We had a most interesting and enjoyable visit to Henry Royce's (of Rolls-Royce) former Winter home, Villa Mimosa, at Le Canadel. Royce designed and built the house almost exactly 100 years prior to our visit.
Above Villa Mimosa is Villa Jaune, the home of Claude Johnson (RR's Managing Director), below is Le Bureau, the design office, and at the bottom of the road, adjacent to the main road, is Villa Rossignol, accommodation for the senior designers who worked with Henry Royce. On the opposite side of the main road is the Garage, where the cars were accommodated and serviced, and there was an electrical generator for the villas.
There were 8 of us, using 5 bedrooms (we didn't use the children's bedroom) - this was a comfortable number. The bedrooms are of a generous size, as is the rest of the property. The owner will provide a very helpful plan of the property (I used it to allocate the bedrooms).
The weather was excellent - sunny and about 23C. We swam in the sea every day. The beach is very close, on the opposite side of the main road, probably 200ft (60 metres) below Villa Mimosa - the land is quite steep, with Col de Canadel peak at 850ft.
We had all our meals on the terrace (except dinners at local restaurants) with magnificent views of the sea, surrounding countryside and islands in the distance. The kitchen had all the facilities we required. Behind the terrace is the lounge/dining room, and there's another lounge on the west side.
The house is very comfortable and clean, with a 1950/60s feel to the decorations, very appropriate for the age of the house. There's no air conditioning, but many fans, and awnings and shutters to minimise sunlight (when we were there, it was not a problem). There's generous car parking, although turning round in the drive (or the road) can be tight.
The description of the property is very accurate as are the pictures. I've used the pictures when describing our holiday. Downstairs there's a bathroom & separate loo, upstairs two en suites with shower and loo.
There are no shops in Le Canadel, but a good selection at Le Rayol, 2 miles to the East and Cavaler, probably 3-4 miles to the west (where there's a good beach with no steep hills, and a large car park). St Tropez is not too far to the East, and all the Cote D'Azure attractions to Monaco are not too much further. And there are many restaurants at Le Canadel, Le Rayol and Cavaler.
Highly recommended - I hope to return in 2013