We talk to Rebecca Randall, who in 2016, along with her husband, purchased a derelict paper mill in the Dordogne, Moulin de Fontalbe. 

After a year of intense renovations, Fontalbe was transformed into a luxury six bedroom Gite, alongside a comfortable home. Here we gain a first-hand insight into the ups and downs and new trends in luxury holiday home rentals.

What inspired you to create Fontalbe"

We fell in love with Fontalbe on a sunny April day in 2016.  The whole place was virtually derelict but it just felt right.  We have been lucky enough to have travelled extensively and to have stayed in some of the best, and most unusual, hotels and resorts in the world.  We wanted to bring to Fontalbe  the things that made us happy when we travelled, the things that we spoke about afterwards and that made us smile.
Fontable, near Bergerac airport

We wanted to create a high end, unique and luxurious home from home for our guests.  Somewhere that they would walk into and feel at home and kick their shoes off, but at the same time give them things to marvel at, to smile at. We were lucky enough to find an amazing architect, Joris Van Grinsven, who shared our vision ? to keep as many of the original features but combine them with an industrial modern finish, to respect Fontalbe?s industrial heritage.  When our guests first arrive they see a typical sandstone building, albeit with unusual dark grey shutters...