4 nights/5 days Fully Inclusive at £980

Fine food and wine is synonymous with France and nowhere is better to celebrate these than in Provence, where the dream of the original French Riviera lives on.  

Our short break combines food and wine, a visit to St Tropez, local food markets and an introduction to the beautiful coastline and area. Visit the vineyards producing the renowned AOC & Cru Classé wines of the region, guided by an English-speaking sommelier. Savour seasonal menus using only the best local ingredients. 

You will stay in a beautiful, luxury hillside Villa with stunning views of the famous Isles D’Or – Porquerolles, Levant and Port Cros, just off Hyéres.  

- Stay at the beautiful Villa Mathilde for 4 nights/5 days (Thursday – Monday) 

- A full day visiting local vineyards led by our local English speaking award winning Sommelier. 

- A Gourmet Dinner, with local wine parings – presented by our Sommelier, Claire Santioni, who will introduce you to the best of the area and expand your taste experience beyond the renowned Provençal Rosé. 

- A day visiting St. Tropez, the famous harbour and Saturday morning market. 

- See the charming medieval village of Bormes les Mimosas, the seaside town of Le Lavandou or the historical town of Hyéres.   

- All meals and wine served in the Villa are included within the price of your stay with menus created by local Chef, Jean-Claude Santioni.  

Price: £980 per person (Discounts available for groups of 4 people or more) 

These Gourmet Weekends run from Thursday to Mondays and bookings for Autumn 2010 are available for the following dates: 7^th – 11^th October; 14^th – 18^th  October; 21^st – 25^th October; 28^th October – 1^st November and 4^th November – 8^th November.

 For bookings, please call Ian or Gill Wood: 00 44 (0) 208 675 1920 or Ian on 00 44 (0) 77 11 790 178

email: alistairianwood@aol.com 

Your Intinerary 

Day One: Having made your own travel arrangements you will arrive at Villa Mathilde and will be greeted by your hosts with tea and cake, you can then unpack and settle in before dinner.  A five course welcome dinner will be served accompanied by local wines. 

Day Two: After breakfast, you will be collected and enjoy a full day excursion visiting local vineyards and wineries led by our English-speaking Sommelier, Claire Santioni. There are over 30 renowned vineyards in the local area, producing varied white, red and rosé wines. Claire’s choice is based on the quality of recent vintages. Lunch will be taken back at Villa Mathilde.  After lunch, we will continue our tour for more tastings, on the way you will visit the ‘Route des Vins’ along the beautiful coastline of La Londe and, if time, see the French Presidential Summer Palace at Bregancon. Once back at Villa Mathilde you can relax with a nice cup of tea and make yourselves ready for the evening’s Gourmet Dinner – ingredients are local and seasonal. We will start with tasting some aperitifs then move on to the 6 course “Taste of Provence” Dinner. Claire will lead you through the local wines, specially chosen to accompany each course and she will discuss their grape varieties and properties.  You will be given tasting notes to take away. 

Day Three: After breakfast, you will be driven to St. Tropez.  We will supply you with a local map of St. Tropez and give you some guidance of the wonderful sights to visit. Saturday is local market day there, so a visit to this is a must.  Lunch is not included on this excursion as you will want to take the town at your own pace, however, as you would expect, there are a number of wonderful cafés and restaurants for a snack or light lunch.  You will be left to your own devices here but the driver will be on hand for advice. Once back at Villa Mathilde, relax with a cup of tea and make yourself ready for the evening five course dinner including local wine. 

Day Four: After breakfast you can visit the local market in La Londe les Maures, take a trip to the 12^th century village of Bormes les Mimosas, the seaside town of Le Lavandou or visit the historic town of Hyéres. Lunch will be served at Villa Mathilde. In the afternoon, perhaps a walk through the countryside or just relax in Villa Mathilde. A five course dinner will be served in the evening with a selected local wine.

 Day Five: Breakfast will be served prior to your departure from Villa Mathilde for your return or onward journey.

