Late deals...

As we edge towards the end of the month, so we edge closer to the summer and the main rental period for our many villas owners.

Several owners with unsold villa weeks have decided to reduce the rates they usually ask, so over the coming days, these offers will be posted onto our special villa offers page.

We hope you will see something you like if you are looking for a late deal, however we also have a number of competitively priced villas (that are not reduced) - we only ask that you call us with an idea of budget and your preferred travelling period. Our staff will then find a selection of villas for you.

Of special note, villa Le Mazet - a very popular rental property in Provence has returned to our programme. With good availability, due to its late arrival on our programme, its sure to rent out quickly. Please call us if you could be interest in this small holiday villa Provence .

A slight deviation from our usual fare, we have recently been speaking with our friends at Trip Advisor. Writer Mike Riga was keen to express his view of Argentina, we hope you find his words of interest:

One of South America’s best kept secrets, Argentina is a beautiful country with a lot to offer to an intrepid tourist. Mixing vibrant, cultural cities with pastoral countryside and a long, scenic coastline, South America’s second-largest country is a spectacular place to spend an extended sojourn. A great area for a family with divergent interests, Argentina is worth every penny. One day you could find yourself gazing upon the majestic Andes and the unique natural ecosystem within its shadow and another could find you amongst the spectacular architecture and bustling streets of Argentina’s cultural center and capital, Buenos Aires. While its takes an extended stay to truly bear witness to all that Argentina has to offer, a discerning traveler will find himself in luck, as TripAdvisor has much to offer by way of Buenos Aires Vacation Rentals as well as all the necessary travel information needed to navigate this truly unique part of the world. With over 150 rental options of all shapes, sizes, locations, and prices, TripAdvisor is the number one place to begin your South American journey today.

Jasmine Festival in Grasse

Quality Villas has many properties around the town of Grasse - this region is ever popular with our clients each year.

One event taking place in August is the Jasmine Festival in Grasse. The festival marks the start of the jasmine harvest. To further enlighten ones olfactory senses, there are also various perfume factories one can visit (Fragonard, Galimard, Molinard...) and indeed even the International Musuem of Perfume! This 3500m square building was re-opened in October 2008 and is open June-September.

If scents aren't your thing, Grasse has a host of other activities available, including the tourist train (daily Apr-Oct) a fine way to explore the old town in style and cathedral. There are also olive mills, museums, gardens and golf nearby.

If you think you might be interested in a visit to Grasse or villas in France - we would ask you to visit us online or to call one of our friendly sales team.

For a villa near Grasse , please see Villa Mozart (ref PR436 on our website.)

Holidays at the ready!

March has been a busy month for us thus far, placing clients far and wide across the beautiful lands of France and Italy for their summer holidays!

Our posting for this week however is a little look at Normandy, a region closest to us geographically but one we know less about than the much travelled French Riviera for example.

We have a number of french cottages along the Normandy coast, for example Ferme de la Haye - sleeping 10, not far from Honfleur. This particular cottage is featured above (image) and can be rented from £1635 per week for the complete property.

On the 20th June this year, the 'Grand Picnic' takes place in Normandy - part of the impressionist festival - everyone is invited! The idea is to recreate the famous impressionist paintings such as Renoirs 'Dejeuner des Canotiers' or Manets 'Dejeuner sur l'Herbe. Special check tablecloths will be available!

If you would like to know more about our properties in France and in particular Normandy, please call one of our staff on 01442 870055 or email us : info@qualityvillas.com


We do have other cottages in France , but those along the Norman coast have a certain characteristic in style and architecture quite unique to the region.

Special offers...

Featured left: Maison St Gervais - a lovely property in SW France - the rates just having been reduced by almost 15%. Click here to visit this South of France villa

As the season ticks by, so more and more owners approach us with unsold weeks left. Of course the best way to get the holiday you want on the date you want is to book early. Given that once a villa week is sold, it is 'gone' and that each villa is so unique to each persons requirements, we always advocate this approach and to book before the chance goes.

However for someone looking for the last minute deal - and this does happen from time to time, even with luxury villas, we do get them and will post them either here or online on our special offer villas page.

Its always an idea to get the best offers straight to your inbox - so why not sign up for our e-newsletter?

Alternatively if you have a restricted budget, but an idea of where you want to go and for how long, our trained sales consultants can usually suggest something. Please give us a try : info@qualityvillas.com

Mini brochure

Just released in the last few days and due to hit the doorsteps of our former clients over the coming week, is the mini brochure from Quality Villas.

