Relais de la Rinière

The dampness made our four-day stay at Gîte de la Rinière really hard. The sheets were very wet, the upstairs room smelled musty, and by the morning after our first night, moisture was running down its window. There’s no proper ventilation, just a noisy vent in the shower room that the manager says should stay on around the clock. The living room floor was wet behind the TV stand, and the smell at the far end was overwhelming. We couldn’t use the mezzanine beds at all, and those old beds had little comfort anyway, with plywood instead of a bed base. The listing also said there were two separate bedrooms, but the ground-floor bedroom opens onto the mezzanine, so there’s no privacy. We arrived to a very superficial clean, with socks, dust, an empty bottle and other bits under the beds. It was cold, barely 15°C (59°F), and guests have to pay for heating. We were there with our son, who was under a year old, my partner, who has asthma, and my parents, so we tried to raise the problems with the manager. She agreed to free cleaning at checkout and linen rental, and we said we’d compromise and not leave a negative review. But when we left, we changed our minds. The owner said she didn’t know about the damp, although earlier reviews mentioned it. She blamed it on us not heating enough, despite telling us at her first visit that the cottage was very hot. We don’t normally write negative reviews, but this stay pushed us to. We didn’t go elsewhere because our booking through a booking site might not have been refundable by the owner. At 490 euros a week, it wasn’t cheap, and we felt stuck. Avoid until the repairs are done.

The stay ended up costing us money, and it was a bad experience. We couldn’t shower because the cold-water control was stuck. The owner knew and told us when we arrived, but problems are usually fixed. We were woken at 6:45 am by people in the room above, whose movements made the ceiling creak. The heating is behind the curtains, so you’re either cold or get woken early. Even making toast was a hassle, with the toaster outlet down on the floor and toast popping out where we had to pick it up.

The place is very quiet and welcoming, and the front is covered in fragrant rose bushes. I’ve only just discovered it, so I’ll share more later this week. For the price, though, it’s very basic: the kitchen has only basic utensils, the windows are dirty and shut or boarded up, and the Wi-Fi is poor, with a connection in the room only near the television. There’s just one outlet in the room, no extension cord, and no toilet paper, hand towels, soap, or even a glass of water on arrival. Towels and sheets are included, but cleaning is paid. We all had to put up with the neighboring farm smell and its large flies. Other places offer these small things for free, sometimes even a first meal if you arrive late. You get what you pay for.

We had a lovely weekend, with a warm welcome. The building is beautiful and everything was impeccably clean. I recommend the place. Laetitia