...We have drawn upon many years of experience and priceless insider contacts to create an outstanding portfolio of villas and apartments. No two of these beautiful and much-loved properties are alike, but they share a common inspiration: the desire to welcome guests to the authentic sights, flavours and experiences that are the heart and soul of Europe.

All our properties have been restored or developed with sensitivity for the history, people and culture of the local area, and in synergy with the surrounding environment. Many are in areas of outstanding natural beauty near to delightful medieval villages where you can stock up on the local wine, olive oil and cheese. In picturesque corners of Tuscany and Umbria they are often surrounded by world-famous vineyards, endless vistas of rolling hills and rows of cypress trees. In France we have chosen classic areas of French Provence and the vibrant and spectacular Côte d’Azur, in and around Cannes, Nice, St Tropez and Monte Carlo. In Spain we take you to the South where the weather is usually guaranteed and the tapas is wonderful.

Each of our villas can be booked in one of two ways, either as:

• “Sanctuary Hosted” or
• “Tailor Made”

“Sanctuary Hosted”: If you choose to buy your villa as “Sanctuary Hosted”, the price will include a carefully selected range of services, devised to add practicality, comfort, security and a slice of pampering to what is already a fabulous property. Most importantly we see these services as inclusive but not intrusive and they involve only offsite staff. Our aim is to ensure that with this service guests can continue to feel independence and privacy, one of many reasons for choosing a villa holiday over a hotel.

The services are run and delivered by one key person: Our “Local Sanctuary Host”, a charming and knowledgeable local expert who will personally welcome guests to the property and spend time orientating them to the local area. The main objective of our host is to take away any of the small hassles that are inherent in arriving to a new area such as finding the best shops, getting restaurant reservations and finding the villa itself on the first day! All our staff are trained and managed through our local offices.

Please see our full list of Sanctuary Hosted Inclusive Services.

“Tailor Made”: At Sanctuary we understand that not everyone’s needs are the same and for some, our tailor made option may be more suitable. Here we propose our properties on a ‘villa only’ basis, with the freedom to book from a menu of extra services that we offer such as maids, cooks and other activities as you require.

The Three Feathers:

To help decide which property is best for your family or private party, we recommend that you contact one of our Sanctuary Travel Advisors, but to make it easier for you, we have created a key that explains the essence each property:

One feather represents what we describe as authentic and comfortable properties selected for their appealing unpretentious style, unique location and great value

Two feathers represent superior properties, in privileged locations, with excellent facilities and an uncompromising attention to detail

Three feathers represent exceptional residences in outstanding locations, luxuriously furnished and exemplary in style

Sanctuary Families

…Few villa companies have the comprehensive childcare services that we have on offer.

• Child Carers & Nannies: These are professional, English speaking child carers who come armed with creative ideas to keep the tribe of youngsters entertained! This is why we recommend the services of Tinies Childcare, a professional agency providing qualified childcare for families. With their expertise they are able to determine the correct ratio of child carers for your group; looking at the ages and needs of the children. We are able to put you in contact with your own designated consultant who will match your individual needs.
• Child-friendly Properties: If requested these can all be equipped with high chairs, cots and buggies, DVDs, toys and games. Our Travel Advisors will advise you what facilities each villa has and just how child friendly/ suitable for children they are. What is the depth of the pool and most importantly is there a shallow end or does it have a baby pool?
• Family Days Out: Anyone with a family of younger children will know that sometimes dragging them around the likes of the cultural gems of Europe may not be the most harmonious of experiences. Whilst you marvel and admire the spectacular architecture, they tug at your arm for ice cream, throw tantrums when they start to get weary and have hands that cannot be trusted in museums and art galleries! Knowing that many families choose a villa holiday as a perfect solution to enjoy time overseas with the children, we have gone one step further and designed family touring that deals directly with these problems. They are a series of days out that balance the time spent at the cultural sites with time spent engaging in child-friendly activities. You will be able to book any of these through our your travel agent or our Sanctuary Travel Advisor.

