Intrawest, the ski resort developer responsible for Whistler Blackcomb, Mammoth, Mont Tremblant and Arc 1950, is branching out to create its first purpose-built 'traditional' rural village, in the south of France.

The Canadian company has been developing purpose-built ski resorts in North America and Europe since the 1980s, and is also creating summer resorts in Florida, Napa, Las Vegas and Hawaii.

The new village resort of Domaine Haut-Gardegan is its first non-ski project in Europe, and will be located 8kms away from the pretty town of St Emilion, pictured, near Bordeaux in south-west France.

It will emulate the architectural styles of the region, but its cobbled paths, buildings, courtyards, boulangerie and even streams will all be brand new. The only authentic part of the village will be a ruined castle and stables, which are to be restored and turned into an open-air restaurant and a market. There is also a protected 12th-century church on the edge of the site.

The 50,000-square metre resort will also feature a golf course, spa and hotels, and guests will get around on golf buggies, but the developers claim it will be 'low impact', resembling a rural village but with extra amenities. They are adamant it won't be a 'Disneyfied' version of a French village, and say locals have welcomed the development as it provides business opportunities.

'We don't go there to impose ourselves; we go to blend in and be part of the community,' says Robert Jerome, vice president of Intrawest Europe. 'In the Costa del Sol there are hundreds of resorts like this, but this is the first time it's been done in France. There is no competition.'

The 124 luxury units, a mixture of hotel apartments and villas, will be available to buy, then rented out to holidaymakers. The main hotel is expected to open in 2009, with completion by 2011.