This is an experimental print run from us, in addition to our usual brochure we release each autumn. We intend to run a second mini brochure later in the season with any more offers or villas that we have added since the first brochure.

The intention of the mini brochure is keep our clients advised of new villas as they come onto our books (after all, we add villas on all year round...), further as owners reduce their rates which can happen from time to time, we endeavour to make our clients aware so they might benefit.

If you did not receive a mini brochure and would like one, please do call us (01442 870055) or email us (info@qualityvillas.com) of course our website of French vacation villas is also available any time for browsing! For Italy villas please click. We hope to hear from you soon.

The Quality Villas Team.

Last weeks left at the ever popular Villa Osanna!

As family friendly villas go, the Tuscan holiday Villa Osanna possibly offers the most options of any of our Italian villas.

Large flat lawns, enclosed grounds, solar heated pool (in fact a very large pool at 18m x 6m)with roman stepped access : all are perfect for children.

In addition, the thoughtful owners have left a ping pong table, boules pitch to play on plus six mountain bikes. They will also organise tennis (locally), archery (in the villa grounds) or fishing at a lake less than 100 metres away (outside the villa grounds). The nearest restaurant and shops are 700 metres away, whilst the rest of Tuscany awaits to be explored (Arezzo 25 miles, Lake Trasimeno just over an hours drive as examples).

As can be imagined, this villa rents fast each year: returning clients know they are onto a good thing and rebook usually on their return home the year before!

However of the weeks left, the owners have kindly arranged reasonable reductions for Quality Villas guests, the details of which are below:


31 Jul-7 Aug 2010
Was £4500 now £3995 SAVE £505

21 Aug - 4 Sep 2010
Was £4500 now £3990 SAVE £510

4-18 Sep 2010
Was £4000 now £3400 SAVE £600

Prices shown are per week for the complete property.

We hope this might be of interest to our clients and look forward to hearing from you. Our Italian villas for rent are online here, or call 0044 1442 870055.

An Easter special!

If you are considering an Easter escape this year, we would like to propose Villa Le Patronnage in the Carcassonne area, south west France.

Located 200 metres from shops and restaurants, the property sleeps 8 and enjoys an indoor heated pool, meaning a relaxing break is in store : an ideal way to spend Easter. This is a very attractive property and offers an ideal way to enjoy a holiday in France.

The property itself dates from the 18th century, with period pieces in place and is a fine restoration. The original barn now houses the indoor pool, whilst a secluded garden offers a private refuge. Places to visit include Toulouse, Perpignan or Carcassonne, whilst there are numerous villages and smaller towns to visit.

The property has been reduced in price for the 2010 season, however on special offer is the period:
27 Mar - 09 April 2010.
Price was £3960, now £2970.

If you think you might be interested in this property (or requesting other available dates also on offer) or even to see further villas like this within our programme, we would be delighted to assist you.
info@qualityvillas.com or 0044 (0) 1442 870055. Click for our website of French villas.

Holiday suggestions with Quality Villas.

Grey skies, damp days and summer seemingly a long way off. January can have that effect on people! Thankfully, we at Quality Villas have the perfect antidote, as always, by offering the opportunity to reserve a villa holiday for this summer, thus meaning a chance to sit poolside with warm sun, sizzling bbq and possibly a glass or two in hand later this year!

Our French holiday villa selection and Italian holiday villa selections online are fully updated with availability, prices, images and more. As always our staff here who know the properties personally are ready to answer any questions you may have about our villas to ensure you choose the right one for your holiday.

We have some special offers coming through from our owners, so for clients interested in this, we suggest visiting our special villa offers page.

We look forward to hearing from you. Tel 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email at info@qualityvillas.com

New arrival in Umbria!

A recent addition to our Italy villa programme is Villa Il Merlano in Umbria. We are quite excited about this house: its extremely good value, plus it has a host of added benefits that are rarely all found together in one villa, save for the most expensive ones, so is really unique and likely to be snapped up quickly this year!

Such highlights include: classic Italian countryside setting (sunflower fields, olive groves), Wifi internet access, Solar heated pool, outdoor jacuzzi bath, Finnish sauna, gym area, covered eating area with bbq and more. The villa sleeps 8 and the high season rate is £2800 for a week.

To see more of this Umbria villa please visit our site, or call one of our staff for more information.

We also offer French villas - we look forward to hearing from you.

Tuscan sun in 2010!

As the snow continues to fall in the UK this January, what better cure than to start planning your holidays for 2010? You really need look no further than Italy, where sunshine, stunning scenery, beautiful hilltop towns, World Heritage sites, wonderful food and, of course, the relaxed Italian lifestyle, guarantee a truly memorable experience for everyone!

