Amélie Fiat, charm seeker

What do a Norman château, a cabin perched on a dune, an XXL chalet in Courchevel, a Provençal wine estate and a modernist house in Corsica have in common? All were selected by Amélie Fiat and feature in her remarkable portfolio of rental homes. Casalino was born out of necessity. At the time, Amélie was working in web marketing, a career that did little to fulfil her. She simply couldn’t find the right platform to showcase her family home in Serre-Chevalier — one that could highlight a quality property without branding it ultra-luxury, and speak to guests sensitive to charm and to the understated, non-standard elegance imagined by her parents. Nor could she find a platform capable of doing justice to a remote buron in the Cantal — cut off from everything, with no electricity — where she had once loved spending a few days during a hiking tour of France. So she decided to create it: a platform connecting passionate, discerning owners (it takes both to sustain some of these properties) with travellers attuned to that elusive “something extra” certain homes possess.

To carve out her own path 

One house became five, then ten, then quickly thirty — “friends, friends of friends…” It was 2016. The successive Covid lockdowns propelled Casalino forward. “All our homes were in France — and still are — so naturally that sparked curiosity, fuelled desire and gave us a real boost, both from owners and from those longing to escape.” She expanded her portfolio organically: one house leading to another, one owner bringing in the next. She grew, partnered, structured the business, streamlined it, parted ways, grew again, added services — including the sale of properties already in the collection. Meanwhile, competition intensified, backed by XL fundraising rounds, while she remained independent, self-funded, and increasingly faced investor-owners turning rentals into a lucrative business. She held her ground and carved her own path.

A curated selection of gems

Ten years on, in 2026, Amélie Fiat has not altered her selection criteria by a single degree: “Location, first and foremost. Taste, care and quality in the décor. Value for money. And finally, the spirit infused into the place.” Simply put, homes she would want to stay in herself. She never speaks of luxury, always of charm — of that intangible soul that fills family homes, whether primary residences or holiday retreats. She has no interest in concierge services, unlike other curated collections. She remains an intermediary between owners and guests — a facilitator, in essence. With an average weekly rate of €7,000 in high season for 10 to 12 guests, Casalino now offers around 270 properties in Corsica, Provence and the Landes, including about twenty exclusives. Among them are a few gems also featured in the pages of Allez Hop: a house deep in the forest, another set amid olive groves, one just steps from the D-Day beaches…

Properties in all the hot spots. Almost. “In some regions, such as the Basque Country, restrictions make it very difficult to build an offer that meets expectations.” Almost, too, because “certain areas — Brittany, for instance — deserve further development, as demand is steadily rising.”

Visionary she has been. Her only obligation now is to remain so.