Food & Wine

...Bringing Authentic Local Gastronomy to your Table:

Depending on your mood, preparing food can be a chore or a treat. We note that when away even the most enthusiastic families and private parties enjoy taking at least some nights off from cooking and doing the dishes, and why not, this is a holiday after all!

So relax and allow Sanctuary to bring some wonderful local flavours to your villa:

• 
  Cooks: Book a local cook to bring the authentic flavours of the region to your dining table as many nights of the week as you wish
• Cooking Lessons: We provide lessons in local gastronomy either in a local cookery school or in the privacy of the guest’s own villa. This is something to savour and some skills to take home.
• Restaurants: It goes without saying that we have compiled lists of recommended lunch and dinner restaurants suitable for all ages and our local staff will be happy to talk you through these and even book them up for you.
• Breakfasts: If the smell of freshly brewing coffee and hot croissants is an appealing aroma to have around the villa in the morning, then this is something that our local cooks are very happy to prepare. Cooked breakfasts can also be prepared as desired

Wellness and Spa

...We know that for some people, just because you are on holiday, your fitness regime should not forestall and others simply see holidays as an opportunity to spend some time working out. We have worked hard to help you keep it going and because you are in one of our villas some of our proposed activities take place in the midst of your beautiful surroundings.


 

• Our Sanctuary “Run for Life” Programme: If running is your thing, we can send a professional trainer to your villa to take you out on a pre planned run. This will usually start and finish at the villa and we have tried to pick the most spectacular routes available to inspire your every pace! Our routes are graded and you can make the call as to how much and how strenuous a workout you are after. Distances and indications of how challenging a route may be can all be discussed.
• Spa Facilities: Some of our villas actually have spa facilities and in other cases, we work with a local club or hotel to provide gym and spa facilities for our clients.
• Yoga, Pilates & Massage:
  • Where there are local spas and health clubs we can arrange to pick you up and take you to the facility and book a treatment or fitness session for you.
  • Alternatively sit tight, because for many properties, we can send a professional instructor, beautician or massage therapist to your villa!

Shopping Services

...Shopping can be a chore or a deeply passionate past time depending on your inclination and what you are shopping for:

• Groceries and Provisions: In the age of the internet some of us are getting used to shopping online for our groceries. Some countries are less endowed with such facilities and language, systems and registration can be a time consuming barrier. Furthermore most villa bookings start on a Saturday and flights may not arrive until later in the day giving you little time to shop (and you may be tired from your travels). We understand that part of the excitement of being on holiday is being able to browse the local stores and purchase some of the mouth watering local delicacies, but we advocate that rather then giving you the hassle of doing the basic weekly shop, we organise it for you.

  You simply tick the boxes on a pre-prepared list of groceries that we will send you prior to your arrival. Before you get to the villa we will have bought and delivered them, being careful to put produce in the fridge or freezer that should be there. Children’s provisions can also be pre-arranged for you, although we know that these are different in every country and this may need discussing before we choose the brand!

• “Shop ‘Til You Drop!”: Europe opens up a plethora of shopping possibilities for the enthusiast, from the hard to find and fascinating artisan shops around many of our ancient cities, to fabulous boutiques or even outlet centres where some of the fashion world’s sharpest designs are on sale at discount prices. Our local guides can take you straight to the heart of the matter on a half day or full day shopping expedition that can cater for whatever your needs. This avoids the problem of parking and wasting time trying to find the best areas to shop!

Sanctuary Local Professional Guides

...Imagine you were leaving your villa and heading off for a day of sightseeing in a beautiful, historic town or village such as Sienna, San Gimignano, Avignon or Arles. With our local guide service we give you the option of leaving your rental car parked safely at the villa, taking the worry out of reading road signs, finding parking spaces, and filling meters. Our professional driver-guides will not only take you straight where the action is, but will also provide an exceptional experience of the local sights showing you hidden gems as well as the sightseeing essentials and explaining the history and culture of the places you visit in a way that you would not get to experience otherwise.

