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Review 4375: Joie de Vivre, Apartment St. David (#366)

www.jdvholidays.com

Recommended
Review by Beachbound from IL

3bed/2bath apartment in Bonnieux, Provence

When

July, 2009, 1 week

Location

Apartment St. David was wonderfully located at the edge of upper village Bonnieux, very short walk away from dining and shops. It was quite easy to avoid the village traffic, as the road out of town is literally 50 yards from the garage door. The apartment has a private garage with parking for each unit, which is gated, accessible only with remote. Lovely horizon view of Mont Ventoux and the beautiful countryside from the living area. To the rear, very private area beyond the pool, with a "petite rotonde" on the hill above.

Nearby Amenities

A casual restaurant two minutes walk up the street, other shops, restaurants and a Cocci market about four or five minute walk down to a lower part of the village.

The House/Apartment

The apartment is in a newly constructed building with elevator. Very nice setup. Maybe six to eight apartments in the building. The apartment was very quiet, in general, although we were there in late July, so the windows were open and we did hear traffic on the street. The kitchen was well-equipped and had all the mod-cons. Lovely outdoor dining area (covered) off the kitchen, which we used for all our meals. Dining room and living area were large and spacious. Laundry area with washer and drying racks. Large outdoor (covered) living room with sofas was great but we generally didn't use this much. Indoor living room had comfortable furniture. Two bedrooms, each with queen size beds share a large bath. Additional toilet is also on the first floor outside laundry room. Third bedroom with two twin beds is upstairs as is a shower/sink. Additional loft room with a desk is upstairs. We visited in late July, no air conditioning. A bit warm a couple nights when there was no breeze, if we return and it's hot I'll buy a fan or two to help circulate the air -- small price to pay for this much space. The unit was really fantastic.

Garden

Shared pool with ample chaise lounges. No private garden, two covered balcony spaces, one for dining and another for lounging. Really nicely furnished.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

All was in excellent shape. Furnishings were all pretty new and coordinated. Ample seating and plenty of space to spread out to different areas of the house.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The bedrooms were very nice, smallish in size but adequate. The beds were quite comfortable. Bathroom was very nice, two separate sink areas in the main bath. Upstairs bath has sink/shower only, no toilet, necessitating going down the loft stairs to the main floor -- second toilet is downstairs.

Kitchen

The kitchen was very nicely appointed and had absolutely all we needed. We cooked simple meals, nothing very complex.

Problems or Bonuses

We were surprised when we arrived to meet our agent's representative to get the key -- there was a lovely garage on the bottom floor of the building. It is gated, only opened by a remote. A huge bonus not to need to search for village parking! The space in the garage is quite tight -- not the easiest parking but we didn't mind -- we were thrilled to have it. Didn't find any English language TV but that was okay.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

The agency we booked with was a delight to work with. They are located in the UK and couldn't have been any more responsive. I would highly recommend. The person meeting us with the key was knowledgeable and spoke English. We did not attempt to contact anyone during our stay, so we cannot comment upon whether they were responsive or not. We paid about $1950 in July, 2009.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

This was a great place with a family. Our sons are older -- 11 and 15. We appreciated having all the space to spread out and have some privacy when we'd returned from a day out. The pool was a nice feature but we didn't use it much. The location was quite nice, very near what we wanted in the village but easy to get in/out without the narrow street traffic of Bonnieux in full-swing. Anyone considering a visit to Bonnieux needs to understand this village requires some steep climbing. Otherwise, the apartment itself with the elevator is very accessible except the loft/third bedroom area. The apartment's upper floor might not be the most suitable for really young children? The loft area has rails but a toddler would make me nervous -- the spaces between rails is fairly wide. It is GREAT for older kids/teens and adults.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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