“Holiday of a lifetime”

We booked the main house and the coach house with a group of 16 for a special occasion through ownersdirect.com, some of us flew to Bergerac and some to Bordeaux. The short hours drive from Berjarac was beautiful, extremely picturesque. We arrived greeted by the very friendly owners Tas and Martyn and were supplied with complimentary bottles of wine in the fridges on arrival. I was expecting the beautiful photos of this property that enticed us to book to be somewhat photo shopped and that surely no place can be as stunning as these pics but when I arrived it literally took my breath away. We all spent a good first hour just wandering around the house and the grounds just soaking it all in! The mansion has clearly been a labour of love for the owners, who’s attention to detail with the decor is exquisite, every room, every fixture, every item of furniture…. It’s clear there’s been no expense spared inside and out. The exterior is just as impressive with extensive grounds, beautiful marquee area and BBQ pergola, and the superb pool… Which was immaculately maintained for us. The gardens and lake are just the icing on the cake, during our stay the flowers were in full bloom and the lake well stocked with carp and trout so the men of the group enjoyed many an hour fishing with rods provided.

Tips: the owners and possibly past guests have plenty of extras for the stay that you feel you have to bring such as spare sheets, spare towels and pool equipment for children/floating devices etc which are kept in the pool house.

We encountered a few hiccups that you would expect given the age of the property eg. Electrical/drainage however the owners were on hand immediately to resolve with minimum fuss and disturbance

The location is very beautiful and we did take a few trips out in the car to nearby towns such as monpazier where we experienced one of their night markets (highly recommended) and also to visit some of the picturesque chateaus. There is a supermarket 15 min drive which we used to stock up a few times during the week and a local shop open a few hours a day where we were able to order pastries for collection each morning.

I cannot recommend this as a holiday destination enough we have all had the holiday of a lifetime, ages from toddler, teen, and all aged adults there was something for everyone. The younger children spent the week in the pool, the teens stayed in the self contained coach house with its own plunge pool, whilst us adults chilled on the terrace under the marque enjoying the local wine in the evening. As a family we also enjoyed the ping pong table in the courtyard!

Please be assured that it really is as good as it looks! Thanks you Tas and Martyn for a holiday we will never forget.

Reviewed 31 July 2015 for a stay in July 2015