Holiday Home in Vaucluse, Provence

 We recently stayed a week in this holiday home in Provence, in a small village called Sablet. The village is pretty, not far from Orange and Avignon, and has the basic amenities: baker, butcher, small supermarket and a chemist. Sablet is perched on a hill and the views from the top of the village, near the church are spectacular.

I found the holiday home on Owner’s Direct, and the pictures and description sounded promising. On arrival in Sablet, we met the charming owner, received the keys and had our first look at the house. To be honest, when we saw the house we were a bit taken aback, there did not seem to be many windows and I did wonder if it would be very dark.  

When we entered the hallway through the attached garage it did seem a little bit gloomy but we were so charmed by the pretty stairs with the painted tiles that we hardly noticed.

On the ground floor was a decent sized bedroom with two single bed and an ensuite bathroom that the children claimed for their own. We could see that the house had been recently renovated, in 2006 I believe, and that the owners had put a lot of thought and money into it. The bathroom was small but lovely, the beds were old but comfortable. The bedroom also boasted an airconditioning unit, as did the other rooms of the house which we rarely needed to use as the house did not really get very hot. We put the AC on for an hour or so just before we went to bed to cool the bedrooms down.

Upstairs, on the first floor we found a wonderful, light and airy room with a large dining table, wooden dresser and a two-seater couch with a television. There was also a desk that held brochures and information about the surrounding area.

The dresser held plenty of dishes, cutlery and a good selection of kitchen and serving utensils. I was impressed to find not only a quiche dish but also a cake tin, although I am afraid that I did not use it. More to the boulangerie in another post.

Also on the first floor was the well-equiped kitchen with a dishwasher (hurrah!) a gas/induction hob, a oven and a microwave. And of course for the Brits, the all important kettle. The owner had supplied the basics – tea and coffee, salt and sugar, and had not removed the items that previous renters had left behind so that there were many other basics already there. Even a basil plant. The only thing that we missed was a tea pot but that is just us being British. Or me anyway. I used one of the jugs but there is something just not right about doing that.

In the fridge we found a bottle of water, and a bottle of the local white wine which we found a lovely touch. There were also candles and matches for those romantic Provencal evenings on the terrace.

Outside the dining / kitchen area was a large private terrace. It was enclosed on three sides so was very sheltered, both from the wind that whistled around the corners in Sablet and from the hot Provencal sun.  We ate here every day and enjoyed relaxing with a coffee and an Aperol Spritz after our meal, when the children were downstairs getting ready for bed. The opening to the street meant that we could watch the sun setting – and have a good nosy at the people passing by.

The large picture windows were open to the terrace so that the house was very light without one having the feeling of being observed by the neighbours.

Going upstairs again, we reached the second floor and the Master Bedroom. The bathroom is not strictly ensuite, but it is just across the stairwell. Again the bathroom was beautifully finished, with double sink unit and a large shower.

The bedroom was pretty and again filled with light, due to the large windows that led out onto another terrace, which offered a view of the terrace below and up into the sky. It was here that I would sit in the evenings once the children were in bed to read, drink  wine and gaze dreamily at the moon and stars.

We had a couple of slight problems – the WC next to the children’s room would not flush and the tap of the kitchen sink flew across the room if it were not held tight but when we informed the owners, they came around and fixed it immediately.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the holiday home in Sablet. The standard of the accomodation was high, the little touches of decoration and the attention to detail turned the small house into a proper gem.