Sleeps 8
1 double bedroom, 2 twin/double bedrooms, 1 small twin bedroom, 2 bathrooms and 1 shower room.
Location: Luberon
Saturday to Saturday weekly rentals, with 2 weeks preferred in high season.
Bar, restaurant, shops in Buoux, 2 mins.
Weekly markets in Apt 8 km and Lourmarin 12 km
Bonnieux and hilltop medieval villages 12 km
Tasting at Chateau La Coste 33 km
Avignon and Aix-en-Provence 60 km
beach at Cassis 100 km
Airports in Marseille 65 km.
Nestled on several hectares of lavender fields and truffle plantation, in a land where ancient oak trees have survived and thrived on rocky terrain, Les Chenes stretches in a single storey of field stone and sage-green shutters. Seemingly modest on first approach, two wings of the house open wide to a southern exposure and take in picturesque views of the Grand Luberon mountains. This is a land that feels timeless for nothing modern or hurried mars the scene. Rather it invites a slow-moving game of boules, a glass of wine set on the patio table or the sounds of children splashing in the pool.
While there is a front door, the most frequently used entrance will likely be to the heart of the house, the large living/dining room that is bathed with light flooding in through large picture windows and doors facing the back garden. At one end of the room are sofas arranged in front of an open fireplace, while at the other a modern kitchen with a low room divider provides good counter space and equipment enough to suit any skilled cook. Handily, just outside the kitchen there is a furnished portico that makes outdoor dining a pleasure no matter how bright the sun. Off of either end of the main room there are two bedrooms: on one end two bedrooms, both queen doubles or twins, share a bathroom with twin sinks; at the other end there are two ensuite bedrooms, one a twin/double with a shower room, the other a twin bedroom with a bathroom.
Beyond the wide pebbled walkway in the elbow of the house it is only a short stroll through the tree-planted lawn to a fenced pool area with sunbeds under a shade sail on one side of the pool and verdant hills on the horizon on the other.
Visitors are quick to understand why this area is beloved by rock-climbers for cliffs and caves are everywhere. Buoux, the village on Les Chenes' doorstep, was famed and respected in the Middle Ages for its defensive role, as the remnants of the ancient fort, castle and Romanesque church testify. Yet both this village and others nearby, such as Lourmain, Apt and Bonnieux, live well in an active present. They fill cobbled streets with cafes and restaurants and celebrate locally produced honey, goat cheese and truffles in weekly markets. For those who would trade village life for something more bustling in 50 km or less one could be in lively Avignon, home to the 14th century Papal seat, or in Cezanne's birthplace Aix-en-Provence, where wide boulevards are shaded with overhanging plane trees and art school students fill the city with wit and colour. There are olive groves and vineyards nearby that offer tastings, but some days it will be just as nice to linger by the pool or set the table in the shade and listen to the cicadas sing.
A discount is given to guests staying for 2 weeks. Please speak to your agent about rates.
As long as the kitchen is left clean and tidy the final cleaning fees for the property are included in the rental. Please leave Euro 100 with the owner if you feel you will not have time to leave the kitchen in such a condition.