• Half day Tours: Our “off the shelf” half day tours are designed to get you out to see the sights, but back for the afternoon to spend time by the pool and relaxing in your villa.
• Full day Tours: Full day tours offer the opportunity to see more of a place for those for whom the draw of the pool is less important and who want to spend more time getting under the skin of the region
• Private Access Tours: And our “Private Access” tours take you into areas that may not usually be open to the public where unique insights into local life await you. For example, we offer a visit to the South side of the Arno River in Florence to visit the artisan workshops and boutiques where you can admire handmade pieces from bold and bright costume jewellery, fine silver works, fabulous silks produced in the historical Renaissance design and a host of other splendid fabrications.

• Family Days Out: Anyone with a family of younger children will know that sometimes dragging them around the likes of the cultural gems of Europe may not be the most harmonious of experiences. Whilst you marvel at the spectacular gothic spires, frescoed ceilings and dramatic medieval cathedrals in awe of the work and design, they tug at your arm for ice cream, throw tantrums when they start to get weary and have hands that cannot be trusted in museums and art galleries! Knowing that many families choose a villa holiday as a perfect solution to enjoy time overseas with the children, we have gone one step further and designed family touring that deals directly with these problems. They are a series of days out that balance the time spent at the cultural sites with time spent engaging in child-friendly activities.

  For a full list of tours and booking facilities please discuss these with your travel agent or our Sanctuary Travel Advisor.

Airport and Transfer Services

...Getting to your villa can be the most stressful and challenging time of the whole trip and sometimes finding an exquisite rural retreat is far from an exquisite experience in an area where no-one speaks your language! To ensure that we get your holiday off to a good start, we recommend some of our sensitively designed arrival and departure services. We have three options:

• Transfers: Sometimes if you are arriving in the dark or simply want to put the driving into the hands of a professional, being transferred to the villa in a private air-conditioned limousine or larger vehicle is preferable. In these cases we can arrange for your rental car to be delivered to the villa the next day and will come and pick you up from the airport and take you to the villa where your rental car will be waiting for you.
• Follow Me! Service: Alternatively we can send one of our Guardian Angels to the airport and they will guide you in as you follow them all the way to the villa. We do the reverse for departure services.
• Car Rental: We will send one of our Guardian Angels to meet you at the airport, take you to your car and for those of you who have reserved a vehicle with Satellite Navigation we will show you how to set it up with directions to your villa. This is invaluable help and can save a lot of time. In addition we will of course provide you with a comprehensive set of written driving instructions to ensure that no technological failings can spoil the show!

No Unwanted Surprises

...you read horror stories of families who have booked their dream villa holiday only to find out when they get there that the property does not meet their expectations. There is nothing worse. We have endeavoured to take the risk out of selecting your property for you by:

• Dimensions: Where possible we give you often forgotten, but actually all-important details such as the dimensions of the beds, the rooms and the pool.
• Extra Photography: is available so that you can have a closer look at the interior of the property
• What’s happening next door? The crane and construction site are the worst of all surprises. We have taken the doubt out of this for you by making regular visits to the properties to ensure that owners have not forgotten to mention any developments that they are undertaking.

Secret Season Bargains

...Sometimes it pays to be in the know and outside high season there are short breaks and bargains to be had at all our villas. Ask your travel agent or ask our Sanctuary Travel Advisors will be only too happy to tell you more about these:

• Shorter Stays: Many of our villas are available for 4, 5 and 6 night bookings outside high season, so you can book a long weekend or a short week, which may suit you better or give you the chance to fit in an extra holiday!
• Christmas and New Year: A festive season escape is wonderful and many of the European cities that are located near to our properties are filled with wonderful festive spirit and Christmas markets at this time of the year.
• The Secret Season: This is the time of the year when it may be a little quieter in the region you are visiting and it may even be a little cooler – but to some people this may be a good thing and there are many weeks out of high season that may even be preferable to you and your private party that we will be only too happy to discuss with you. Whatever the season, our services remain the same and you will get the same care and attention to detail that we provide at the busier times of the year.

To discuss your personal requirements, please contact your Travel Agent or our Sanctuary Travel Advisors for further details.