Ferme du Charmois

The garden was the one good point during our family reunion weekend. Cleanliness was questionable, with dead flies and cobwebs, and the dishes were completely mismatched. The website photos don’t show the place as it really is. Also, a year-round tenant lives in the same common area as the upstairs bedrooms, and a booking for campervan owners parking in the gîte car park gives them contractual access to the toilets and kitchen. The higher price because Thursday was a public holiday was unacceptable for the quality of this gîte. Avoid it, or ask for a significant discount from the advertised price.

That toilet really needs fixing, it would put an end to all the little complaints people make when looking for a cottage. We had a great time, though. The year-round tenant was very kind, and not noisy at all, and we’d come back if we get the chance. Thank you. We rented two cottages for a wonderful family weekend. The renovated one with 10 bedrooms was very, very nice, and the larger cottage was practical, with enough room for everyone to pitch in and enjoy the festivities. It was lovely value for money, in a pleasant setting near the lake. The children could play ball safely. What more could you want? For anyone grumbling, a 4-star experience costs more, but for our family and friends, this is what matters.

The cottages are practical and well-equipped, and the venue has a hall and parking, with dogs allowed. It’s a lovely, quiet spot in the countryside. A few more flowers would make it feel more welcoming, though. The room is a little narrow, so a wedding for 100 would mean giving up the dance floor. Turning off the outside lights at night would also make for a perfect night in the countryside.

The price felt far too high for the service we got. We were a group of 30, with young children, using the large and small cottages for a family gathering. The welcome was cordial but not especially warm. Cleanliness needs work: the floor was slippery, a sheet was torn, and we found a razor and cotton swab in one room. Several toilets weren’t working properly. Some rooms had outdated electrical outlets, including exposed wires in a room described as popular with children. That didn’t seem to have been noted in the check-out inspection. Cutlery was mismatched and incomplete, with only five teaspoons, for example. They replenished the stock when we asked, but it could have been checked before we arrived. There also weren’t enough bowls or cups for breakfast, the dishes came in every size and color like at a charity shop, and the small cottage had almost no dishes. Some rooms had no duvets, and a door frame was broken and not very presentable.