Name: Mas Djoliba
Type: Bed and Breakfast
Country: France
Town: Antibes
Cost per night*: £291 for their family suite in peak months
Facilities: Private garden, Use of shared pool
Tripadvisor rating: 4.5
For anyone looking for a reasonably priced hotel with spacious accommodation, a private garden, some peace and quiet and a pool in the South of France, then I think I may have the place for you. Mas Djoliba is a B&B located on one of the residential roads in the hills of Antibes, a 5-10 minute walk from the Old Town and beaches, and run by a lovely couple Delphine and Mike.
Click here for the B&B’s website
Before the review continues, a few caveats.. If you want self-catering, don’t like the idea of an unattended swimming pool, and you don’t want to worry about your kids’ noise levels affecting other guests, then this is not the place for you. There are no cooking facilities in the rooms, no lifeguard at the pool, and the owners have no shame in telling you to pipe down if your kids are making a racket at a quieter time in the day. This happened to us once over our trip late afternoon one day, however to be fair, the kids were being particularly loud and there were some guests at the pool without kids wanting to relax. So it didn’t overly bother us. If this doesn’t put you off, keep reading!
We stayed there for a week over the summer last year in their garden suite (https://www.hotel-djoliba.com/suite-room-with-private-garden-antibes_uk_29_A.html). The garden suite feels like our own private villa. You access it from the side of the swimming pool and around the side of the private garden is your front door.
Inside the suite, there is a large living room and two single beds either side:
As well as a separate room with a queen sized bed and an ensuite bathroom.
And for the garden, I’ve not found many places in the world that give you this sort of outside space for this price:
During the day, you get to enjoy breakfast on the terrace by the pool, which consists of most things you’d expect to see in a french breakfast – bread, cheese, charcuterie, yoghurt, fruit, cereals and eggs. Delphine & Mike form an impressive team between serving up breakfast and keeping the grounds of Mas Djoliba impeccably clean and tidy. You also have access to the swimming pool all day long, which was an absolute highlight for our three. They also serve snack food throughout the day (and alcohol for the potentially weary parents!), which includes light dishes like home made pizza. Particularly handy if you want to stay poolside over lunch or dinner some of the days you are there.
And if you ever got bored of the garden and pool, there is always a game of boule waiting for you (pardon the rhyme, I couldn’t help myself..):
In fact, it took some persuasion to leave the B&B and explore what is an incredible town – Antibes.
1. Places to eat:
Les Filles du Micocoulier in the old town of Antibes, off the market square, offers delicious crepes and caters well for children with good portion sizes and colouring in options to keep them going! This was a particular highlight for our family as their crepes are made with buckwheat and therefore fine for those with gluten intolerances.
Gelateria Del Porto is where we had what we all believe is the best ice-cream we’ve ever eaten. I can’t tell you how delicious this stuff is. The chocolate ice-cream is literally like eating chilled nutella. Divine:
2. Places to visit:
Antibes itself has the beautifully historic old town which you can happily laze around multiple times over a trip.
There is a daily market there selling food during the day and gifts by night. Near the market square there is also an exceptional painter called Helene Halbert with an art gallery just opposite the market.
The beaches are easily accessed from the old town, however we found our favourite beach was a bus or taxi away in Juan-Les-Pins. I’d thoroughly recommend L’Arc En Ciel if you are looking to make a day of it in Juan-Les-Pins. It’s a fantastic Beach Club costing 16 Euros for a chair/day. And you get to experience the bliss of sitting down, drinking a margarita and watching your kids have the time of their lives:
Hope this has given you a flavour of La Belle Vie in the South of France. A bientot (see you soon) as they say in France..
Where To Stay With Kids 