Villa Mondesir, Le Porge, Aquitaine, France

Just returned from an excellent holiday at Le Porge. Great Villa with a homely feel, lots of toys for our youngest and our teenager loved the independence of the 3rd bedroom.

Le Porge Ocean was a superb beach with great restaurants on hand, busy at some times but blissfully quiet at others. Returning to the pool made every day fun for all the family. Well organised rental.

Excellent golf nearby too!

Enjoy!

We selected Villa Mondesir after hours of searching for the perfect holiday destination to suit our young yet busy family. When we arrived it certainly did not disappoint, very spacious comfortable living with a great enclosed garden, perfect for our boys. The house was equipt with everything we needed even down to some toys,childrens books and bikes. Our only upset was that due to the time of our stay the weather was not quite the right temperature to enable us to use the swimming pool, we were forwarned that this may be the case but it was a shame nonetheless. How ever the surrounding coastline proved absolutey stunning and the weather was fine enough for us to be on the beaches everyday albeit in wetsuits or jumpers! The village of Le Porge was lovely, just what we wanted and everyone was very friendly.

The Owners were incredibly helpful and accommodating throughout the whole process from first contact to follow up after our return to the UK.

We would definitely recommend Villa Mondesir, and hope to return ourselves but will have to go later in the year to avoid any pool issues!

We had a 2 week stay at this villa and it is by far the loveliest and most relaxing villa we have ever rented. The location is special - nestled by a pine forest, a few minutes drive from possibly the most breathtaking beaches in Europe, and extremely quiet. The grounds are well-kept and pool is beautiful. The house is extremely comfortable and had been refurbished with great taste. Every small need is catered for and we found it very well-maintained. It is particularly suited to people with young children, as the owners have provided every piece of baby/toddler equipment possible completely free of charge, including a huge selection of toys, a steriliser, a high-chair, a buggy and even a bike trailer. There is also a swing and slide in the garden. The garden is completely enclosed and the lawns are great for playing football!

We found the owners very helpful and accommodating, even allowing us to stay for an additional night at no extra charge. They left us a bottle of the local rose wine in the fridge for our arrival and we were astonished and very relieved to find an honesty basket containing nappies and baby food which was a godsend as we arrived late at night an everything was closed. They provided a very helpful document containing lots of local information which meant we didn't waste any time searching for the best beaches or the nicest restaurants.

We paid a £200 breakage deposit and this was returned to us the day after our depature, even though we managed to break one of the shelves in the fridge! We did ask for the cleaning service at £50.00 but were only charged £30.00 because apparantly the cleaners only had to spend 2 hours cleaning. How refreshing to find a villa which is so well looked-after and with so many extras provided free-of-charge. We have booked again for next year and cannot wait until September 2012!

The Jacobs Family

This Villa is described by the owners as in immaculate condition and perfectly clean. Obviously written several seasons ago as it is looking a little tired now (2011) and things are starting to go wrong. It is in a very convenient location giving easy access (by car) to the ocean and Lacanau lake and Arcachon Basin. Le Porge village itself is not picturesque, but not unpleasant.

The owner took from us a significant returnable deposit against damages before we arrived. On our arrival (family of four) the owner's agent had mistakenly left an inventory signed by a previous occupant. The owner phoned a few days later and remonstrated that we hadn't signed the inventory for her agent and announced that we would be charged 15 Euros because the agent hadn't been able to collect our signed form. I explained that we only had a previously signed one, no clean form. The owner and agent implied we were lying and that one had been left, but they failed to explain how then could we have forged the previous occupier's signature!

Finally in exasperation I completed the previously signed inventory, in great and careful detail given that the owner was clearly going to be awkward. This was then collected by the agent but again we got a call levying a further fine because we and signed a previously used form. At this I lost my temper and refused to complete a further form. Not the sort of hassle you want at the start of a two week holiday.

During our two week stay the advertised broadband connection did not work. The dishwasher packed-in after a few days, almost causing a flood. No attempt was made by the owner's agent to mend this, so we had to wash-up by hand after every meal. The shower drain in the main bathroom drained very slowly and then finally blocked after a few days. This was fixed after three further days, following visits from the charmless agent who actually blamed the kids for bringing in sand (from a beach 5 miles away). The plumber confirmed that the blockage was due to matter accumulated over a long time. The pool cover reeler was on its last legs and will fail for some unfortunate guest in the near future..... The three bikes provided were rickety with flat tyres and really need a service. A shame because it is perfect cycling country.

My mother-in-law joined us for the final 5 days of the holiday, and when we left we gave the whole place a good clean, having bought cloths, dusters, scrubbers and windolene from the local supermarche. We had not opted to pay the 50 Euro end of stay cleaning charge and I now guessed that the owner would try to milk us for a cleaning surcharge. We left the place cleaner than we found it (to my mother in law's standard!), and guess what? The owner levied a surplus cleaning charge of 50 euros