places to eat in Provence.  It also gives you ideas for visits and hotel stays in Provence. 

A perfect Provence villa rental for two or three families

When you are renting a house with another family or even 2, you really want space so that you don’t end up killing each other after 3 days.  This villa definitely had that.  The quirky layout (you had two different staircases from the kitchen for instance, one leading up to the bedroom floor and one to the living room) actually meant that you could easily not cross anyone for the whole day if you wanted to play that game.

The house is also very peaceful because you are in the middle of the vineyards, at the end of a gravelled pathway and really with no noise outside. Even the jointed house next door didn’t make any noise: we could see one car parked on time to time but we never saw the inhabitants.

Great style and family atmosphere

The house is very old (first built in 1625) and the sense of family and atmosphere was immediately obvious when we walked in.  The thick walls, the old doors, the “mangeoire” in the utility room, the wood beams on the ceiling, everything talked of a history and of many families and farmers having gone through these doors.

The owners, the O’Connor family, have done a great work adding homely touches and you could sense that they had carefully chosen each piece of furniture, antique and new.  Loved the old big mirrors in particular.

The kids were very happy with their own space upstairs complete with air conditioning (the only area in the house with it) and bathroom and separate toilets.  They often disappeared there and we wouldn’t hear from them for a long time.

The kitchen was huge and made it so easy to cook and to tidy up.  We actually didn’t cook that much, mostly buying ready made meals from a great caterer or doing “big salads” (the French readers will recognise the joke).

One night we had a fabulous private chef coming to cook for us.  It was delicious, very easy and probably the best value of all meals we had in the region.

Pool, table tennis or just having a nap: relaxation is the only word here

Having a nap in the bedroom made fresh from the closed shutters and then opening the window to gaze at the sky and the Luberon hills from the bed was bliss!

Of course, there was a pool and at 9m by 4, it was the right size for the kids to play in and for the parents to do some laps.  Both children and adults were happy to have a game of water polo in there too.  The pool is not heated so on the mornings where we had a storm during the night, you could certainly feel it being fresher.  But with an average temperature of 30 degrees throughout the stay, the water got to a nice 25 temperature most days.

Making it easy for ourselves!

We rented the house via an agency so it came with services that were really helpful:

• a full house cleaning
• change of sheets and any linen in between the two weeks
• a man coming to clean the pool every Friday and
• even gardeners once a week!

Aurore, the concierge, was very helpful in sourcing massages (although the masseuse broke her foot so in the end couldn’t come), and quickly fixing a heated water problem on a Saturday afternoon.

Friends, family, good food and wine: the recipe for a fab holiday

We had a fabulous time in the house and no doubt the huge space helped.  Having our family and friends coming to visit and being able to welcome them without fuss or stress was really wonderful.

You can view more photos of the villa further down.

Villa rental in Provence near Goult, the details

• 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms good for 10 people
• from £3500 a week
• can be rented via Provence Secrète or Airbnb

INSIDE	OUTSIDE	FOR FAMILIES
3 double bedrooms, one of which has en-suite bathroom, and a top floor for 4 children natural stone floors, old doors, big wooden beams, and even a manger TV with cable wifi amazing big kitchen with an ice maker fridge! all household linens are included toiletries in the bathroom	outdoor terrace with barbeque pool (9 x 4m), not heated garden with a toboggan but it was broken during our stay 30 minutes drive from the Avignon airport and only 1h from Marseille	the pool with some inflated toys table tennis toys in the kids’area upstairs board games (we love playing Carcassonne) baby-sitter upon request

Of course, there is lots to do around the region: visiting villages, going kayaking, horse riding, vinyards discovery tours etc… I may write a post about these soon but if you want tips before, don’t hesitate to email me.

Location