Renting a villa with private pool in Tuscany offers you the freedom to plan your holiday as you please. One such villa is the delightful Rosario, a beautifully restored farmhouse located on a private estate just outside the charming walled town of Lucca, yet within easy reach of Pisa, Viareggio and beaches on the coast. Travelling inland, Florence, Siena and San Gimignano would all make excellent day trips. This comfortable villa has been tastefully modernised but original features such as the oak-beamed ceilings and terracotta floors ensure that it remains full of character.

The 2010 rental rate for Rosario, which sleeps 12, is from £3,675 to £5,650 per week.
Please click to view this Italian holiday villa on-line.

If you are feeling inspired and would now like to start arranging your holiday, why not call one of our sales team on 01442 870055 or email us at info@qualityvillas.com

We have a wide selection of high quality villas in Italy and, as we have personally visited all of our villas, we will be happy to help you find the ideal destination for your party. We also specialise in luxury French holiday villas.

Snow...

Here at Quality Villas, staff are currently skiing, sledging or generally slipping and sliding their way into the office at the moment!
As the country is gripped in a frozen spell and travel chaos abounds, we still continue to offer luxury villas with pools to our clients, images of serene countryside, azure skies, elegant pools and bright, warm sunshine seem somehow alien even to us at the moment!

We are happy to report however that Morocco remains a short distance away for some winter sun (Morocco villas) and Mauritius also is a fine, longer haul stop off. Try this link for luxury Mauritius villas .

If however you are looking for some long term therapy and a warm feeling inside (something we could all use at this moment) then booking your preferred villa in France or villa in Italy might be just the tonic! Our staff who brave the elements are here to pick up the phone and give you the advise you need in finding your perfect summer escape, warm horizons beckon...

Our St Tropez tip for 2010

The last month has seen a steady increase in enquiries from our clients looking to reserve their villa for 2010.
We are expecting January to be the launchpad for a busy period of sales and our staff are looking forward to offering a high level of service and knowledge to those contacting us, as always.
This week, our area manager for the St Tropez region, Alex Mapelli (as pictured) is offering his personal choice of villa for a family of 4-5, with a budget of around £2000 per week.

"My recommendation would be Bastide du Charme, a lovely property located near Lorgues and just under an hours drive from St Tropez. Its true its not on the coast and misses the razzmatazz of St Tropez close up, however it is close enough and enjoys its own particularly beautiful location. With Gorge du Verdon (outdoor activities) and places like TourTour to sightsee, it really is a popular place to rent with our clients".
Bastide du Charme, from £1370-£2225 per week.
Please click here for pictures of this villa in south of France

If you would like to speak to Alex, or any of our area managers to discuss a villa that is featured in their region in more detail, we are of course always happy to arrange this. Our area managers visit all the properties during the course of the season and are thus fully conversant with them and can advise on any local detail.

2010 and ready to go!

2010, a new year for QV and which also marks the return of Margaret Rees to Quality Villas!

Margaret began Quality Villas back in 1986 and as the company enters its 24th year of business has decided to step back in on a part time basis, given her son-in-law, John, has decided to travel the world and take some time out.

Margaret has various projects lined up for 2010, including a special members club for previous clients of our company; a mailing will follow in the new year with details of this and how you can be a part of it and enjoy certain special benefits.

Quality Villas remains a private, independent company with the same ownership throughout its history and since its inception. We offer a hand picked portfolio of villas with pools in France , villas in Italy , villas in Morocco and villas in Mauritius . Please call us on 01442 870055 or visit us online for more information.

All talk here at Quality Villas

Monday 23 November marked our Annual General Meeting here at Quality Villas. It is really our end of season meeting and we discuss how we can improve what we offer to our clients for the following year. Our staff come from far flung parts of the world (well France and Italy anyway) and together, we make our future plans!

Many items were discussed and should come into force in the coming months to enhance our offering, including exciting new villa additions.

One key point we would like to make is that our overseas staff live near the villas we offer and visit them often: our local knowledge is unparalleled. Our managers are happy to talk with clients interested in a little 'deeper' knowledge about a potential chosen villa, region, town or even activities to do nearby. If you would like to take advantage of this, or to discuss your villa plans for 2010 with one of our UK based staff (who also visit the regions often and the villas we feature) we would be delighted to hear from you.

Our French vacation villas and Italian vacation villas are available to view online at any time. Or please call 01442 870055.