Luxury former monastery/winery: Incredible views/silent aircon/gym/PRIVATE pool

This uniquely positioned former monastery enjoys commanding views of a beautiful rolling landscape covered in vineyards. From the Pyrenees to the Black Mountains, Domaine des Montarels overlooks no less than six pretty, red-roofed villages complete with towers and spires, epitomizing the quintessential Languedocien dream. This is a truly special hidden treasure of the Herault region.

Perfect as an extremely quiet retreat or for wonderful family fun, the Domaine has a lovely garden with grass lawn and several terraces, a large pool and an orchard of almond trees; all of which get the sun all day long, and are fabulous for watching the spectacular sunsets.

This is a very ancient site, first mentioned in records dating back as far as the 10th century. During this millennia it has been a church, a hamlet, a retreat for monks from a nearby Abbey and eventually became a winery in the 19th century, producing almost a million bottles of wine per annum. Now in its latest incarnation as a lovely family home, full of antiques and treasures from the owners’ travels, you can feel the centuries past in its thick stone walls and charming courtyards.

The ground floor is entirely open plan divided by fabulous stone arches. There is an extremely spacious sitting room, hallway, dining room and brand new fitted kitchen with everything a large party would need for catering, all combined with character features such as old tiles, exposed beams and long windows throughout. There are two cloakrooms (one external for outside living). There is also a gym with many different types of apparatus, including a multi-gym, running machine and cross-trainer

Upstairs, the property has 5 large bedrooms and an art studio. Three of the bedrooms have king-size beds and two have superking-size beds, of which the latter can be twin beds, if desired. All of the king-size bedrooms are ensuite and there is a family bathroom. These bathrooms are as new. All bedrooms are air-conditioned and luxuriously furnished for maximum comfort and all beds are hotel standard pocket-sprung, dressed in the finest English linens, with mattress enhancers to ensure a perfect night's sleep. There will be bath robes provided as well as plenty of soft towels, both for the bedroom and pool, and luxury French toiletries.

Outside is a wonderfully shady, Moroccan-style covered lounging area overlooking the swimming pool (*this can be heated on request for an additional fee - see "Additional Pricing Information" for details), with plenty of cushioned seating and a barbecue, and, of course, that incredible view. There is also further shade for lunchtime al fresco dining under a huge umbrella pine. In the evening there is a large oval rattan dining table with very comfortable chairs on the travertine terrace; ideal for relaxing over a bottle of the finest local wine, perhaps from next door’s boutique winery.

Oh, and did we mention the view?

There is a private apartment at the back of the property where the owners sometimes stay. It has shared driveway access, but is otherwise totally separate and does not overlook the private guest area. If in residence they would be delighted to greet you and offer advice if needed.