We booked this villa for the second week of our fortnight trip to the South of France after finding it available at the last minute on the Homeaway website.
The pictures on the website were a bit grainy and, coupled with the fact it was still available when so many other villas in the region were already booked, this made us a bit nervous about what sort of quality to expect, but the owner was quick to respond to our emails so we booked it and hoped for the best.
We were not disappointed! We arrived after a long drive across the South of France on a boiling hot August day to be greeted with a very friendly welcome from the owner, Jean-Pierre Blanc.
As soon as we arrived at the gates we could tell this was a special property. The automatic electric gates swung open to reveal a long, sweeping driveway lined with olive trees, which leads to a large parking area and huge garage underneath the house.
First impressions were a massive ‘wow factor’ – the villa and the huge gardens seemed way more luxurious and impressive than what we were expecting, given the relatively reasonable price we paid for the week.
Jean-Pierre showed us around the house and was clearly very eager to make sure we felt as welcome as possible. The whole place was spotlessly clean, well furnished and very well equipped throughout, with everything a family of 6 could ask for on a holiday.
The villa is situated in a very quiet residential road just outside the town of Saint Cezaire Sur-Siagne, close to the larger town of Grasse and about 45-minutes’ drive from Cannes.
Saint Cezaire is a fantastic town in the most beautiful location high up on the hillsides above Cannes. The town itself is only 5-minutes’ drive away (walkable if you don’t have a car) and has all the amenities you need for a family holiday, including a supermarket, pharmacy, restaurants and more.
Inside the villa there are two spacious bedrooms upstairs, one with an en-suite shower room and a third bedroom downstairs, all sleeping six people in total with ease.
The bedrooms have ceiling fans above the beds – not quite as effective at cooling you down on hot summer nights as air-conditioning, but they certainly made sleeping far more comfortable and bearable in the high August temperatures when we were there.
Downstairs there’s also a large lounge with TV, dining table and a well-equipped kitchen. If we had one small difficulty with this villa it was with the size of the kitchen, which was very small, but we didn’t spend much time in here so it didn’t really matter to us. If you’re planning on regularly cooking and eating in though, you might find the lack of kitchen space a bit awkward.
The real highlight of this villa though is the outdoor space. The gardens are massive and very well maintained. It’s completely private and not overlooked by any other property.
There are several terraces / patios that let you sit either in the sun or the shade. The highlight of course is the large pool area, equipped with luxurious sun beds and parasols. The pool is large, safely fenced off with a secure gate to keep small children safe – and there’s even an alarm that senses if a child falls in to the pool.
The gardens also have a large gas powered BBQ / pizza oven, there was a table tennis table there when we stayed too – and they’re all nicely illuminated with outdoor lighting.
Overall the quality of this villa was really high, considering the reasonable price and we had tons of space for all six of us to spread out, relax and enjoy the amazing surroundings and the beautiful weather.
The owner was so helpful, despite speaking very limited English he made an extra effort to make sure we felt welcome. He had to do some occasional routine maintenance of the pool and he came at about 5am to do it while we were still asleep so as not to disturb us!
The location was perfect for us. It was about 45-minutes drive from the villa to Cannes; about 25-minutes to Lac de Saint Cassien- a beautiful lake with beaches and activities and about an hour’s drive to Monaco, which we did as a day-trip. The beaches of Frejus, Antibes and Saint Raphael are also within easy driving distance.
Being a bit further outside the hot spots on the coast meant it was cheaper than the ultra-expensive villas that are closer to the sea itself but we could still drive there and enjoy the sights and beaches of Cannes and the other destinations quite easily.
Saint Cezaire Sur-Sigane also gives you a much more laid-back, quiet and relaxed setting – ideal to come back to after a day visiting the more hectic beaches and towns on the Côte d’Azur.
Everything about this holiday villa in Saint Cezaire was perfect for us – the quality of the property, the amazing gardens, the location, the pool and the experience of dealing with the owner all added up to make for a perfect holiday – we would highly recommend it!
Villa details
We found and booked this villa through HomeAway here: https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p639175a