Villas with pool rental in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

It is, the moment a stay falls outside the two summer months, and it is not in August. In July and August a south-facing pool reaches a comfortable temperature on its own, and heating serves only the early mornings. In May, June, September and October, the gap between a heated pool and an unheated one decides whether it gets used at all. The question to put is therefore not whether a system exists but the dates it runs. Several owners switch it on only between set dates, and that is given alongside the pool's dimensions.

South or west on this peninsula, and the distinction lies in the hour people swim. A pool facing due south takes the sun from morning to evening and warms quickly, which suits a family living around it all day. A western aspect leaves it shaded in the morning but holds the heat late, which makes it a place for the end of the day. The lie of the land counts as much as the orientation. A property backed against a steep slope loses the sun two hours before the horizon does, and a pool well oriented on paper can be in shade by five. That point is checked on site or by video call.

Most are, by a fence or an alarm, but the equipment varies from one house to the next. On older properties the device was added afterwards and takes different forms: a removable fence, a submerged cover, a perimeter alarm. Some combine all three, others rely on one. The point that really separates them is the ground rather than the pool. A terraced garden has low walls and outdoor steps, and that is where watching happens. The pages therefore flag both, the pool's safety and the layout around it.

The staff attached to the house, at a frequency that changes with the season. In summer a daily visit is the rule: heat, use and pine dust call for the surface to be cleaned each morning before anyone comes down. The rest of the year two or three visits a week are enough. That upkeep is part of the rental and is not ordered separately. It does mean someone enters the garden early in the morning, which is flagged on arrival so that nobody is surprised, and the hour can be moved on request.