my husband will never let me hear the end of it – it was him, not me, who discovered the amazing gem of a hotel for our easter getaway. while looking up family-friendly destinations in the south of france – combining nature with a good dose of comfort for the ultimate weekend of lazy relaxation – he came across CHATEAU ST PIERRE DE SERJAC. renovated in 2016, the domain looked incredible right from the very first photos he forwarded me, and it didn’t take long before we were anxiously awaiting a reply to our mail inquiring about availability. lucky for us, easter break is a bit too early for mass tourism, and we were able to book our first choice – a little house with a private garden and pool.

i feel like i can’t even begin to describe how perfect this place was, but i’ll try anyway. the genius of renting a little house on a hotel property is that you can feel as comfortable as (or more than) at home, but you still get to enjoy the perks of hotel services. while our private garden was perfect for breakfasts al fresco, cozy barbecue dinners and catching up on some reading while juliet took her daily naps, the big communal (and heated!) pool was perfect to keep juliet entertained whenever the sun came out.

we mostly enjoyed the privacy of our own little home-away-from-home, but did take advantage of the really good restaurant. while the kitchen in our house was as well-equipped and spacious as we’re used to, on the first night we didn’t really feel like tiring ourselves out. we so enjoyed the dinner we had at the restaurant that night, that we decided to order the same dishes in for the last night, and we enjoyed them by our fire place as we saw the sun set.

that’s right – bbq, wood stove, fully equipped kitchen, garden and terrace with views on the nearby vineyards… there was no reason whatsoever for us to leave the little house, let alone the domain. apparently in summer they organise all kinds of kiddie-proof activities to keep your offspring occupied so you can truly enjoy some down time, and so obviously i want to move in. honestly, the hotel staff was so nice to juliet (and to us!) we felt like we were visiting relatives. add to that the always-wonderful-always-incredible CINQ MONDES spa right there on the property, and you’ll understand why we’ll be emigrating just as soon as we can locate that darn winning lottery ticket.

we stayed in a lovely little house on the domain of CHATEAU ST PIERRE DE SERJAC • juliet is wearing a MINGO KIDS legging and sweater, i am wearing LEVI’S MADE&CRAFTED jeands and a YAYA sweater • all photos by stephanie duval and matthias rabaey