Nr Serre-Poncon, Southern Alps in Summer - Domaine de l'Adoux

Two of the directors stayed at the Domaine de l’Adoux in St Jean Montclar near the Serre-Ponçon lake between 21-28 July 2007.
There was two couples and 5 children aged 2-10 in the party. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the holiday in this undiscovered part of the French Alps.

St Jean Montclar is in the Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur region. It is in a mountain area but is only 10 mins drive from the nearest beach on the Serre-Poncon lake. The heart of Provence is not far further south and therefore there is a definite Provencal flavour.

Day-1
We took a no-frills flight from Bournemouth to Marseille and met with our friends there.
Would highly recommend Bournemouth for anyone wishing to fly from the south of England. Tiny airport, very easy to get to, parking right by terminal, no walking involved once in terminal, quick boarding and disembarking (10 mins from plane to taxi outside right at end of July!)
From Marseille it took us 2 ½ hour to drive to St Jean Montclar (mostly motorway via Dignes).
Stop for refreshment at Les Mées to view the “Penitents des Mées”. These are truly spectacular natural geological wonders.

Domaine de l’Adoux was taken over in 2005 by a couple who were originally from that area and had previously managed a hotel in St Jean Montclar but had then moved to the Haute-Savoie region to manage well known resorts’ tourist offices. This is how we became friends with Alain & Odile and then decided to try out for ourselves their new venture.
The place was given a total make-over and we all thought it was very well done.

What did we think of Domaine de l’Adoux?

- Set in a large and charming woodland.
- No other constructions around –as can be seen on photo above
- Superb views from the bedrooms –see below

- Very spacious bedrooms. The interconnecting rooms we had were very spacious and great for a family

- Pleasant restaurant although we ate out on the large terrace every day – both for lunch and in the evening

- Good fresh food, nothing too complicated. We initially thought that the full-board formula would be a bit much but in fact we enjoyed coming back for lunch and if you are away all day you get a packed lunch instead.
- A nice selection of reasonably priced wine – particularly liked the Cassis (Blanc)
- The theme evenings (Italian, Country Dancing) were great fun
- The bar is well stocked and has nice comfortable seating although it was pretty quiet on most nights.
- The pool area is pleasant and has lots of sun loungers plus a small inflatable paddling pools for tiny ones.
- We felt it was safe for the kids to run around and build huts in the large woodland park.
- Had a few games of tennis when it was not too hot.
- Great kids club (although French focussed) – and included in price
- A good choice of activities organised, including guided hiking days included in the price
- Family run by a friendly and helpful couple (and their children!). A great team working

The minuses
- Very French – pretty much all the clients were French or French speaking so the kids club for instance is geared for this.
- Under 4 are not catered for in the kids club
- St Jean Montclar centre (10 mins walk) is not the most attractive resort (because purpose built) but there are lots of nice little villages around.


The resort of St Jean Montclar 1330m (Tourist Office website http://www.montclar.com/en/)
A few shops, bars and a few restaurants although we never used these apart from the Pharmacy (no need for it)
Chair lifts operate in summer and give access to some great walks around small altitude lakes
Very friendly resort run crèche (very cheap)
Heated outdoor pool
Nice traditional market with genuine local produce on Sundays


Day-2

Went to St Jean Montclar for the market and tourist office presentation welcome drink
The kids enjoyed the play area and watching the ponies
Barbeque lunch back at the hotel on the terrace
Afternoon at the beach on Serre-Poncon lake
10 mins drive from the Domaine de l’Adoux
Enjoyed sunbathing and swimming. Water was at 23c which felt a bit cold at first as it was quite hot outside but it is in fact quite warm. None of the kids (included the 2 ½ year old) hesitated for a second though. There was a small safe shallow area which was marked by floating ropes and also a lifeguard on duty.

Day-3

Spent morning in small traditional village of Seyne-les-Alpes – less than 10 mins drive away. Afternoon relaxing at the hotel. Table tennis, tennis, swimming pool
Kids at club all day

Day-4

Went on a day hike around some of the mountain lakes.
This was organised by the hotel and the guide was great at showing all the wildlife (saw marmottes) and plants, insects, rocks…
All kind of clients were with us – young, older, fit, unfit and the emphasis was clearly on enjoyment of the scenery and setting rather than a sporting challenge.
Back at the hotel the ladies had a “beauty” session with the beautician at the hotel
Men had a few aperitifs outside the bar and then took the kids to the pool
Kids with club all day– went to Accrobranche which is a type of adventure park in the tree canopy. All thought it was great fun!


Day-5

Morning at St Vincent les Forts
Amazing scenery as the village overlooks the Serre-Poncon lake – see photo below

Afternoon – donkey trip with the kids organised in conjunction with the kids club
There is a special itinerary in a forest on the mountain side. The kids ride the donkeys with the parents leading them (actually not as easy as one thinks!).

In the evening, massage at the hotel for the ladies – men had more aperitifs…
After dinner surprise night cap and chocolate bananas prepared in big open fire in the forest nearby - organised by the hotel

Day-6

Trip around Serre-Poncon lake to see some of the villages. Stops included the famous Demoiselles Coiffées rocks.
Went to Savines-le-Lac and took the La Carline boat trip – see photo below

This is the best way to see the lake

Kids insisted on going to the pool, like every evening
Special Italian evening diner with live entertainment

Day-7

Went to visit Barcelonnette (40 mins away) (http://www.barcelonnette.com/). A pretty little town with great outdoor restaurants on a typically French square. Discovered some great interior decorating shops.

Went for a short hike in Ubaye valley (see photos on http://www.ubaye.com/photographes) and up to the scenic setting of the old Abbaye de Laverq (http://www.haut-vernet.com/refugelaverq.html) where one of the hotel hikes started from. It is at the foot of the two Séolanes with GR 56 hike itineraries. The “Eaux Tortes” are of particular interest (photo on http://www.haut-vernet.com/laverq009.html).

Finished with a country dancing evening which was great fun.


Kids Club (Split into two groups 4-7 and 8-12 , 13-15 also normally available) July-August only
The kids did a number of activities with the club which included
Acrobranche
Donkey ride
Treasure hunt
Wildlife discovery trip


We could have clearly done a lot more hiking as we particularly enjoy this, and there was in fact a different hike organised by the hotel nearly each day – with different levels of difficulty but we wanted to tour the area so we simply did not get the time.

We would recommend this kind of holiday for nature lovers, couples in search of a peaceful setting (in June and September) and francophile families with kids in July-August.

One final little tip – do make sure you have a car with Air Conditioning – it was pretty hot all the time we were there although the altitude of the resort did mean a nice cooling breeze.