Sur les pas de Pagnol

The room itself was lovely and very clean, and the property is beautiful. But the mattress sagged badly, so we slept poorly, and the pool had dirty, stagnant water. I also would have liked a table on the terrace. The manager came across as unfriendly, almost rude.

The quiet setting, surroundings, and price were the positives for me. Even so, we regret spending three nights here, and the price alone doesn’t make up for the rest. The access road is narrow and badly damaged, with plants close enough to scratch the car if you swerve around a pothole. Inside, the bed is very low, and there’s nowhere to store clothes or put a suitcase. There was just one chair for two people, so the second person had to sit on the uncomfortable bed, which is almost at floor level. The thin fitted sheet and mattress protector kept slipping and bunching up. Our room, Fanny, opened straight onto the shared reception area, where other guests could use a paid coffee machine, microwave, and fridge. That meant people were right outside, about a metre away, and there was no privacy. The ground-floor window had no sheer curtain either, so keeping any privacy meant closing the shutter completely or pulling the blackout curtain.

The room was spacious and pleasant, and the price felt very fair. There’s a large pool too. You can hear the nearby motorway from the garden, but the bedrooms are well insulated, so the noise wasn’t an issue there.

We had a peaceful, relaxing weekend at this lovely bed and breakfast, and I’d happily recommend it. The room was spotless and beautifully decorated, and the pool was a great extra. We also met the owner’s mother, who was lovely and had plenty of useful advice. One thing to know about getting there: there are two roads, and one is pretty rough, so don’t rely on your GPS. Follow the signs for 500 Chemins de Carvan, then it’s about a five-minute drive to the guesthouse.