With its south-facing terrace overlooking an infinity-view swimming pool, newly landscaped grounds and five spacious ensuite bedrooms, all of them air-conditioned, the Villa Jas is the ideal headquarters for a group of couples who desire a residence of great comfort and character from which to explore Provence and its many culinary and historic treasures. Situated on a one-hectare (2.5-acre) slightly elevated terrain in a small hamlet of farmhouses near Gordes, the property has a quiet countryside ambience and is completely untroubled by traffic noise. A long row of olive trees stretches across the property. From the terrace and most rooms views stretch over the Lubéron Valley to the horizon. Even with its bucolic setting, there is a wide variety of quality restaurants and food shops within a 10-minute drive of the property.
One of Le Grand Jas' most delightful features is its spacious terrace, which overlooks the swimming pool and with its long stone table offers the perfect setting for evening cocktails followed by dinner under the stars. French doors open from the dining area and living room onto the east-west oriented terrace, from which stone stairs descend to the garden and a stone deck surrounding the pool.
Amenities
- Satellite TV
- Zone 2 Euro DVD
- Wireless Broadband Internet
- Dishwasher
- Washing Machine
- fully equipped kitchen including microwave
- Baby Crib and High Chair
Bedrooms
Villa Jas has five charmingly air-conditioned bedrooms, equipped with top-quality Sealy Posturepedic beds and decorated in an engaging style that emphasizes clean lines, rich wood tones and uncluttered surfaces. Typically, an antique desk or chest of drawers is complemented by a rose or soft green bedspread and white sheer floor-to-ceiling drapes. Each bedroom also has bedside tables with good reading lamps, generous storage space in a closet or large armoire, and a small sitting area. All of the baths are ensuite, brilliantly illuminated and tiled in a soft taupe color, and have a WC.
The master bedroom, which opens off the living room, is one of two bedrooms on the ground floor and has fireplace with two plush club chairs. The elegantly finished master bath has a tub and separate all-glass stall shower.
The ground-floor guest bedroom has twin beds and a bath with glass stall shower, is slightly smaller than the other guest bedrooms, and does not have a long-range view.
There are three guest bedrooms, all with fine views of the countryside and beds mounted in high wooden frames. The first has a king-sized bed and a bath with tub and separate glass stall shower. The second has twin beds with lovely toile de jouy headboards and a bath with a tub and hand-held shower. The third bedroom has a queen sized bed and a bath with a glass stall shower. Like the downstairs bedrooms, these rooms have a fresh, airy feel that goes with the overall ambiance of cheer and buoyancy that characterizes Villa Jas.
While there is a television with satellite reception in the living room, guests may tend to gravitate toward the more casual atmosphere of the upstairs sitting room, which opens from the landing at the top of the stairway. This is a pleasant, informal space, with two sofas, a game table and a large armoire that houses a television, also with satellite reception. There is a stereo system with CD player, and a small but growing collection of books, principally in English.
After a day of exploring Provence's different regions and coming to know its charming villages and world-famous vineyards, guests will enjoy heading home to the cool 5 m X 10 m (16.5' X 33') swimming pool at Villa Jas. The pool furniture includes several lounge chairs, and for shade there are two parasols as well as a covered area off the pool deck. Once again, potential guests must be cautioned that while the pool has three steps at one end, it does not have a shallow part and thus can be used by young children only if they are wearing life jackets and are supervised by adults.
The Villa Jas is an outstanding property for a family or adult group of couples who want a supremely comfortable vacation with all the conveniences that modernity brings, yet in a genuinely Provençal environment with complete calm and glorious views of the countryside.
Note: The swimming pool at Villa Jas has a consistent depth of 1.5 meters (5'). Three steps lead into the pool, but there is no shallow end. Therefore young children must be carefully supervised and must wear life jackets provided by the owner.
Surroundings and Location
Villa Jas is in the commune (township) of Gordes in the hameau (hamlet) of Les Michelons, located in the southern tip of the Département of the Vaucluse.
From a little-traveled country road a driveway winds through a grove of oak trees and parasol pines to the Villa Jas. The grounds are landscaped with flower beds, young olive and fruit trees and, as is traditional in fine gardens throughout the South of France, a number of carefully trimmed cypress trees that in not many years will tower over the two-story structure. Surrounding the pool deck are rows of flowering shrubs, rosemary bushes and patches of lavender.
Villa Jas is also within easy reach of the villages of the Lubéron so adored by travel writers, among them Ménerbes, Lacoste, Goult, Bonnieux and Roussillon. Beaumettes and Coustellet, small villages with a variety of shops, are less than five minutes by car. The property is likewise well located for excursions beyond the Lubéron. Aix-en-Provence lies to the south, the Côtes-du-Rhône wine-producing region to the north, and the villages and restaurants (among them the famed Oustaù de Baumanière at Les Baux-de-Provence) of the Alpilles region to the southwest. The historic town of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, once a center of the Provençal silk trade and now home to more than 200 antiques dealers and Provence's best-known open-air market, is a drive of less than 15 minutes.
Things to do...
- With the villages of Ménerbes and Bonnieux a few kilometres towards the south and south east, Gordes is the third corner of the “golden triangle” of the Luberon region of Provence, where real estate values are at a premium and many celebrities have homes.
