Olives en Provence at 'Le Domaine des Escavalins’ - Apartment Holiday Rental in Belgentier, Var, France

This was our first time renting property on a vacation and the experience was wonderful. Gerry and Mark were great to work with to secure the rental and they were great hosts. They were certainly a significant factor in making our vacation a memorable experience for our family. We found the ambiance and tranquillity just what we needed. Our dinners under the Provencial sky each evening made for a perfect ending of our days. The view of the stars at night is incredible.

5/5

We absolutely adored Gerry and Mark's gite. My friend Irene Boerings has an uncanny knack of finding the hippiest and most impressive places around the World (we have enjoyed getaways in Texas, Italy, Wales) and this has to be Irene's best find yet. It was a mum's and childrens' holiday (husband's both working), and we had seven children under nine and they were completely spoilt by both the location and by Mark and Gerry. The gite is very comfortable and tastefully decorated. we all fitted in too!  Splendid views and an adventurous ride up from the village of Belgentier which the children and I loved. But not for the faint hearted! Each day, the children were allowed to visit the chicken coop and collect eggs—big attraction—so too was devising clever plans and secret tricks to keep Mr Fox away. They explored the area around the house (children's paradise) which included: pirate games in the pool, treasure hunt to find carefully hidden coins (with questions about the local area, olives, Provencal herbs, significance of the chickens names etc. thrown in), fun with Jebbel and Tatty Mark and Gerry's friendly dogs. The highlight has to be when Mark plus dogs took us to the cave near the house, the kids went equipped with head torches and had top fun in the cave. They even collected some clay from within the cave and made some pots from it  - one was given as a present to M&G. What an adventure, if not a mucky one at the end of it! We used the gite to explore the area too: the children had fun fishing in the River Gapeau, went to local markets, horse riding, had exhilarating times at the Eco Park (zipwire courses colour coded for difficulty), a trip on Aquavision, a glass-bottom boat and a cycling tour of Ile de Porquerolles. Back at the gite, Mark and Gerry  were incredibly attentive, regular offerings of freshly picked homegrown vegetables and fruit, a gift of last year's olive oil produced at Escavalins, a supper by their pool and plenty of thoughtful advice as to what to do close by. It wasn't just about the children, on the last night Mark and Gerry rustled up a babysitter (x2!) for Irene and I to enjoy a gourmet supper at Restaurant Moulin de Gapeau. What a way to end a holiday that was the highlight of 2011. We will be back!

5/5

We absolutely loved our stay at Le Domaine! The location of this property is absolutely stunning and you immediately get the "back to nature" feel. The kids (all 7 of them, in the age group of 4-11) loved running around in the forest, discovering different herbs and learning about olives, playing in the pool, checking on the chickens and taking the dogs for a walk.

The adults enjoyed lazy afternoons by the pool with a glass of wine. And that's just the property. There are all sort of fun activities in the vicinity of Le Domaine; Horse riding (an excellent facility and no tourists in sight), tree walks which the kids enjoyed so much that we literally had to drag them from the trees after a 5 hour climb, the little stream down in the village where the kids caught fish and swam & the nearby beaches of Porterolles.

Our hosts were just wonderful & welcoming! They took the kids for a long walk on the property with a visit to a cave. Our kids agreed that this was the absolute highlight of our entire holiday! And when my friend and I wanted to go out for a 5 course meal in the local fancy restaurant, but could not envisage how to do this with 7 kids in tow, they arranged for two lovely babysitters to come and look after all 7 kids within 12 hours notice!

We strongly recommend a stay at Le Domaine!

5/5