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Your Very Own Piece Of Provence

June 28, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment

There are about 750,000 British and Irish people owning properties in France and the average time they use those properties is just 2 ½ weeks. Having bought their dream property, many hardly ever use it, yet spend an awful amount of time furnishing and maintaining it, then trying to rent it to recover some of the costs. So the reality behind the romance of Provence for many British and Irish can become quite an expensive experience.

Recently Owners Perspective Magazine was invited to the region to view a development where an alternative option is now available for those who have dreamt of having a second home in Provence in the form of a luxury boutique resort situated just 4km from the historic town of Avignon and featuring a L’Occitane spa and Michelin star restaurant. The invitation came from luxury hotel brand Les Maisons de Baumanière and Avenio Prieuré who have just launched Le Prieuré – the first of three fractional ownership developments at properties in the region with two further properties planned in nearby Gordes and Aix-en-Provence.

Fractional ownership is one of several real estate products that you can buy around the world, and offers an alternative to outright ownership of a property. The buyer instead owns part, “a fraction” of the asset equal to the proportion of time they expect to be able to use the property. By not owning the whole property, buyers avoid the total cost and time involved in looking after a full ownership second home, yet still receive
all the same benefits of ownership as if they did.

You can buy a fraction from 1/12 of an apartment or a condominium up to a 1/2 and the typical price across Europe can be anything from €99,000 to €350,000. The average size of your property is usually quite generous with around 1600 to 2500 square feet of living space and the most popular purchase size includes two bedrooms, used for family vacations. The most successful properties so far are mostly in affluent areas in or near beaches, historic regions or locations that have strong cultural influences.

So why would someone choose to buy fractional ownership in Provence? We were told that people will buy in Provence because they specifically want to own a piece of Provence. They want to be able to say “this is mine, I own here”.

Historically when people bought in Provence, they would spend from approx €700,000 to €1million buying a property or piece of land maybe for a renovation and the primary reason was to use it as a holiday home. Not a modest purchase for an average of just 2-3 weeks use per year, yet the thrill and status has kept the buyers coming to the region.

During our introduction to Le Prieuré and before we had a look around the property we heard from Nick Turner, VP and head of new business development for The Registry Collection; a luxury exchange service for fractional owners. Nick said, “People are buying fractions because they like facilities. These people would like a second home but they like the security, comfort and reassurance that when they arrive after a long flight from New York or London they don’t have to go out to the supermarket that evening, they know that they have every facility on site, the most popular at the moment being the spa. Owning a fractional property is all about luxury – it’s that feeling of exclusivity and being part of a private club.”

We heard that buying fractional ownership is making a lot more sense for many people now, since the recent downturn in property and as a result, despite these difficult economic times this market is growing. There were just 40 fractional projects in Europe in 2008, but today there are now 91, showing tremendous growth and a move by consumers towards sharing luxury assets rather than having to do without them.

The question has been raised, and the answer provided – why spend €1 million in this market when you can spend €170,000 and have the same or a better experience?

With fractional ownership, there comes added advantages above and beyond the cost saving too. Unlike traditional property ownership, you can benefit from management of your property, an array of luxurious amenities, concierge services and exchange opportunities allowing you access to other fractional real estate developments around the world.

In the case of the Provence Vacation Club that we were viewing, members have access to the diverse portfolio of 160 luxury properties and resorts within the Registry Collection, so if you do not wish to spend your 6 weeks in Provence one year, you could exchange some of your time for a property in Dubai for a shopping spree like no other, take in a show in Manhattan, soak up the sun in Portugal or go skiing
in Aspen. But most importantly, whilst you are enjoying the lifestyle that comes with ownership in Provence, your asset is being managed by quality operators like Les Maisons de Baumanière.

“The world of luxury property is at your fingertips. To summarise the fractional concept – it’s about high value, low cost and exceptional choice.” Concluded Mr. Turner.

The Provence Vacation Club
Avenio Prieuré, a luxury resort development company has joined with the Les Maisons de Baumanière hotel portfolio in France to develop three fractional properties in Provence; Residence Le Prieuré, Villeneuve- Les Avignon, Domaine de l’Enclos, Gordes and Le Tholonet, Aix-en-Provence.

Le Prieuré is the first of the properties to be developed in conjunction with Les Maisons de Baumanière hotel portfolio, which holds the French equivalent of a five-star rating and is managed by one of France’s leading chefs, Jean-Andre Charial, known for his world famous restaurant, Oustau de Baumanière, located in Baux de Provence.

The property combines the peace and tranquillity of its 13th century surroundings with a contemporary interior design to create a truly unique property. Le Prieuré will be the first five-star category fractional property development in France and driven by Mr Charial’s vision and passion, will be exquisite and offer
extraordinary experiences.

Set to be completed in 2010, the new fractional apartments will be built on exceptionally spacious sites with superb views of either the Luberon Valley or one of the many surrounding historic villages. Located less than 4 km from the sophisticated and historic walled-town of Avignon, Le Prieuré offers a true year-round
destination renowned for its theatre, arts and excellent choices of culinary experiences – all just two and a half hours from Paris by train.

