Parigi
100+ Posts
I'd be happy to.
Yes it is booked up way in advance because:
(1) it is in the middle of a very small village that was voted the most beautiful village of France last year. The small village has only one very small hotel, Le Sombral, and an even smaller b&b;
(2) it is very reasonably priced, and is part of "Gîtes de France", a national assocation well known for strictly inspecting its rentals. But it is a disaster commercially speaking. Its photos on its website - a site not very user-friendly to say the least - are always crappy. Its prices are always incredibly low, probably because its clientele is limited to the French or Europeans who know the system well.
In my experience, a Gîtes de France rental is always better, than the way it looks and sounds on its web page. This rental is a great example. We paid about 400 euro for the week, for this very charmingly furnished apartment with a terrace and a washing machine and dishwasher. Then one must expect the Gites-de-France quirks. One must pay extra for the linen rental and last-day cleaning. Fine. Then we found the apartment had no towels. Oh, that's extra. This is rare, but it exists. It is the second time I have encountered such a system, where linen rental and towel rental are separately charged. With all the extras, we paid about 70 euro more, which still makes it great value. But one needs to know these things. It is easy for a foreign renter to feel he is being nickled and dimed, even though the total expense is still very low. -- I talked to the owner about it. He agrees that for the convenience of everybody, he should just charge a flat fee. He explains, and I confirm, that many French rentersee do prefer to bring their own sheets, and some bring their own towels but not their sheets. If I may quote Roz's favorite quote of my husband's: "il faut savoir. -- You just have to know.
Yes it is booked up way in advance because:
(1) it is in the middle of a very small village that was voted the most beautiful village of France last year. The small village has only one very small hotel, Le Sombral, and an even smaller b&b;
(2) it is very reasonably priced, and is part of "Gîtes de France", a national assocation well known for strictly inspecting its rentals. But it is a disaster commercially speaking. Its photos on its website - a site not very user-friendly to say the least - are always crappy. Its prices are always incredibly low, probably because its clientele is limited to the French or Europeans who know the system well.
In my experience, a Gîtes de France rental is always better, than the way it looks and sounds on its web page. This rental is a great example. We paid about 400 euro for the week, for this very charmingly furnished apartment with a terrace and a washing machine and dishwasher. Then one must expect the Gites-de-France quirks. One must pay extra for the linen rental and last-day cleaning. Fine. Then we found the apartment had no towels. Oh, that's extra. This is rare, but it exists. It is the second time I have encountered such a system, where linen rental and towel rental are separately charged. With all the extras, we paid about 70 euro more, which still makes it great value. But one needs to know these things. It is easy for a foreign renter to feel he is being nickled and dimed, even though the total expense is still very low. -- I talked to the owner about it. He agrees that for the convenience of everybody, he should just charge a flat fee. He explains, and I confirm, that many French rentersee do prefer to bring their own sheets, and some bring their own towels but not their sheets. If I may quote Roz's favorite quote of my husband's: "il faut savoir. -- You just have to know.
