Résidence Lagrange Vacances Villa Barbara

The one bright spot was the welcome at reception, where a staff member was friendly and cheerful. Everything else was awful. The accommodation was run-down and extremely dirty: the freezer was moldy, cleaning hadn't been done before we arrived, and the sofa bed was broken. The dishwasher was dirty, rusty, broken, and still full of dirty dishes. The patio furniture was broken and filthy too. The refrigerator/freezer had a problem and all the food had to be thrown away the next day. The site manager dodged responsibility and offered no fix. I emailed Lagrange Vacances during the trip and still haven't had a reply. Avoid this place.

We were told before booking that there was no air conditioning, but the apartment also had no shutters, just thin, torn curtains, so it got really hot. The reception staff were unfriendly and brushed off our complaints, saying it was the guests' job to clean if the previous guests hadn't done it. Apparently there is no cleaning between departures. We were handed a dump and expected to give back a palace. It was dirty and neglected throughout. Every room's ventilation had about 15 cm of dust, the curtains were torn, the kitchen sticky, and the bathtub drain clogged with hair. The floor, cupboards, and dishes were dirty, and the doors were yellowed, sticky, and stained. The pillows had yellow stains and the bedding was very poor. The baby kit we'd booked, crib, mattress, and high chair, was musty, dirty, and stained. The mattress was torn and smelled bad, and the high chair was sticky with dried food. The dishwasher didn't wash properly because it had no salt or rinse aid, but we were told guests had to refill those too. Parking cost extra, which hadn't been mentioned when booking. I'm disappointed. The service was nowhere near worth the price, and I wouldn't recommend this residence.

The pool was the only good part, clean and in a good location. The studio itself is much too small for four people: once the little sofa bed is opened, there's no space left to move. The fridge is absurdly tiny for four, broken at the top, and missing the door by the refrigerator compartment. There are holes in the walls, some stove burners don't work, and there's no air conditioning. I think it's shameful that owners rent this apartment for more than €1000.

The complex felt welcoming, and our apartment was clean and pleasant. We had been worried by the bad reviews, but our stay didn't match them. The furniture was very plain, sparse, and dated, though that didn't get in the way of a lovely holiday. Maybe it even helped us stop worrying about little things. A few flaws keep it at a 3+ for me. A nice fit for people who really love France! 😀