Anne Marie Tua Holiday Rental, VRBO #615550, Les Lucioles Villefranche sur Mer France

 Les Lucioles Review, 21 bd Princess Grace de Monaco, Villefranche sur Mer, France, 06230

Agent-Owner, Anne Marie Tua, Esprit Chalet, May 6, 2013

We stayed for a week at Les Lucioles in April 2013 and cannot recommend that anyone else stay there. Many of thefurnishings and electronic fixtures didn’t work, including the phone, 2 TV’s, DVD player, CD player, electric beds, WIFI, etc. There was no coffee maker; my wife had to make coffee in a funnel, holding the tool in each cup—very tiresome and inadequate—not up to the standards advertised.

The unit is on a very busy road, with truck and bus noise quite loud on the terrace, and in the kitchen and master bedroom. There is a very curious root cellar or earthen vault on the road side of the house. This allows noise from the road to infiltrate into the house, as there is no proper window separating the kitchen from this dirt area and the road. This space also permits odor, mold and mildew to infiltrate the entire unit. The master bedroom has no proper window to the outside; and no fresh air ventilation.

Consequently, the closets and drawers were all quite smelly and could not be used. The toilet rooms had no source of fresh air ventilation—one tiny window could not be opened. We believe the mold, mildew and odors contributed to breathing difficulties we developed, and our clothes and suitcases smelled terrible more than a week later. This was a very unhealthy situation.

The unit is unsafe in that there is no lighting on the road side of the house, the steps and walkways are very uneven, and it is most difficult to use the entry keys in the dark. It was unsafe to try to find our way in the dark, and no flashlights were provided. We lost power one evening, and could not even call for help, as the phone didn’t work. We still have nightmares over what might have happened if we there had been a fire or medical emergency.

The root cellar/vault has an outside entry that was not locked, thus the entire unit could have been entered from these earthen areas—we were terrified the whole time, as no else lived in the building. Parking is limited, and the only suitable public lot is almost a quarter mile away.

The sea view is compromised by the neighboring terrace, which has fencing and plantings that obscure part of the sea view. These obstructions are not obvious from the photo’s, and will be worse during the summer. The unit is one mile from the village shops, uphill to return with your groceries!

The owner/agent did not respond to our emails about some of these issues. She is a licensed real estate professional who should have provided a holiday unit that matched the advertised description. She lives in the Alps, almost 3 hours away, so she cannot provide assistance during an emergency. Under no circumstances should you stay at Les Lucioles without first making an inspection visit—do NOT pay any deposit in advance on this property.

Also doing business as: Groupe Riviera Sunrise, Chalet Grizzly, Esprit Chalet Faitmain, mme Tua/Serra