Please note: there is a minimum 14-night stay for bookings at this villa between 20 July and 24 August 2024

If you’ve been charged with organising a group holiday this year, then Villa de la Loubrie may be just what you’re looking for, sleeping up to ten and very conveniently located within easy walking distance of the shops and restaurants of Bois-Plage village. Covering 265m2, the space is both generous and practical, with two large sitting areas to accommodate different groups and moods (adults/kids, guys/girls, night owls/early risers; there’s room for everyone) and five comfortable bedrooms. Stylish but not stuffy, it’s the sort of place that makes you feel instantly at ease, whether you’re doing dinner for 8 in the galley-style kitchen or stretched out with your Kindle on the big comfy sofas while someone else kindly takes care of the cooking.

To enhance the wonderful feeling of light and space, most of the living areas open directly onto the sunny courtyard, complete with a 10-metre heated swimming pool and plenty of lounging room. There’s also a barbecue and covered dining area for lazy lunches and long summer evenings putting the world to rights, encouraged perhaps by a glass of chilled Pineau, the classic Ré aperitif which you can taste and buy locally. It’s just a 10-minute walk to the village centre and its cafés, bars and celebrated covered market, the perfect place to buy fresh fish for the barbecue and sample all sorts of deli deliciousness for an instant gourmet picnic or pre-dinner appetizer. Alternatively, hop on the bikes for the 5-minute (1.5km) ride to Gollandières beach, a long stretch of fine, golden sand with views of Oléron island across the bay.

Local area

Charming Le Bois Plage offers everything you need for an indulgent breach break, combining a market and speciality stores with a reasonable size supermarket if you prefer to do a one-stop shop to fill the fridge or stock the car with goodies to take home. The Plage des Gollandières (1.5km) is your nearest beach, with a lifeguard and watersports in the main summer season; fractionally further south is Gros Jonc beach, which also has a café and a snack bar. If you’re after an active break, there are numerous opportunities for sailing, windsurfing, paddle-boarding, surfing, kayaking and more all within just a few kilometres. The village is handily placed for a visit to the island capital and UNESCO World Heritage site of St Martin (10-minute bike ride), or keep things very local and spend an hour sampling island wine, bubbly and Cognac at the Ré winemakers’ collective on the edge of Le Bois-Plage.

Our choice of French properties is diverse, ranging from simple charm to genuine luxury and style. Much of our portfolio is privately owned, and price alone is therefore not a universal guide. We contract all our accommodation in person, and each property has its individual appeal.

To help you make the right choice based on your own priorities, we have devised a simple grading guide to be considered in conjunction with each individual property description, awarding up to a maximum of five stars for the below categories.