Agences Barnes : head for the Basque country !

Introduced 10 years ago, the seasonal rentals service offered by Barnes agencies on the French Basque coast has grown due to rising demand. Backed by a meticulous selection of high-end properties, Barnes Biarritz confirms its expertise and the excellence of its service in seasonal rentals. Encounter with Philippe Thomine-Desmazures, Director of the Barnes Biarritz, Hossegor and Saint Jean-de-Luz agencies.

The popularity of seasonal rentals in the region around Biarritz is confirmed year on year. To meet clients’ requirements as closely as possible, the Barnes Côte Basque agencies appointed a team of four to run the service full-time.

“Finding a house or an apartment for the holidays is challenging and time-consumng,” says Philippe Thomine-Desmazures. “Our aim was to do better with more employees in order to satisfy not only our seasonal clients, but also property owners. Our vocation is to deliver irreproachable work and devote the same care to each of our services : the creation of this dedicated team meets this goal, as well as that of being more efficient.” Often a brainteaser, the seasonal rental has its own rules.

Near the village of Guétary, this magnificent and unusual Basque house sleeping 10 enjoys a fabulous view of the mountains from its large terrace. Its living space of 400 m² on two floors offers a superb living-room leading out to the terrace and garden, a lounge with a bar, and 5 spacious bedrooms including a suite. From 8.000 € to 12.000 €/week.

Following his studies at business college and 10 years in consultancy and marketing in Paris and Switzerland, Philippe Thomine-Desmazures settled in Biarritz in 2010, creating the Barnes Biarritz agency in partnership with his mother-in-law. In 2017 and 2018, two more branches made their appearance, one in Saint Jean-de-Luz, the other in Hossegor, attesting to the expansion of this prestigious firm.

In Anglet-Chiberta, near the beach and golf-course, this sublime villa of 350 m² sleeping 10 offers grounds of 2,000 m² with a heated pool and pool-house. On three floors, it is comprised of very spacious living rooms including, among other things, a TV lounge and playroom, a vast dining-room giving onto the terrace, and 5 bedrooms including a master suite. From 7.000 € to 13.000 €/week.

“The key to success is to plan ahead and the best period for finding a summer rental is winter, to benefit from abundant offers. Starting your search in January is ideal, in March there is still quite a lot of choice though it’s already late, and in June you can forget about properties ideally located near the coast for the coming summer ! The French traditionally take their holidays in August (90%), whereas foreigners tend to prefer July. This year, due to the pandemic, international clients are fewer in number and many properties are still available for July, though the month of August was taken by storm very early on. French holidaymakers who previously set off to all four corners of the globe for their summer vacation are returning to the Basque coast this summer due to Covid. And home-owners who used to leave the region during the summer season while renting their properties have changed their plans and intend to stay put. Which has rarified availabilities in the high season, making it even harder to find a holiday home. As for prices, for a rental in this region in the summer season, you can expect to pay from 10,000 to 15,000 euros per week for a house in a great location with a full array of comfort, or from 3,000 to 4,000 euros per week for a 2-bedroomed apartment in the very centre of Biarritz.”

Barnes Biarritz, 2 place Bellevue, (05 59 51 00 00). Barnes Hossegor (05 58 71 77 14). Barnes Saint-Jean-de-Luz (05 59 51 00 08).