Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

From first-floor windows, an expanse of sky. Below, green fairways, trees and distant hills. The communal pool is out of sight, the motorway a distant hum, the golf course beckons… here is peacefulness, light and space. Your aircon-bedroomed apartment in this gated, pink and white ‘village’ is large and immaculate. Slip a CD into the state-of-the-art music centre (there are books and games too), slide open the glass doors to the almost wraparound balcony, roll down the electric shade, unfurl on a white-cushioned lounger. The owners have employed the most talented artisans and have decorated to their own design. The result is a spare, sweeping, luxurious décor with a red and cream theme and oriental touches. Everything is perfectly maintained: the pale quarry tiles, the creamy drapes, the Turkish carpet, the de Dietrich oven, the huge TV (plus videos for kids). And when you’ve tired of the fine linens and the silk cushions, there’s the sea two miles away... and Nice, Mougins, Saint Tropez. Not forgetting three tennis clubs and innumerable golf courses, the nearest lapping at your feet.