Renting a villa in Europe is a wonderful alternative to staying in a hotel. It’s the nearest most of us will get to a “Year In Provence” type of experience, it’s affordable, and provides the setting for a truly communal experience among groups of friends or relatives. But picking the right one requires some amount of research and, more importantly, full agreement on style and amenities. (One person’s ’rustic’ may be another’s hell-hole.)
Our band of villa devotés, The Dorking Dozen, has been renting overseas properties since 1998 when 12 of us piled into a house near Dorking, England. Over the years we have rented in Scotland, Italy’s Umbria region and two locations in France. The group keeps growing as more old friends sign on to our band of Dorks.
Our most recent stay was at Le Puits de l’Eouvé.The kitchen was fully equipped and as big as our downstairs in Toronto. It opened to a poolside dining table that easily accommodated our group of 16. The view was typical South of France: olive groves, gardens, forests and blue hills. And the price per person was well below the going rate for hotel rooms.
So, if you too want to live like a country squire on your next vacation, here are some pointers to keep in mind:
Photo Credits: danbreckwoldt, Doug McArthur, Funwithfood, gaffera