Luxury 3 Bed Conversão Barn e amplos jardins com piscina privada

Maison spacieuse mais très salle quand on est arrivé. Pas de télévision en français , internet ne marchait pas, fosse septique qui devait être pleine car les odeurs étaient désagréable devant la maison.

We loved our stay in the hamlet of Barat. The location was perfect for a peaceful, relaxing holiday, as well as being close enough to places such as the Dordogne for kayaking, St Emilion and Saints Foy La Grande for the market. The local village of Saint Méard de Gurçon has excellent amenities, with a bakers, convenience store, chemist and best of all, a fabulous restaurant called Le Pressoir.

Unfortunately, we were rather disappointed with a number of factors. Firstly, the property had not been aired properly and was very musty. Secondly, it had not been cleaned thoroughly: masses of cobwebs, spiders and dust. The oven was greasy and had clearly not been cleaned. The surfaces in the kitchen cupboards and on the sideboard were dirty. Several items in the kitchen cupboards were stored on the floor, which had not been cleaned.

The main view from the barn conversion was a large, rather rusty white van and containers of empty bottles stacked outside the gardener's room.

In addition, the description of the property stated that wifi was available, however it was not, despite David and Andrea turning on the booster. The signal was weak in one bedroom, then failed altogether. We can live without wifi, but the description should be adjusted accordingly, in order to avoid disappointment.

The property is a good size and it is comfortable, however it is not luxury, as stated in the general description. To be luxury it would need to be spotless and require a makeover because the fixtures and fittings are tired.

As I wrote earlier, we did have a fabulous holiday and the state of the property did not detract from that enjoyment, thanks mainly to the lovely welcome we received from David and Andrea and the fact that due to the wasps nests in our pool, we wrere allowed to use the pool at the main Farmhouse.

We came to France looking for a tranquil escape from city life and were not disappointed. The clean, well-maintained barn conversion was well-equipped with plenty of space to enjoy. The pool and grounds were a welcome feature and when we tired of lounging around there were a myriad of traditional French towns to explore just a short drive away. If you are looking for a relaxing break in traditional rural France then this is the property for you.

Awesome place! Me, my wife and our two young kids (3 & 5) spent 2 weeks here in august 2017 and absolutely loved it. It has 3 good sized bedrooms - the master bedroom is massive, and there's a twin room next door to it that's perfect for kids (you can hear them through the wall which is reassuring / annoying depending on how you're feeling at the time!) There's also a good sized double room which we didn't use, as well as two bathrooms, a decent kitchen diner and a massive living area with huge, comfy sofas and English freeview TV (including CBeebies - phew!)

Outside there's a big open garden area with plenty of room for the kids to run about, plus a sun terrace and above ground pool. The pool is small and shallow but perfect for young kids who aren't quite swimmers yet - ours splashed about in it for hours every day. It's great as well because it has stairs that can be removed, which means you don't have to worry about the kids climbing up and falling in when you're not paying attention.

The villa is looked after by Andrea and David who are lovely and always on the end of the phone / email if you need them.

The only thing to be aware of is the location, which is very rural - this means it's extremely peaceful, but also that there is nothing really walkable in terms of shops etc. The nearest town is saint meard de gurcon, which has a boulangerie, a tabac, a restaurant, a hairdresser and a nice old church - but not much else - and it's a good 20 minute drive to the nearest supermarket, near saint foy la grande (which btw also has an amazing market on Saturday mornings). La laitiere itself is one of three holiday homes at Barat, so you don't feel completely cut off from civilisation, but if you're after something in a town or village then it's not for you. If you're happy to drive around a bit, which we were, then there's plenty to do in the surrounding areas - particularly if you drive out towards sarlat and its environs.

Overall we'd highly recommend la laitiere to anyone looking for a peaceful getaway villa that's well set up for young kids. We didn't want to leave!

Great spot for relaxing. We stayed for two weeks in September, weather was incredible with the result that the pool was really warm. Lovely outdoors area and inside so wonderfully cool when it got hot outdoors. Love those sofas - I fell asleep on them more than once. Photos do not do the lounge or kitchen areas justice. Would love to return . . . .