6/10 Okay
Alison M.
1 Aug 2020
Disliked: Cleanliness
Rural characterful home in need of some TLC
To be clear: This house is a very old farmhouse, in a small isolated village in rural France. It was certainly not a luxury location at the time of our visit, in summer 2020. And still, we had AN AWESOME TIME despite some issues with the condition of the house!
The location:
The house is about 50min from the sea, in a tiny friendly farming village. There is no shop of any sort within the village, and even a boulangerie is a mile or so away along a country lane. The nearest town is Auxi-le-Chateau, and necessary amenities are here. Expect to need to drive everywhere.
The house:
It is 'full of character'. It's got some modern bits (downstairs bathroom and bedroom) but the rest is old, with bedroom floorboards being very wonky and patched. The kids' twin room has a chipboard floor so all sound carries both ways from the kitchen, beneath. The kitchen is weird - the prep area and fridge are in a different room from the small oven and sink. Furniture is generally pretty old, but not in a good 'antique' way. Sadly, the house was not well cleaned or maintained before our arrival. Internet acccess was broken, the fridge was not clean and there were a lot of dead flies throughout which needed sweeping up suggesting it had not been well cleaned for us. Prior tenants' belongings were in bedroom drawers and bathrooms. Worst, the downpipe from the upstairs bathroom leaked, spraying used sewage water over the patio.
The highlights:
The owner responded immediately to our worries, fixing them and getting an internet engineer within 24 hours. The village is lovely, and good for quiet on-road cycling nearby (although some tough hills). The garden is big, enclosed and well equipped, and fairly private. The stars at night, and the wildlife in the area, are wonderful.
Summary: a good place to come to get away from it all, if you are not too bothered about modern construction, doing complicated cooking, or being able to walk to a bar or shop. We would not return as we did not feel is was good value for money but we made the best of it and found plenty to enjoy.
Alison M.
Stayed 11 nights in Jul 2020