Villa Ponte Romano

The garden could use a little more care, but this was still a peaceful place. The pool was clean and worked well, with loungers for everyone, and guests can use the BBQ and cooking and dining equipment. Inside, the rooms were spotless and furnished just like the website photos. I was nervous after reading the reviews once we'd booked, but the owners were incredibly kind. We were thirsty and they gave us the two Cokes we asked for free, then offered us coffee in the morning. We didn't have breakfast.

We were there for five days in July 2021 with our two children, and the state of the house shocked us. We found used socks from other guests beside the bed, cobwebs in the shower, and linens and towels with awful smells. The bedroom area felt dangerous because the bathroom ceiling looked as if it could collapse at any moment. Cleaning seemed completely neglected. It was unbearably hot, despite what we'd been told on the phone and what the booking site claimed, and we had to push for them to install air conditioning. I asked for a sponge and dish soap to clean the baby's bottles and was handed a moldy sponge. We ended up buying our own sponges, cleaning supplies, towels, and snacks, and disinfecting the surfaces ourselves. Food was stored in a container full of cobwebs and dry leaves, as the photos show. Breakfast was just as bad: dirty cutlery, grapes left for days in a shared bowl in the sun, and jam that was opened and topped up for all the guests each day. Very COVID-friendly. The place might have been magnificent, a real haven of peace, but the lack of care, effort, consideration, and basic courtesy made it filthy and close to unsanitary. I wanted to leave after the first night, but they refused to refund us. Friends who joined us left after two days without a refund, after also putting up with racist remarks. This was a disgrace and a rip-off, clearly overpriced for what we got. I could list plenty more, but there's no point.

We booked four nights, but the room we'd reserved was supposedly unavailable when we arrived. Instead they put us in an attic apartment that was disgusting, almost uninhabitable, and unbearably hot. The place was filthy and looked as though it hadn't been cared for in years, nothing like the website photos. The pool and spa couldn't be used, so after one night in that hell we canceled and went elsewhere to finish our holiday. The owner said he'd email an invoice for the refund, which I'm owed under their cancellation policy and given the deplorable state of the property. For three weeks I've tried by text, email, and phone, with no response. He won't refund me or provide an invoice. This is completely illegal in France. I've reported the establishment to the Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), both to try to get my money back and to stop others being misled by old website photos. The owner is a money-grubber who has no problem ripping off vacationers. Avoid this guesthouse. There are very nice hotels in Sainte-Maxime with sea views that cost less. This is a blatant scam targeting vacationers.

The pool, hot tub, and jacuzzi make this a beautiful, peaceful place to unwind. I highly recommend it.