Chatenet

The children are already counting down to next year. They’re 7 and 9, and there’s plenty to keep them busy, from the roaming guinea pigs, ducks, and chickens to table tennis, badminton, croquet, table football, boules, swings, and swimming. Even on a rainy day, there are books and DVDs in English and French. In three fortnight-long visits, we only had one rainy day. We’ve been coming for the past three years, usually hiring one Gite for the whole family. This time our party of 16 needed two. Richard is sociable and helps everyone settle in, often with a cold beer ready on arrival. The owners are lovely and always do what they can for us. We’ve eaten on site before, too, and Melanie’s cooking is very good and reasonably priced. The Gites sit on about three acres of farmland, a few miles from Sauze Vaussais. The village has a decent-sized supermarket, a good pizza restaurant, and a bar. There’s also a large saltwater pool with a safety fence, which is great for kids and doesn’t sting their eyes like a chlorine pool. Chatenet is a lovely place run by lovely people. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to families, and you won’t be disappointed.

The accommodation itself is beautiful, which makes this such a shame. We rented the whole bnb and the attached gete for our large family, thinking that meant we could use the place as we wished. On the first day, before most of our group had even arrived, we invited two friends for dinner. The host came straight over and angrily told us visitors weren’t allowed, intimidating my mother and sister as he did so. There were similar incidents through the week, and it spoiled what was meant to be a family holiday for my sister’s wedding. The day after the wedding, the host spoke to my sister and was so unpleasant that he made her cry. It’s sad to see such lovely accommodation owned by people who treated us this way. They could have had plenty of future business from us if they’d left us alone. While they still own the property, I’d strongly recommend staying away, and hope they sell it.

Thanks for all the help and advice, Mel and Richard. We had a wonderful stay, and the chickens, cats, and guinea pig deserve a thank you too. We’ll try ordering better weather for next time, and sorry if we ate every one of your plums. 🌞🌞🌞

We really needed a relaxing week, and that’s just what we got. The surroundings were fabulous, and Mel and Rich were great hosts. A wonderful place to stay.