Saint-Raphael holiday villa: Antheor

Owner's Response: The damages which occurred during this clients stay at the villa were so extensive that we had to make some deductions from her security deposit. Prior to this she had described her stay at our villa as “wonderful”.

The villa is in a quiet village in the Esterel national park. It could be regarded as out of the way if one is looking for crowded beaches and a bustling nightlife. The nearest town, Agay, is about a 45 minute walk along the coast, or 5 minutes by car. We make this clear in the listing and also recommend a car.

Unfortunately, the villa was robbed while this client was there. Robberies occur along the coast each summer but can be avoided by taking simple precautions. We always reinforce the issue of security with clients on their arrival and mention it in the welcome pack. All of the patio doors were left open by the clients allowing easy access from the balcony to all of the bedrooms. My sister, Katie, contacted the police and acted as translator after the robbery. She made sure all the documents required for making an insurance claim were obtained from the police. No charge was made for this service.

The pool is 6 metres by 4.5 metres, as stated on our listing and is about average for a villa of 200 square metres. We also have a swim machine fitted should clients feel the need to cover some distance in the pool.

There are three restaurants within 5 minutes walk. Two of these are regarded as decent quality as they are part of good quality hotels. The other is attached to a local campsite.

The freezer door was not broken when these clients arrived. The villa was thoroughly cleaned and checked between clients and such a defect would have been evident.

A charge was made for some replacement linen which had dark green stains. Katie made several attempts to remove these stains. No charge was made for cleaning attempts and time; only for the actual cost of replacement linen. We are pretty sure the stains are hair dye, not after-sun.

We returned the security deposit as soon as all costs relating to the damages were known.

The clients broke other items during their stay, which we overlooked. They also left the keys to the main door in the lock when they left meaning we could not unlock the door. We had to break in through a window and have it re-glazed before the next client’s arrival two hours later. We transported the window to the glazier, and only charged for the cost of fitting the glass.