Cabin Fever in the Languedoc

I don't know what it is with me and cabins--I just love them. Certainly they remind me of all those summer vacations in Northern Wisconsin in our favorite cottage by the lake. Creaky old bedframes, the smell of pine drifting through open windows at night, wet swimsuits hung on the deck railing to dry, wood smoke from the fireplace--bring it on! So I was delighted when I just happened to come across Villa Vicha on the internet: it's a compound of 12 wooden Danish-style "chalets" located on five wooded hectares between Montpellier and Nimes. But with air conditioning, televisions and WiFi, these are a far cry from the mildewy cabins of my youth...they look clean and fresh and completely, deliciously inviting. 

When Charlotte and Victor Pastor--she's Danish, he's South African--bought the property in September, 2000, the former tennis club/campground was in a terrible state, having been abandoned nearly seven years earlier. "Everything had been vandalised," Charlotte says. "And only the walls of the main building were left. We had a very big job ahead of us." It took the couple nearly four years "of hard physical work and French administration" before they could open to the public in summer 2004. To build the birch wood chalets, most of the components were fabricated in Denmark and then trucked to the South of France. A Danish building team came down to do the assembly. 

On the property you'll also find a swimming pool, tennis courts, a play area, a conference room and a pretty indoor/outdoor restaurant. If you live in the region--or are visiting but staying elsewhere--you can come for the day to use the tennis, pool and spa for a small fee. In the off season, the property is open for seminars, group meals, weddings and other events. 

If you're a little cabin crazy like me, consider staying here and then tell us all about it. If you know of other nice cabins for rent in Provence, please share the info by leaving a comment below this post!

Villa Vicha

810, chemin de Cardione

30250 Aubais, France

charlotte@villavicha.com

Phone from France: 04-66-80-24-24

Outside France: +33 (0)4-66-80-24-24