After reading some of the other reviews on Trip Advisor I was a bit worried about having booked this Pierre & Vacances residence. However, we had previously stayed at a super residence in La Baule and hoped that the one at Villefranche sur Mer would be just as good. It was!

Although we were only a party of 3 (2 adults and 1 teenage son), we deliberately booked an apartment for 6/7 people (based on the room sizes quoted on the P & V website where we made our booking) so we had plenty of space. The apartment was in a good state when we arrived and although we were quite close to the trains, the noise wasn't too bad at all. No noise could be heard from the nearby main road. A large party of Canadian students were staying at the residence and although they were a bit noisy when they met up around the pool for a couple of hours each afternoon, they were in no way offensive and were kept well under control by their tutors.

We made good use of the pool which was well-maintained. The people running the poolside cafe were also responsible for the hiring of the sunbeds around the pool. Entry to the pool was strictly for residents and the cafe served good quality and reasonably varied food. We did hear that the pool and cafe are let out on an annual franchise so other visitors may well have had different experiences in the past.

I used the onsite laundry a couple of times, 5 Euros per wash (including soap powder) and also went to the shop, also onsite, for bread and other basics.

The walk to the cafes/restaurants and bars on the seafront at Villefranche took about 10 minutes. There were a number of steps to contend with but overall it was a lovely walk along the beach with plenty to look at both during the day and evening. Going in the other direction, the walk to Beaulieu also took about 10 minutes with just one steepish hill to deal with. Otherwise, again, it was a lovely walk along the seafont. The best supermarket is in Beaulieu (SuperU), right next to the train station.

We had travelled from the UK by train so didn't have a car with us. To be honest, this didn't matter - the buses from Nice to Monaco and beyond stop right outside the residence and each trip costs just 1 Euro per person, per trip. The trains are a bit more expensive but again give easy access to most places along the coast from either Beaulieu or Villefranche stations. Beware, though, that if there's a cruise ship visiting Villefranche queues for the ticket office at that station in the mornings can be quite long, especially if you're going towards Monaco!

The overall quality of food in the cafes/restaurants in Villefranche was excellent, if a bit expensive in some places. We had good value meals in Loco Loco, a small restaurant with just a few terrace tables set back from the seafront in the old town but you need to get there early as the tables fill up very quickly each lunchtime/evening. Les Corsaires on the seafront was also very good, although a bit more expensive. Staff in both restaurants appreciate it if you can try to speak a little French but they all spoke excellent English and did so very willingly.

The beaches at both Villefranche and Beaulieu are kept clean and the water quality was excellent but don't expect sand, except on private hotel beaches! The public beaches are mainly quite gritty and so a bit uncomfortable to walk on barefoot.

Overall, we were very happy with the residence, its facilities and location...and best of all the weather was super too!

We booked this place mainly because of the wonderful location and in addition they accepted our dog.
We booked a 1 bedroom apartment with sea view. This apartment had a beautiful sea view, but had an unbelievable small bedroom facing the noisy Bass Cornice. Also, there were broken tiles, especially in the living room and the apartment was not in overall well condition. We asked for another apartment. They gave us for the same price an apartment with a bigger bedroom and more space, although it had only a small sea view. This apartment was basically ok (needed some paint jobs) with a kitchen well equipped for summer cooking. Noise at certain times from the train.
Good points: The Swimming Pool, good pool chairs etc., fenced in parking (code access) and location.

Stayed in a couple of other lovely hotels in Villefranche before our booking for 4 nights in L'Ange Gardien. Arrived to a friendly reception, nice enough pool with a good view. Then went to level -3 to see the suite (sized for 6 to 7 people). It was tiny, smelt damp, was dirty, the beds were so short my husband was hanging off the end., the kitchen was so old the cupboards were sagging in the middle. Reception didn't seem surprised to see us back and offered us another room which was slightly better, but still in miniature size. The bedrooms especially the bunk room was like a small cell with barred windows. After enough complaining and a very cross receptionist we managed to get a contract from head office signed to promise to reimburse our money. I'm sure that was only because my husband speaks fluent French and she switched into French when she got cross. Leaving at 6pm on a Saturday with 1 child and a baby and nowhere booked to go to was better than staying in that room. We have travelled a lot and never been to a 3* with such terrible rooms. Also for a 3* I would expect air conditioning in such a hot environment. Thankfully we found Hotel Saint Michel which was a hugely pleasant surprise and far excelled the 2* which it is.

My family and I stayed here for 2 weeks in July. We spent a week here in June last year, and enjoyed Villefranche so much that we decided to return, but this time for 2 weeks. The accommodation is fine as long as you are expecting space which is small but clean and functional. We experienced a lot of noise from the traffic last year, but this year our appartment was quieter........Until, the dreaded arrival of a group of students from Blyth Education, Canada who arrived during our second week. They had a clearly blatant disregard for other guests and residents who were on holiday, trying to relax. They were extremely noisy and constantly used obscene foul language within earshot of everyone else. Having 2 young children who understand English, I had to speak with them directly to tone down their language in front of youngsters. They couldn't seem to care less. The noise was so bad that we were forced to spend evenings out of the apartment just to keep away from them. The noise and disruption was so bad on one night that I decided to go to reception to complain, only to find a Security Guard had appeared as he had already received a telephone call from another resident who had also complained. The supposed person who was meant to be "in charge" of the Blyth students was summoned. How could he have been "in charge" if he wasn't even residing at the same residence as the students?....To cut a long story short, our holiday was destroyed by the disruption caused by these students, who manged to disgrace the reputation of Blyth Education. Alcohol had clearly been consumed by the students. On the one evening I tried to avoid them by going to a waterfront bar for a soothing and relaxing drink, to find two female students from Blyth, already under the influence, sitting at the table next to me, slapping down Daddy's credit card and "chugging" (to use their venacular) cocktails.
My message to Blyth Education in Canada, is please do not send your students to stay here. It is not appropriate to send unsupervised students (a large number of them) to upset rsidents who are on holiday/ My message to Pierre Vacance is please do not accept any bookings from Blyth Education students. My message to future guests is do come here to enjoy a practical but simple holiday, just check there are no Blyth Education students there when you plan to stay. (I belive they are due again in August 2009.) I will only return again if P&V can guarantee that Blyth students will not be there. Be warned.