There's a hot tub, steam room and nothing but olive groves to surround you, though the lively, historic town of Siena is just a 15 minute drive away. Original beams, flagstone floors and doors characterise the older part of the house, while the modern addition is sleek and slick, but they work in total harmony. With just one bedroom, it's a very generous retreat for two and certainly has more than enough room, charm and character. The original house has been added to with a modern, glass extension that wraps around it, flooding the rooms with light, and ending on the terrace with a pool. This Tuscan villa oozes luxury from every honey-coloured stone. All bedrooms have aircon which was needed during the warm summer nights.”

We were a party of 4 adults with 3 children but I'm sure you could fit another family in if needed.

The villa itself was fantastic, clean, comfortable and very spacious. We visited in the first week of July when it wasn't too busy. Guests say: “Claire's villa is stunning and is a short drive from the beautiful Bandol port with its many restaurants, shops and markets. Pool-aside, it's a very architecturally intriguing house–designed by Rudy Ricciotti–and while there may be some questionable decoration in parts, it's certainly got an undeniable style to it. Kooky, it might be, but it's certainly something. The reason being that the 28 metre-long pool runs the length of the house (and then some), with windows on each side so that you can be seen underwater by your fellow guests in one of the living rooms or by anyone wandering in the right part of the garden. For the exhibitionists amongst us, this unique Brutalist villa in Provence might just be the place to go, purely for the pool alone.

Airbnb with pool