THE FACTS ABOUT L'HERMITAGE

France

This house is made for house parties: there are remote-control mood lights and music speakers in the landscaped gardens, and the spacious pool house has a Moroccan-style steam room. The North African influence continues inside, with deep-red or blue walls in the bedrooms and kilim rugs scattered on terracotta floors, but the interior designers have also introduced elements of India (Keralan woodcarvings) and the East (Buddhas) to the vaguely bohemian mix. Although someone has had too much fun with paint effects, the quality and finish is excellent and the details - such as guest soaps, flowers and towels - are five-star-hotel standard. Built on three levels, L'Hermitage affords enough privacy for groups of friends and there is a self-contained annexe with a lilac bedroom with French doors to the garden and an en-suite bathroom. The house is child-friendly, with a slide and swing in the garden; a small, single bedroom in the main house is, the owner suggests, suitable for a nanny. Tourettes-sur-Loup is in a dramatic position on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Loup valley, 5km from Vence. Three towers rise above the fortified village, which is hidden from the approach-road behind shady Place de la Libération. It is known for its high concentration of artisans and violets: there is a violet festival in March and craftsmen's shops and galleries line the Grande Rue. But this is no theme-village: washing hangs high above the narrow, winding streets and life murmurs on behind heavy shutters; in the heat of the day, widows knit on their doorsteps and only cats will keep you company at the panoramic viewing point. SLEEPS 10, plus one in a small single PRICE £5,275-£7,290 per week, including maid service CONTACT French Chapters by Abercrombie & Kent (0845 0700 618; www.villa-rentals.com) FLY EasyJet (0870 600 000; www.easyJet.com) to Nice (30km away)