Our National holiday of October 28th was the perfect opportunity for an extended weekend in Provence. Our stay at La Madone (26th – 30th of October) was memorable not only because of the beautiful landscape, the perfect weather (sunny and warm throughout!!!) but also because of the house. Our group of 6 people (all architects!) was very impressed by the overall feeling of La Madone: an old farmhouse that has evolved into a comfortable guesthouse with evident both the heritage and architecture feeling of the region. It is evident that this place has evolved and modified through time, offering a constant sense of surprise while discovering new ‘favorite’ corners and spaces both inside and at the garden.

Its location was also a plus: Its proximity to the popular village of Roussillon (5 min by car) was ideal for our daily supply of fresh vegetables, bread and pastries, cheeses and wine yet it was the perfect distance for the privacy we needed. Other points of interest apart of the village itself, is the old ochre factory (Usine Mathieu) which is now an excellent museum and the near by antique market of L’Isle sur la Sorgue: a massive selection of mid-century modern and industrial furniture and objects at very realistic prices.

Two thing we all regretted, was not having our bicycles along, since the region is ideal for cycling and not being able to swim at the villa’s swimming pool (it was October after all…), but we all decided to do these things at our next stay at La Madone during the summer or spring!

An overall excellent and memorable stay!

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with friends and family-in all 14 adults, and 6 children aged between 4 and 10 years old-at La Madone. Everyone without exception was simply enchanted by the property. The rooms , all with en-suite bathrooms were very clean and very comfortable, the vast living room was welcoming with its cosy sitting areas and the enormous fireplace which lit up our evenings of song, dance, laughter and great food.

The semi-professional kitchen was home to our chef for the weekend, the lovely Lesley who provided a scrumptious welcome dinner on Friday night and layed out a superb spread of organic food for the party on saturday night. We ate, drank and were merry.

Apero was outdoors. Indoors we set out the convivial dining table for the grown ups and the kids had their own corner. We took beautiful souvenir pictures by the fire.

Nothing about the weekend would have worked without the help of Vanya, the owner of the house. From the first contact with him, we knew we had found our home for the weekend. He opened his address book to us. He never once treated our rental like a business transaction, rather welcoming us like old friends. We considered him a friend even before we physically met. Thank you so so much Vanya for everything.

Nadege is an angel. She organised the chefs, helped devise the menu, ordered all the special foods we wanted in advance including our celebratory cake which did not last 10 minutes on the table. So good was it! We did not have the pleasure of meeting Nadege but we have mutually agreed that will be rectified before long.

We used the property to the fullest. The kids ran througout the grounds in all security, playing hide and seek, table tennis and some braved the pool in mid-october. We walked to Rousillon, we picked grapes from the vines, we took a trip to the market in Apt where we came back heavy laden with local treats and cheeses. Some of the group went to Isle-sur-la sorgue round the corner.

We can’t say enough about the location of the house. So convenient. Most of our group had driven from Geneva, Switzerland -a little less than 4 hours away. Those who travelled from London flew into Marseilles and drove the hour to the house all in time for dinner.

Our only regret? That we did not stay longer but we will most certainly return.

Thanks Vanya, thanks Nadege for providing the most important element in our celebrations-La Madone.

A bientôt!

We felt that the villa was very well equipped and had an abundance of rustic charm. Every morning we loved waking up to the beautiful views across the vineyard and enjoyed the peaceful tranquilty that La Madone offered. We loved the fact that each bedroom had its own bathroom (particularly good when you have teenagers in tow!) and we also felt that the dining areas both inside and outside the villa were more than adequate to suit the needs of a large party. The villa was perfectly situated with just a stone’s throw from the beautiful village of Roussillon and very near the delightful Gordes. I would thoroughly recommend La Madone – a great base from which to explore the beautiful Luberon region.

Our group of five couples had a wonderful stay at La Madonne in June, 2012. We were quite pleased with the rooms as each had its own bathroom. The eating area outside was extremely pleasant as was the dining room inside. We were a group of good cooks and found the kitchen unusually well equipped for serious cooking, with two stoves, two refrigerators, many serving pieces, copious silverware, and abundant cooking utensils. When we saw the Weber kettle barbeque, we knew that ours would be a great stay. The pool was delightful, well situated and very clean. We never used the sauna but did hook up our little ipod to the music system to play our own music.

We would recommend this rental.