La Maison de Borie

We booked through Booking at 7:00 PM while stopping at a highway exit, then got to the property at 7:25. It was in a dilapidated state, and the photos didn’t reflect what we found. We told the owners, and my children refused to go inside. For context, we travel a lot and are used to all kinds of conditions. The owners said they’d contact Booking and wouldn’t charge me, but instead... It was an awful experience in every way. I’d give zero stars if I could.

The setting is beautiful and idyllic, and the spacious house is splendid. The bedrooms and bathrooms were clean, and it was so quiet apart from the sounds of nature. Françoise was a wonderful hostess, always pleasant and smiling. She was flexible and made our stay easy and relaxing. I highly recommend it!

I applied online after getting no answer to my follow-up call and voicemail, but a week later I still haven’t heard back. I’d first called at 8:00 AM one morning and was told someone would call before 12:00 PM. The dates I asked about are in high demand, but courtesy and professionalism would have meant calling to let me know there were no spots left.

If you're after rest, quiet, and a warm welcome, avoid this guesthouse. We were among people in six or seven second-floor rooms on long-term leases, including students, temporary workers, salespeople, and people on welfare. Every morning, some tenants would clatter down the noisy wooden stairs at 6:00 AM, start the coffee machine, then keep going up and down at a run. Around 6:30, there was more noise from people fanning themselves, and cars started right outside our window until 7:30. Some people also came back at 1:00 AM and were just as noisy. The hostess was inhospitable, and the owner was worse. The website photos are misleading: the outside looks more like a ruin than a castle, and the shutters' paint is peeling to reveal the wood. The cremone bolt in one of the two rooms we rented was jammed, so my wife couldn't close it. In the other room, rented because there were six of us, the cremone bolt wouldn't stay in place. The whole ground and first floors smelled of smoke from the ground-floor chimney, even though it was August. The website pictures don't show what the exterior is really like.