- The area is surrounded by the national park of the Luberon (Parc Régional du Luberon) mountains which provide beautiful views towards the south.
- It is less than five minutes drive to the villages of Gordes, les Beaumettes, and Coustellet (see maps).
- Hiking in the Luberon, Mont Ventoux, golf and tennis are near by. Click here for a guide to many local sports activities.
- Many top quality restaurants are within ten minutes drive. There is a cooking school in the nearby village of Goult.
- Catering, tour guides, French language lessons and other services are available on request.
- L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, the centre of antique dealers in the south of France, is ten miles away.
- Links to local attactions: Luberon villages, Roussillon, Lacoste, Aix-en-Provence, Cotes-du-Rhone wine areas, Avignon.
- Daily markets rotate weekly in local villages. Among the best is the Sunday a.m. at nearby Coustellet. Apt (Saturday) is the largest and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Sunday) is best for antiques. Combining a morning at the market with lunch at a favourite restaurant is a great way to spend a half-day.
Directions to Le Grand Jas
Information
From the US: The most reliable way to get to Provence from the US is to fly to Paris, then take TGV to Avignon (3 hours) and rent a car. You can fly to Nice, Marseilles, and Avignon but the schedules are limited and riskier because of the constant threat of strikes.
Tips about the area
- The closest bakeries and small grocery stores are in Beaumettes (1.5 miles), Coustellet (3 miles) and Gordes (3.5 miles).
- l'Oasis (see above) has an excellent truck stop lunch. For a fixed price of around 10 euros, they offer a choice of two or three entrees and salads/paté/dessert bar and wine.
- Maison Gouin in Coustelletalso has very good lunch with adjoining charcuterie and specialty food store.
- The Café de la Poste in the village of Goult is a gathering place for artists and writers, and offers good standard French cafe food for lunch.
- A few hundred yards down the road from Le Grand Jas towards Les Martins is a caterer, Le Puits Fleuri.
- The closest Walmart style supermarket is Auchan just outside the city of Cavaillon, south from Coustellet on D2. Auchan also has lots of housewares, toys, etc. Most people buy groceries here.
Distances from Villa Jas (miles) to:
Beaumettes |
1.5 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
30 |
Les Imberts |
2 |
Sault (Mont Ventoux) |
40 |
Ménerbes |
4 |
Nimes |
51 |
Bonnieux |
9.5 |
Aix-en-Provence |
59 |
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue |
10 |
Marseille |
68 |
Cavaillon |
11 |
Cannes |
147 |
Avignon Airport |
20 |
Nice |
165 |
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence |
23 |
Monaco |
175 |
2010 season prices per week
| June, July, August | May, September, October and Holidays | Off season |
€6500 |
€5800 |
starting at €4000 per week and varies with the month and length of stay. |
Click on the rate to convert currency |
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Mid-week maid service is included. Additional charges apply for daily maid service (Sundays excluded).
Arrival: Saturday Minimum Stay: One week Includes: Final cleaning, midweek maid service, telephone including unlimited long distance to Europe and North America. Confirming your reservation: We will send a rental agreement by fax, email or express delivery. The rental agreement will specify the rental price, any extra charges, the amount of security deposit, the maximum number of overnight occupants and when final payment is due. Initial payment: The signed rental agreement and payment of the 50% deposit using a check or bank wire transfer(preferred) must be received within 7 seven days to confirm the reservation. Payment acknowledgment: Immediately upon receipt of your initial or final payment we will mail you an Acknowledgement of Payment. The Acknowledgement will note the remaining balance, if any, and when the payment is due. Final payment: The second half of the rent and any security deposit are due in our offices 60 days before the first day of your rental. We must strictly adhere to this procedure, and failure to comply will result in cancellation of the booking. Cancellation: Cancellation of a confirmed reservation is a painful event for both owner and renter. The renter cancels because of some unexpected hardship; meanwhile the owner may have turned away rental opportunities and thus lost revenue. Our cancellation provisions are as follows: If notice of a cancellation is received in writing 180 days or more before arrival date, 50 percent of the initial deposit will be returned; if received 179 days or less before arrival, none of the deposit will be refunded. Failure to pay the final balance due by 60 days before arrival may be deemed a cancellation with no refund due. Security deposits are fully refundable. Clients are strongly urged to take out Trip Cancellation Insurance with the carrier of their choice at the time of confirmation. One large provider is: TravelGuard.com Expect to pay around $70 per $1000 coverage. Security Deposit: The security deposit for Le Grand Jas is $1500. Generally, this will be refunded within three weeks and always within 75 days. It is rare that the owner and renter disagree as to the amount of final charges to be deducted from the security deposit. It is certainly in our interest to maintain cordial relations with guests to encourage repeat rentals. Reasonable wear and tear is not charged for, but the cost of missing or damaged items will be deducted from the deposit. Extra Charges: The rent includes the increased cost of utilities from air-conditioning during the hot months, for which many owners charge extra. Additional maid or other services can be arranged and are charged for separately. In cold months November through April there is an additonal 100 euro per week charge for heating cost. For information or availability of our beautiful homes, contact us by phone or email, and we will get back to you right away. John and Lydia Dean
Contact Us
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