Luxury Villa Pianottoli-Caldarello with Pool & Jacuzzi

20131 Pianottoli-Caldarello, France                                                                                                              € 1,388/night

The main house

At the centre of the main house’s upper floor is a wonderfully generous social hub. Its lofty, white-beamed ceilings, its dark, hardwood flooring (which runs throughout as a unifying feature), and its two walls of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors make for an extremely airy and luminous ambience. The space flows outside onto a fabulously panoramic sea-view terrace to one side, and onto a secluded courtyard garden to the other.

To the left of this space, gathered round a fireplace is a large, modern L-shaped sofa, a matching chaise, and a mid-century-modern easy chair; to the right is a dining table.

A pocket door in amber-honeyed wood (another feature that reappears throughout) near the dining table opens into a voluminous, well-equipped kitchen-diner, with a breakfast table, a central island, hi-spec appliances, sea-views and access to the main terrace at the front of the property.

A door to one side of the fireplace opens into the principal bedroom, a spacious double with more of those high, white-beamed ceilings, fascinating sea views, and access to a comfortably furnished section of the main terrace. Its centrally positioned bed features a large rattan headboard attached to a semi-partition wall, while its luxuriously finished en-suite bathroom comes with a free-standing tub, a bespoke, honeyed wood vanity topped by double sinks, a walk-in shower, and a separate WC. A large dressing room with built-in, rattan-fronted wardrobes completes the picture.

On the other side of the communal space, a hallway with a trio of windows looking out over the secluded courtyard garden leads behind the kitchen to the second bedroom on the upper floor, a double-twin with gorgeous sea views, access to a well-cushioned sitting area at the end of the main terrace, and an en-suite shower room.

A flight of stairs leads down from the hallway behind the kitchen to the lower floor, which is home to a guest WC, and three more bedrooms, each of which accesses a shady shared terrace, the gardens and the pool area:

• a generous double bedroom with centrally positioned bed, glimpses of the sea, and an en-suite shower room with double
sinks
• a double-twin bedroom with sea views and an en-suite shower room
• a second double bedroom with en-suite shower room

At the end of the corridor connecting the three lower-floor bedrooms, is a fabulous, multi-dimensional space that’s home to a well-equipped gym and a lounge area with a large screen TV and sofas. This room opens out onto the gardens and the pool area.

Outside

Domaine Saint Jean’s grounds are cocooned by the vibrant, aromatic maquis that grows so abundantly along Corsica’s south coast. Its green hues are delimited by the charismatic blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea, cerulean skies, and a white arc of sand – the beach of San Giovanni. The views from the property’s many terraces take in this scene of bewitching beauty.

Al fresco life at Domaine Saint Jean plays out in three main areas. The first, which is accessed from the communal hub, the kitchen-diner, and the bedrooms on the upper floor of the main house, is a fabulously spacious, decked terrace that extends along the entire façade of the property. At each end, outside the bedrooms, is a comfortably cushioned, slightly recessed sitting area. In the center, where the terrace is at its widest, there is an abundance of shady and sun-kissed seating, and a large, convivial dining area served by a plancha grill.

A wide wooden staircase leads down past banks of aromatic shrubs to the second al fresco highlight of Domaine Saint Jean: an extraordinary, multi-dimensional, decked pool area, which is also accessed directly from the three lower-floor bedrooms and the gym.

Sitting in pride of place at the center, and flanked by a row of sun loungers, is the irresistible, 18m-long infinity pool, a magnet both for serious swimmers and those who just love to wallow. A few steps from here, inserted into the decking, is a five-person Jacuzzi.

To one side of the pool area is a large, fully shaded pergola hosting a triple daybed, a dining area, and a well-equipped outdoor kitchen with gas hobs, sink, worktops, and a fridge.

Finally, tucked away outside the gym room, is another shaded sitting area with a commodious, L-shaped, built-in sofa.

Back in the social hub on the upper floor of the main house, a second wall of sliding glass doors allows the space to flow out into a secluded, leafy garden courtyard with a patio area, an expanse of lawn with a pergola-shaded sitting area, and a table tennis table. Following a path from here, a wooden gate set in the stone walls opens to reveal a pétanque pitch, the perfect setting for fun, holiday-long competitions.

The guesthouse

Situated about 15m from the main house, and finished to the same standard, the guesthouse comprises an open-concept communal space, with a comfy sofa, a dining table and a well-equipped kitchen. Its high, white-beamed ceiling recalls that of the main house, as do the hardwood floors that run throughout. Sliding glass doors bring in the enchanting sea views and allow seamless access onto a shady terrace.

Accommodation in the guesthouse is completed by a pair of bedrooms, a double and a double-twin, each with its own en-suite shower room.

A series of paths intersect the surrounding gardens, which include manicured areas of lawn, flourishing flower beds, and an array of whispering trees. One of these paths leads to the guesthouse, which comes with its own shady, sea-view terrace.

Bedroom 1:   1 queen bed
Bedroom 2:  1 queen bed
Bedroom 3:  1 queen bed
Bedroom 4:  1 queen bed
Bedroom 5:  2 twin beds
Bedroom 6:  1 queen bed
Bedroom 7:  2 twin beds