Exit the busy A50 autoroute connecting Toulon to Marseilles and drive through well-tended vineyards towards a tiny hamlet near the medieval hilltop village of Le Castellet. The oldest house in the village – it dates from 1594 – retains a traditional warm Provençal façade but the interiors have been stylishly modernised.
A big continental breakfast can be taken in the restaurant, on the terrace or in your room and includes hams, cheese, homemade fruit compote, bread, local honey and viennoiseries. Rooms have countryside views and swish touches: a Nespresso machine, bathrobes and slippers, a minibar.
Eat at the restaurant here or walk two minutes to the local pizzeria; choose a book from the library shelves on the landing, laze by the pool or play petanque. You can walk to Le Castellet in 30 minutes or drive to the beach and local markets in 15 minutes.
A brilliant idea to link these two properties with a clever website: “olivesandvines”. Clients have the choice of staying at a top class self catering vacation villa: the Mas des Avelines in the countryside or be looked after in one of the comfortable rooms at the Mas du Brûlat and enjoy everything a small “restaurant with rooms” has to offer.