We are 2 families of 2 adults and 2 children and stayed at Villa Ossature in August 2019. We were greeted warmly by Serge and his wife Sandrine. The villa is absolutely beautiful and fully equipped. It was spotlessly clean and a cleaning lady did come once during our stay. The pool area is delightful and has lots of seating and parasols for shade. When we stayed, we had the adults sleeping downstairs and the children all upstairs, which had a large games room, and 2 bedrooms with a bathroom in between. Serge and Sandrine also put an extra bed in the rooms so that the siblings did not have to share a double (which definitely suited the kids)
The location was a concern to us before we went, having never been to Lake Annecy before however that turned out to be one of the best things. The villa is about a mile from the lake at St Jorioz and you can either take a car there (its free to park by the lake) or a leisurely walk or of course ride your bike. There was plenty of space to sit by the lake on the grass there, with a reasonably priced snack bar and a jetty where you can hire pedalos, paddle boats, speed boats etc. You can also catch a boat or water taxi from there up to Annecy if required. Annecy itself gets very busy in both the town and by the lake. The Villa is on the west side of the lake and another good point is that on the west side the cycle path goes from the top to the bottom of the lake, spanning about 20 miles. The other side has an interrupted cycle path so you would have to do some cycling on the road. St Jorioz has several bars and restaurants and there are patisseries and a supermarket within walking distance of the house.
There is so much to do in Lake Annecy. We would recommend Samby, a short drive away for paragliding. The Chateau at Menthon St Bernard was outstanding , we hired bikes from Le Conty and all our paddle boards etc from the lake at St Jorioz. Lots of canyoning on the other side of the lake. We had a fantastic holiday and would have to say, on behalf of both families, probably our best holiday to date. We would wholeheartedly recommend this Villa and Serge and Sandrine were only a phone call away or we could pop into their restaurant if we had a query on anything.
Stevensons and Donoghues