Stone Townhouse Vacation Rental in Historic Arles, Provence

• Great time in Arles

  Great time in Arles

  • Guest Mary Jo M. (Point Richmond, California (near San Francisco))
  • Date of stay 05/04/13
  • Review Submitted 05/15/13
  We spent a week in this townhouse in Arles. It was our first time in Provence and we loved it. The house was clean, very comfortably outfitted and we spent every evening up on the roof deck. The stairs are "medieval" - steep, uneven and many. It wasn't a problem for us to climb up and down the stairs. The town of Arles was easy to explore and we had excellent encounters with the shop owners and residents. Emilie, our on-site contact, met us at the train station and was as helpful as possible. Arles was our home base for exploring other areas in Provence, although we were limited since we only traveled by train. Loved Provence and we hope to go again in a couple of years.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, girls getaway, adventure seekers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway.

  Owner response: Thanks for the kind words and for acknowledging Emilie, who works very hard to ensure our guests are comfortable. Sounds like you put the terrace to great use, with the rooftops on view all around, and that you found all the great things to enjoy in and around Arles.

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• Loved it!

  Loved it!

  • Guest Stefano Y.
  • Date of stay 10/21/13
  • Review Submitted 11/18/13
  The house has a beautiful old-world feel (like the rest of the city) along with most of the trimmings of a modern hotel. My wife and I had a great time using the huge house as a base to explore Arles, Pont du Gard, and the Camargue. We had the pleasure of shopping at the Wednesday farmer's market on and bringing the bounty home for an awesomely fresh home-cooked meal in the kitchen. I'm talking brush-the-worms-off-your-lettuce-because-it-just-came-from-the-farm freshness, if you get my drift. The house's location is great... in a quiet alley, but just a short jaunt off the well-worn tourist paths. As you enter from the street, a windy staircase on the left leads up to the higher floors. Taking the staircase to the top is a fun adventure in itself, and not too challenging with carry-on bags. We really enjoyed perching on the roof deck at bird's-eye level and taking in views of the city. You can hear schoolchildren playing next door in the afternoons. The library is another classy addition to the house, perfect for reading (or watching streaming movies, in our case). The bathrooms were clean, and the third floor shower was great, like showering under a waterfall! All in all, we loved the house, and we decided that the people in southern France are much nicer than Parisians...

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, sightseeing, families with young children, girls getaway, adventure seekers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway.

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• cde

  cde

  • Guest hawaii visitors (Hawaii)
  • Date of stay 06/01/13
  • Review Submitted 08/26/13
  My husband and I rented this property for one week to celebrate a signifigant birthday and asked three couples to join us. We had a blast. All of us very much enjoyed living in the ancient section of this lovely town....walking to the shops and stores, and enjoying the wonderful French food in restaurants nearby. The house easily accomodated all of us and I know we all wish to return for another visit.

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, girls getaway, age 55+, adventure seekers.

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• MEQ

  MEQ

  • Guest MEQ (Calgary, Canada)
  • Date of stay 07/06/13
  • Review Submitted 08/05/13
  we enjoyed our stay at this beautiful house so much. it is perfectly located, we were able to walk to all the tourist sights, restaurants. the supermarkets, Saturday market, and bakery are minutes away. the house was perfect for our family of 5 with room to spare.

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, families with young children.

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• Charming house for visiting ancient city of Arles and Provence

  Charming house for visiting ancient city of Arles and Provence

  • Guest Triple D (San Francisco)
  • Date of stay 06/15/13
  • Review Submitted 07/30/13
  My family of 4 had a wonderful time staying in this house in the ancient city of Arles on the banks of the Rhone river. The river and its promenade are two blocks away and we strolled there every evening. We stayed for 2 weeks and explored the city and surrounding area. The Romans, i.e. Julius Caesar started building Arles before crossing the Rubicon; so there is a coliseum, a half circle theater, ruins of a large Roman bath, etc., within easy walking distance of the house. Most of the rest of the ancient city looks like it was built before 1700. The streets are narrow and crooked and the two to four story houses are built side-by-side. Within one to three blocks of the house there is a bakery, a deli-butcher, a cheese store and an ice cream store; plus lots of restaurants (tables packing the street) and two supermarkets (small by American standards). This is a middle class – working class city, and not a tourist or upper class vacation city. Many of the people in the neighborhood restaurants appear to live there as they chat each other up. We used the clean comfortable public transportation a lot. There is a punctual free bus (Mon-Sat) that comes every half hour during the days and evening - it runs around the ancient city – it stop two blocks from the house by the river and we used it to go to the train station when we left. We took the bus to St Marie de Mer, a beach town on the Mediterranean 40 minutes away. We also took the bus to Les Baux de Provence, to an Abbey 5 miles outside of town, and the train to Avignon (which drops you directly across from the main city gate). We rented a car for 3 days to visit Pont du Gard, and to visit other places. My kids rented bikes and explored the country side. We found the house clean and comfortable with modern bathrooms and kitchen. I unreservedly recommend this house to those who want to experience southern France, but because of the ancient spiral staircase, I would not recommend it to those with small children, and those with mobility problems, arthritic hips or athritic knees.

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, adventure seekers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway.

