About Us

We are an American family who love to travel the world. Fifteen years ago, when both our children started attending the Lycee Francaise in San Francisco, we began to travel to France often. Soon we fell in love with the Côte d’Azur and rented a series of homes in Villefranche-Sur-Mer and Saint Jean Cap Ferrat until one day it occurred to us that we’d like to own here permanently. By this time we knew the area well.

We feel confident recommending the house and the area to you as a vacation spot because we know there is something here for everyone. We’ve been here as a couple, we’ve been here with small children, we’ve been here with pre-teens and now we come here with teenagers. Our eighty-something-year-old parents have vacationed here on their own and love it as much as we do.

We’ve outfitted the house with the things that we think you would want in a home, because we want them too: fast and free Internet; an intercom system; an Apple play TV in every room; highend appliances in the kitchen; unique quality furnishings. We take care of our home, and we expect that you will too. But we also know that no one enjoys vacations where they have to tiptoe around the fragile bibelots dotting the premises. We’ve taken care to make the house comfortable and livable while still including all of life’s necessities.

Our price includes twice-weekly maid service, as well as access to a local property manager who will assist with any issues that arise. We can provide you information on babysitters and other services you might need. And of course we will leave you information on some of the wonderful local restaurants and markets.

Whether you are looking to spend your time going to museums and gardens, soaking up the sun on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, reclining on a chaise lounge next to our pool or at the beach, or lingering in small cafes, we think you will love your vacation at Villa Hippocampo.

Origin of the Hippocampo Name

Hippocampo means seahorse in Italian. When we visited a small maritime museum in Ischia, an island off the coast of Italy, we fell in love with these beautiful, ancient and exotic creatures. We decided to name the villa, then under construction, “Villa Hippocampo” in honor of the sea and the Italian Coast which we could see in the far distance. As it turned out, the seahorse is the unofficial mascot of Villefranche-sur-Mer and a bronze statue of a seahorse is displayed prominently in the center of town. The coincidence has made us realize that our choice of Villefranche-sur-Mer was just “meant to be.”