PROVENCE LUXURY VILLA RENTALS

Mas des Sources review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
We all had a wonderful time. St Remy is a superb base and the Mas des Sources was perfect. We liked everything (including pizza oven). We would not change anything... Stephanie is fantastic and we had... Read more one of the best family holidays ever. We had my wife's 60th birthday (lunch) at Mas des Roses and we ate at La Maison Domaine de Bournissac one evening - both were exceptional and very good value considering the quality.

You and Just Provence were amazingly helpful and we would recommend both your property and Just Provence to anybody. Close

La Maison à Caromb review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
I’m happy to share my thoughts about La Maison at Caromb with you. We spent a month there in 2010 and fell in love with the house and the surrounding area, and we will be returning for a month next... Read more year. The house is located on the main street of the village. When you step out of the front door, you are in the heart of the village. There is a wonderful bakery just a few steps away, as well as a great butcher just across the street. There are also a couple of little shops (one directly across the street from the house and the other a few doors down from the bakery) which sell fresh produce and some groceries. It is just a few minutes walk to the Huit a Huit (French version of 7/11, although we found their hours of operation to be very mysterious and could never really figure out when they would be open or when they would close, their name notwithstanding). Right next door to the house is a little restaurant owned and operated by a lovely family. We went there for lunch and dinner several times and after a few visits were greeted like lifelong friends.

The village is not beautiful as some of the villages are (such as Gordes, Venasque, St. Remy, etc.) but it is very comfortable, and we found it a very pleasant place to stay. There is one really nice restaurant in the village – I think the name is Le Clos du Patre or something like that. The restaurant in the hotel served us the only bad meal we’ve ever had in France. The closest big town is Carpentras. It is not a huge attraction from my perspective although we spent a day wandering around the medieval walled part of the town and enjoyed it very much. We also took a cooking class in Carpentras which was fun. They have a big market on Fridays I believe. There are also a number of galleries there and we bought a beautiful painting from a woman who lives in one of the surrounding villages, who is by trade a farmer (her husband is a Urologist). Le Barroux is a small village a couple of miles away and it is wonderful. There is also a lovely restaurant with outdoor dining (indoor also) but is it quite pleasant to sit outside along the stream. I believe it is called Le Four a Chaux. There is also a little hilltop town called Suzette just beyond Le Barroux which is very tiny, but has a great little restaurant called Les Coquelicots (the poppies) where we had a few terrific meals. The Benedictine monastery of St. Madeleine is just outside of Le Barroux where we attended a church service. The monks sang Gregorian chants which we found to be absolutely fascinating.

There are so many wonderful villages and towns within 30-45 minute driving distance that I can’t mention them all. But head out in literally any direction and you will find a beautiful village. My husband and I adopted the philosophy that there are no wrong turns in Provence – no matter which way you go you will find something wonderful. The landscape is just fantastic! Isle Sur La Sorge, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Gordes, L’Abbaye de Senaque, Roussillon, Menerbes, Bonnieux, Lacoste, and Chateauneuf de Pape (if you are wine lovers this is a must) are all an easy drive, as is Mount Ventoux. I could go on and on, but I suspect this is already more information than you really want.

During one of our stays in Provence we rented a house in Les Baux de Provence. We liked that area also, but I think overall we preferred the Caromb location. If you want to see St. Remy, Les Baux and/or Aix en Provence, it would be at least an hour’s drive from Caromb. Avignon is between 30-45 minutes also.

We liked the house very much. We did lots of cooking (kitchen is a little small but well equipped) and ate outside under the grape arbor, which was really nice. The owner lives in the village and was very accommodating. We had housekeeping services twice a week, which was great. She has thought of all the little things that will make one comfortable, such as providing hair dryers in each bathroom, etc. She was terrific, very attentive and responsive, and not overly concerned when I broke one of the lovely casserole dishes (I did replace it). I will say that when we first parked in front of the house, we were disappointed with its presentation from the street, but that soon changed. I don’t know what we expected, probably something more American in terms of curb appeal, but the interior of the house is wonderful, as it the back area. It was not really swimming weather when we visited, so we didn’t make use of the pool.


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La Maison à Caromb review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
I found a fabulous, 250-year-old villa in Provence for 12 (10 adults, two young children) last fall that was a terrific value (just $3592 for the week, or $300 per person). It’s offered by “Just P... Read more rovence,” run by Timothy Dunn, who was a hands-on broker and very responsive. One of the big advantages of the villa is that Tim lives literally next door. We only needed him once, to help us with the wi-fi, but it was reassuring we could pound on his door if need be. The place is called La Maison à Caromb, located literally 40 minutes from virtually everywhere in Provence’s department Vaucluse, including Avignon, Saint-Remy, Luberon, Gordes, Carpentras, Orange, L’Isle-sur-La-Sorgue, Arles, even Aix.

Our tribe ranged in age from 75 to five months. It consisted of my wife and me, a niece and her husband, a nephew and his wife, plus their two children ages three years and five months, and two other couples who are close friends. In spite of the numbers, the villa is so spacious we never got in each other’s way. The villa is in the middle of the small, charming village of Caromb on a hill overlooking a pretty valley. Caromb central – if one could call the main street that – consists of the villa, a few shops and small restaurants, including a pizza place next door, and an old church. There are a couple other, more upscale, restaurants literally down the street, which our crew thought excellent. There are a number of vineyards in town, with excellent wine.

The maison is huge. Seven bedrooms I believe. Or was it 17?! There was so much space, I wasn’t sure. We all hung out in the main living room, which was huge (there’s that adjective again!). It has two fireplaces, comfortable couches and chairs, and a long table where we ate and occasionally fiddled with our laptops. The kitchen was probably the only facility showing a bit of age, but it was quite functional. We prepared meals for the children and an occasional breakfast there, and once cooked a chicken. There’s a two car garage underneath the villa, and plenty of parking on the street. The only negative of the place was the pool, which is pretty small. It was a bit chilly in mid-September (September 15-22), and the pool isn’t heated, to say the least.

One of the best features of the villa was the large, inviting terrace that we absolutely loved. Our routine was to have coffee and croissants from the local patisserie on the terrace in the morning, or at one of the outdoor restaurants just a block away, then head out to explore the area. We loved the markets of Carpentras and L’Isle-sur-La-Sorgue (among others), the jazz in Saint-Remy, the classical music in Luberon, the Roman ruins in Orange, the medieval city of Gordes. One of the couples is a big foodie (“enthusiastic” rather than “big” would be the better word), so some of the group usually stopped for a long, lingering lunch. In the evening we’d all (OK, not the two children) share the day and a few bottles of wine on the terrace. All in all, it was a very special vacation for friends and family, and La Maison à Caromb played a big part in making it so exceptional.

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Mas l'Arlésienne review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
We have stayed in your home for the past two weeks. Almost every day day we have travelled to nearby villages and points of interest. What an amazing time we have had! Loved grilling out, going to the... Read more grocery store and the Wednesday market. The people in St Rémy are so friendly and helpful. Mas l'Arlésienne has surpassed our expectations. What a beautiful home! Thank you for sharing with others. Close

Mas l'Arlésienne review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
We had a wonderful stay here in Mas l'Arlésienne. The location was great - We enjoyed walking into town as well as exploring some of the surrounding villages. The country and town were beautiful, the... Read more people very nice and the food and wine spectacular. So much to see and do in Provence - we'll just have to come back! Close

Mas l'Arlésienne review

Dear Emotional Escapes,
This house has been just perfect, it has a wonderful warm atmosphere which contributed hugely to our holiday. Thank you.