A Piece Of History With A Modern Twist
In 1933 cardinal Arnaud de Via, the nephew of Pope Jean XXII, had a palatial residence built in Villeneuve-les-Avignon. Shortly before his death, he bequeathed the residence to the Chanoine monks, for the creation of a priory. A cloister was added and the chapel expanded into a collegiate church. After the French revolution, the priory was sold and part of it became a family residence for painters. In 1943, Roger Mille and his wife bought Le Prieuré and transformed it into a hotel. Three successive generations of the Mille family dedicated themselves to making it known far and wide.

In late 2006, this Relais & Châteaux hotel / restaurant was sold and Jean-Andre Charial acquired the business. After months of intensive renovations directed by Genevieve Charial, Le Prieuré opened its doors again in April 2007.

A new lounge bar was created in the garden of Le Prieuré in June 2008. Hidden from view, with a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere, Les Piliers is ideal for sipping a glass of wine and sampling a menu of light dishes in those moments when you feel like having a little something. Bruno and his team welcome you in a relaxed atmosphere every day from 10am to midnight. Enjoy jazz, sushi or DJ evenings as well as many other
surprise themes that you can discover.

The Chanoine monks first created the garden of Le Prieuré in the 14th century. They exude a cool freshness and a lovely simplicity, over which wafts the delicious perfume of wisteria that drapes itself along the length of the trellises. Weather permitting breakfast, lunch and dinner can be served on the terrace beside
the gardens.

Right next to the garden walkways, the pool of Le Prieuré awaits the enjoyment of relaxation and tranquillity after strolling the ramparts of Avignon or wandering through the cobblestone streets of Villeneuve. In the summer, at lunchtime, you can be served a light meal poolside as you unwind.

The Boutique of Le Prieuré offers a large selection of decorative objects, household linens, wines, gourmet fare and other treasures for the pleasure of giving someone, or treating yourself to a gift while staying at the hotel.

Fabien Fage wanted his menu to not just reflect the Mediterranean but also to evoke the Gard department, where Le Prieuré stands. Villeneuve-les-Avignon, although only 4km from Avignon, is already a trip into another region of France. The Le Prieuré chef renews his menu four times a week, filling his shopping basket with fresh produce from Gariguette strawberries from Beaucaire to pigeons from Nimes.

Le Prieuré currently has 3 suites and 8 junior suites each equipped with flat screen TV, Wi-Fi internet, air conditioning, a mini bar and a personal safe. All suites include a separate sitting room and private terrace. Each of the 26 rooms at Le Prieuré are a tasteful blend of antique and contemporary styles with comfort in mind.

Les Maisons de Baumanière & L’Occitane
Within each resort will be a L’Occitane spa and during our tour of Le Prieuré we were shown that the area where the tennis courts currently stand has been designated as the location for the new spa and were told that it will be a full spa, not just one or two rooms, there will be wet rooms, dry rooms, a swimming pool, treatment rooms and many areas for relaxation.

The collaboration was an obvious choice really, as L’Occitane is a French company from Provence and fitted the luxury brand of Les Maisons de Baumanière. Just like L’Occitane, Les Maisons de Baumanière share the same values and have a very strong concept and true story behind them. Recently L’Occitane was listed and
elected by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the top hotels and spas in the world.

L’Occitane is about stories, so each new spa designed around a story that is present throughout its theme – a journey in Camargue. Camargue is in Provence in an area where you have lots of water. When you think about spas you think about water treatments, saunas, swimming pools so they decided to base all the architecture of the spa on the colours of Camargue which are very relaxing, very zen. Camargue is unspoilt, relaxing and all about nature, it’s a perfect fit for a L’Occitane spa.

The spa will have an outdoors feel with garden furniture and real feel of being in Provence, even the uniforms worn by the staff are reminiscent of the cowboys of Camargue. There will be a complete treatment menu including facials, massages and body treatments. Within the spa there will be a team of experts from all around the world experienced in many techniques including shiatsu from Asia and Swedish massage. All of the products within the spa as well as in the rooms and apartments are also from the L’Occitane range.

The show apartments are currently scheduled to open in July 09 and in the mean time potential purchasers can sample the Baumanière luxury experience in the on-site hotel.

We also had an opportunity to visit the second property which is nestled on the hillside area of Gordes, noted for its exceptional charm and architecture and is said to be one of the most beautiful villages in France, as well as home to many artists and film stars. A walk out to the village and bustling marketplace
gave us another contrasting taste of Provence life and how Provence Vacation Club could deliver many flavours to its members both in and outside of Jean-Andre Charial’s Michelin-star restaurants that would keep them coming back for more.

The fractional properties each have 24 residential two and three bedroom apartments where owners will have access to hotel facilities, spas and restaurants. At these first two properties the fractional product will be based on eight owners per apartment, owning periods of 6 weeks each. The average cost of a six week use period in a two bedroom apartment is 180,000 Euros.

For more information contact prestim@club-internet.fr or visit www.maisonsdebaumaniere.com/index.php?id=leprieure

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