Book your place now!

Around this time last year, I had lunch at a beachside restaurant just outside Hyères. On the table before me was a plain-grilled John Dory and a bottle of rosé. Beyond the terrace, the sands sloped to the sea under a sky full of spring light so clear you could detect infinity. There was nobody about because the rest of Europe was having sandwiches in the office.

The waiter came across to clear my plate. “Would you mind if I lingered over the last of the wine?” I asked. “For the next 25 years?”

The Provencal coast in the Var départment is one you come across with both a leap in the heart and the deepest satisfaction. The Massif-des-Maures mountains edge the Mediterranean in a last burst of rocks and forest, here and there granting creeks, paths and innocent beaches.

In summer, they’re splendid. In spring, they’re better. You may get out of the car, throw off your cardigan and pretend they’re all yours.

Unravelling down their hillside, the old stones of Bormes-les-Mimosas are overwhelmed with multi-hued horticulture.

And there’s more startling spring gardening yet, east along the corniche at the extraordinary Domaine du Rayol (www.domainedurayol.org) Staggering steeply to the sea, the domaine’s 48 acres are coated in abundant exotica from every region of the world sharing a Mediterranean climate. I took my green-fingered wife there a while ago, and had to return a couple of months later to find her.

And Hyères is, I reckon, the best spring base for this exceptional region. For a start, it’s full of palm trees. These are always reasons to be cheerful. Climbing up and over itself, the warren of old streets is as feisty as a Provencal town should be. Take a table on Place Massillon and you’re at the centre of a Mediterranean life that’s been boisterous since the Greeks. Let me suggest the Bistrot de Marius (0494 358838, www.bistrotdemarius.fr, menus from £17.50)

Then there’s the fancier town of frothy villas created when Hyères caught the eyes of the 19th-century fashionable. Queen Victoria was here. So were Robert Louis Stevenson and Tolstoy. So don’t hesitate. The airport’s next door. Hyères is terrific. Buses will get you along the coast, and also to the ferry for the Hyères isles.

These are barely touched and car-free, the French Riviera as it was before it became The Riviera. Right now, forest and fauna are reawakening. Walk or cycle out to Plage Notre Dame on Porquerolles island. You’ll agree: 25 years is a minimum.

NB: Judith’s husband who is wheelchair bound managed very well at Villa Mathilde - using the lift and wide doors throughout the property and into the pool!

Didier Haegel – 24. 08. 09

I know he is right, as we have been there ourselves –  but there are many beaches on Porquerolles reached either by a shorter walk or a rented bike which have the same white sand and views back over to the mainland over  beautiful turquoise waters.

They also have a couple of really special Rose wines produced from the island’s vineyards which you can sip in the terraces or grounds of the hotel ‘Mas de Langouste’ also on the island. Porquerolles is reached by a ferry across from the Ports at either La Londe or Giens at nearby Hyeres. This is the island you see from our terraces.

Our latest guest, Pat Schafer from Sydney Australia commented on the telephone just last evening – “This is such a beautiful house – the photographs on the website simply do not do it justice – it’s awesome”

We have had homes in this area for over 20 years and have loved every minute of this time – which is why we paid a king’s ransom for a piece of hillside overlooking these magical Islands and built our luxury retreat. As they say – you can’t put a value on a view like that!

This will serve as more than a Guestbook for our lovely Villa Mathilde. It will also be a chance for past, current and future guests to learn the latest about our beautiful home away from home.

To help you plan a stay at Villa Mathilde we have a really interesting travel tool using a link to a website called www.dohop.com just type in the nearest airport to you and then Toulon-Hyeres as your destination. Ryanair has regular flights from London Stansted to Toulon-Hyeres – check flights at www.ryanair.com

This website will immediately offer you those carriers who serve these routes – and the flight schedules and costs in real time – so you can check out the cost and arrival/departure times. You can also book all the major brands of rental cars for collection at Toulon-Hyeres airport.