  Owner response: We are so pleased that John & Delia and their kids explored all Arles and nearby Provence offer by foot, bus, bike and train, and think they are an inspiration in savoring the truly great things about the area, both old and new. We are also glad they took the opportunity to note how convenient our house is and how it provides the makings of a really interesting, fun and active family vacation. Merci. Marya, owner

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• A few important details missing

  A few important details missing

  • Guest Francophile (Dana Point, CA USA)
  • Date of stay 05/25/13
  • Review Submitted 06/27/13
  If you have allergies - this is not the property for you. There is mold on many walls and the limestone dust could give you fits. Yes the stairs are very narrow and steep and hauling up a heavy suitcase was a one stair at a time proposition. The roof terrace required cleaning so we didn't use it The area is very gritty. There are much nicer areas of Arles. Several homes on the street are lovely but more are covered in graffiti - vacant and I saw squatters in a couple of the homes. Up the block to the grocery score you will pass many homeless people, when I was with our group I felt safe but would not go out at night alone. If you rent a smart car you can get down the street but if you are in a car with 4 adults and an equal amount of luggage you will have to walk. The caretaker forgot to empty a vase that had stinky water in it and it took us a while to locate the source of the smell Lastly - there is an elementary school playground directly outside the kitchen and one bedroom so during the week the sounds of the play yard woke me up every day and recess seemed to go on all day. At one point when the kids saw movement in the house they started climbing on the bars on the window in the kitchen

  Owner response: My son Jeremy and I welcome criticism that is balanced and fair, as it helps us keep on our toes. However, this negative review is neither, and cannot be reconciled on nearly every point when compared to the positive review by the guests who stayed in the house less than two weeks earlier, and wrote: “We spent a week in this townhouse in Arles. It was our first time in Provence and we loved it. The house was clean, very comfortably outfitted and we spent every evening up on the roof deck. The stairs are ‘medieval’ - steep, uneven and many. It wasn't a problem for us to climb up and down the stairs.” Please read the whole review and others below. I regret that this guest appears to have been unable to enjoy her visit or have anything positive to say about the house or Arles or Provence. I can only conclude the comments disparaging Arles and the neighborhood say far more about the reviewer’s fearful approach to travelling than about the safe and charming town and people of Arles, and I cannot respond so much as let those comments speak for themselves. Mid-size trucks, vans, SUVs and other sizeable vehicles have no problem driving down the narrow one-way medieval streets that are part of the charm of Arles, and, though small, the street in front of our house has more than sufficient room to reach our house in even a large car seating 4 people and their baggage. The grade school is a normal part of a bustling town with houses close together. It is closed during the summer months, and has not been a source of complaint by our guests nor are children able to reach the windows to climb. Marya, owner

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• Highly recommend

  Guest comment entered by owner

  Highly recommend

  • Guest Marcie
  • Date of stay 04/20/13
  • Review Submitted 05/28/13
  We would highly recommend the house to others -- so comfortable and conveniently located. I wish I could go back there now.

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• A comfy little family adventure

  A comfy little family adventure

  • Guest Shana C. (London)
  • Date of stay 04/06/13
  • Review Submitted 04/25/13
  This home was wonderfully charming. We came with two children and were enormously comfy.

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• Retired teacher

  Retired teacher

  • Guest teach (Annapolis, Maryland)
  • Date of stay 09/15/12
  • Review Submitted 09/26/12
  The house gave us a very authentic and "un-touristy" experience. The listing descripton was accurate. The narrow winding staircase makes taking even carry-on luggage up and down a real challenge. The property is fairly difficult to reach in a car and parking in a city garage is the best option. A good and detailed map of the city of Arles is needed in order to reach this property.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, adventure seekers.

  Owner response: We really appreciate Cynthia's review since we embrace our house being recognized as authentic, and trust our guests agree that adjective also describes the surrounding LaRoquette neighborhood and its narrow, winding antique streets that are typical of French towns and part of the charm. We agree that a map is helpful for getting around, and the city parking garage is a plus that is only a 5 to ten minute walk from the house. Of course, the winding stone stairwell in the house is somewhat of an inconvenience of the architecture that we hope our guests consider part of the experience. Marya, owner

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• Gorgeous Arlesian Townhouse!

  Gorgeous Arlesian Townhouse!

  • Guest ucrjennifer (Riverside, CA)
  • Date of stay 07/14/12
  • Review Submitted 08/24/12
  Our week-long stay in Arles was a highlight from our month-long stay in France. This property is gorgeous -- a great find for anyone who's interested in experiencing traditional Southern-French living. The house is as beautiful as pictured, and we appreciated the modern conveniences (renovated bathrooms, comfortable furniture, fully-equipped kitchen, washing machine, and especially the fans and A/C!). Emilie, our contact, was friendly and accommodating. The city of Arles is pedestrian-friendly, and the Arlesians were welcoming and hospitable. 2 grocery stores were a 5-minute walk away, so it was easy to "just grab something" without having to plan meals in advance. Having a rental car is not necessary for a pleasant stay, but for us, it made it easy to explore Nîmes, The Camargue, and the beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer, which are all must-see sights! I agree with the reviewer who suggested adding wi-fi to the house; it would be another great touch to an already fabulous property!

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, sightseeing, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

  Owner response: We want to update the WiFi situation in response to Jennifer's wonderful and helpful comments. We have a working password and will provide it to our guests before their arrival.

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Additional information about rental rates

Will accept less than 7 days upon approval of owner. Discount may apply to second and more weeks.

Fees:

• Pet Fee: €35
• Linens: €50
• Refundable Damage Deposit: €300
• Taxes Included

Cancellation policy:

Policy available by contacting owner when booking.