Laetitia Berthoux

I had unfettered views of the bay, with Mount Vesuvius in the distance, from my room and woke up each morning to the sound of lapping waves below my window. Francesca, who ran the kitchen, always greeted us with the most infectious 'Buon giorno!' before our breakfasts of freshly-baked breads, hams, Italian cheeses, omelettes, pancakes and frothy cappuccinos.

I will never forget the hospitality of the staff, the breathtaking views of the Atlas Mountains, or being serenaded by Andalusion musicians at a dinner fit for royalty.

The food was uniformly excellent, with plenty of fish and kid-friendly options; I loved the Arabian buffet night at Spice Market. Each villa comes with bicycles and ours had a sunrise-facing terrace with a private plunge pool.

May is my favourite time to visit, since there's so much going on with the Cannes film festival and Monaco Grand Prix, but the summer crowds haven't shown up yet.

The delicious food is a serious draw for me. I'd go for the fresh prawn-and-mushroom tom yum soup alone; it has the key Thai aromas of fragrant lemongrass, chilli, galangal, lime leaves, shallots, lime juice and fish sauce.

On occasion I still dream about my evenings spent looking out over the caldera high up from my hotel room at Grace Santorini and enjoying local wine as the sun set.