Up a winding track above the village of Monacciad’Aullène in southern Corsica sits our home for the week, Villa Tantanni. With its blue shutters, apricot walls and infinity pool with a jaw-dropping view, it’s all the brochure promised and more. And the pretty village below us, a jumble of terracotta roofs and green fields with a resident honking donkey, could not look more bucolic.

So what is this we spy, as we amble to the local auberge one evening? By the side of the road in the centre of Monaccia is a stone memorial, surrounded by a few dusty flowers, to François Santoni, whose story turns out to be quite at odds with the rural idyll the village presents.

Over a pichet of local rosé wine at the auberge, La Pergola, we consult the Rough Guide: “In August 2001, this remote village was dragged into the international spotlight when it witnessed the Mafia-style murder of former separatist-militant leader François Santoni...”

Crikey. We peer into the gathering gloom of the deserted village with new interest. Like most visitors to Corsica, we had read about the island’s nationalist struggle. Yet for holidaymakers, signs of discord are hard to detect, beyond the bullet holes in the dual-language road signs, designed to obliterate the French and leave only Corsican place names visible.

A Rough Guide: the best of France

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the publisher has produced a series of 25 guides to great travel

• Rough Guides: best of Italy

• Rough Guides: best of Spain

BACKGROUND

• The best new French holiday ideas

• Provence’s best kept secret

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

• Bopping babies in St Emilion

• Having a boule in Provence

BACKGROUND

• Smelly Champagne sausages

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

Related Internet Links

• Peregrine's France: the Sunday Times francophile reveals all

Related Internet Links

• Holidays in Corsica

And like everyone we met, our hostess at La Pergola could not have been more pleased to see us. Perhaps it was that in May, the season was just getting going – though I prefer to think it was down to the winning behaviour of the junior Urquharts, my nieces Emily, 6, and Ruby, 2. Our proprietor whipped up some spaghetti and veal stew for the girls while keeping me, my brother James, sister-in-law Jane and friend Tania well supplied with more pichets. Soon huge plates of wild boar stew with pasta and delicious hard Corsican cheeses and bread arrived – and she seemed almost offended when we tried to leave a tip.

While Monacciad’Aullène is clearly hazardous for some, it seemed the only danger for us visitors was to our waistlines. The gastronomic attack started at 8.30 each morning when our cleaning lady, Armandine, arrived laden with pains au chocolat, croissants, baguettes and fresh milk.

This was the cue for us adults to drag ourselves to the breakfast bar in the villa’s open-plan living-dining room, brew some coffee and take breakfast out to the pool.

Clan Urquhart’s previous family holiday in France had involved daily trips to a nearby boulangerie before breakfast, but from our base outside Monaccia this would have been quite a hike, so it was a luxury to tumble out of bed and find breakfast delivered. And Armandine’s daily bread deliveries were all part of the service.

As well as daily visits from Armandine, we were introduced to the British staff, nanny Kate, spa therapist Rachel and chef Tom (whose services are extra depending on what you book). Kate arrived with a huge box of toys and Emily and Ruby were so engrossed that they barely bothered to wave us off as we headed to nearby Tonnara beach for a long lunch.

Later Rachel gave us massages and tanning treatments in our bedrooms, and Tom called by to finalise the menu for the night he was to cook for us. Some holidaymakers book him every night, he said, although, after a belt-busting, five-course supper we decided you needed to be on the ski slopes all day to justify that.

With two small children and an 18m (60ft) pool, we had little incentive to leave the deck area. Emily, a strong swimmer, was soon jumping in to dive for toys, while Ruby pottered about in the wide shallow area we nicknamed “the beach”.

But we managed a few leisurely day trips, such as to Bonifacio, with its stunning sea views; the beach at Tonnara, where the girls built sandcastles; and Filitosa, an hour’s drive north, where we scrambled around a Neolithic site.

For a young family this was a perfect week: a safe, comfortable base with great food and some easy pottering near by. Emily told me that the best bit of the holiday was the pool. The worst bit, we all agreed, was having to leave our beautiful villa.

Need to know

Cath Urquhart and family travelled with Coastline (0844 5571020, www.coastline.co.uk), which offers seven nights in Villa Tantanni from £657pp, based on ten sharing, including return flights from Gatwick, car hire, daily maid service, bread delivery and change of linen, bath and beach towels.

Avis (0844 5818181, www.avis.co.uk) offers a five-door car from £258 a week. BCP (0871 360 1013, www.parkbcp.co.uk) offers a “meet and greet” service and one week’s parking at Gatwick from £64.

Times recommends

• The smart guide to travel blogging
• 30 top takes on New York
• Europe's 20 best Christmas markets 2009