Luxury 18th Century Dordogne Cottage with Private Pool
Hill Top House is a beautiful French stone farmhouse boasting its own private pool and gardens. It is located at the heart of the Perigord Noir, ideal for exploring all the sites that the Dordogne has to offer. The property is situated in a secluded tranquil location in grounds of a little over one acre on the small hill top above the village of Coux et Bigaroque-Mouzens. The village is a pleasant 15 minute walk via a small country lane where you will find a boulangerie, cave and a cooperative providing produce from local suppliers.
The spacious open plan kitchen and dining room has oak parquet flooring and oak beams throughout. There is a large fireplace fitted with an efficient wood burning stove to add a cosy touch with a small bergere style couch and fireside chair. There is also an Essex Steinway piano which may be used with care.
The lounge and hallway continue with the oak parquet and oak beams. The lounge is light and spacious, has two large comfortable sofas, a flat screen TV (new 2016), and period furnishings.
Upstairs, there are three spacious bedrooms; the master bedroom with a king-size bed having an en-suite shower room with toilet and washbasin, and a separate dressing room. The other two bedrooms share a large family bathroom with a large shower and separate bath. Bed linens are of fine Egyptian cotton and the bathrooms are supplied with luxury towels. There is free wi-fi access throughout the property.
The property is heated by an ecological ground source heat pump that supplies hot water to the underfloor heating for the ground floor and to the radiators upstairs in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Outside there are a number of dining and seating options; there is a sheltered patio next to the house with a small round dining table and chairs and a garden bench; a larger dining table and chairs is situated under a pergola set next to the garage protected by a south facing wall where there is also a second garden bench; and next to the swimming pool there is a terraced area where the sun loungers and other garden chairs can be placed as well as positions for sun shades.
The rectangular swimming pool (10m x 5m) has roman style half round walk in steps and is flat bottomed making it ideal for children and adults alike. There is a further step mid length of the pool taking the depth from 1.3 to 1.5 metres.
The mature garden is generally flat and is ideal for children to run around and play. There is a large trampoline available as well as a badminton net and equipment and a ping pong table is set up under the hanger next to the garage.
Perfect stay, clean comfortable house and great location
Hill Top House was perfect - when we pulled up to the property we were delighted and that continued as we explored. Fully and beautifully furnished, we wanted for nothing. Pool, garden, house all exceptional, comfortable beds and Ian and Heather communicated brilliantly throughout. We loved our stay and wouldnât hesitate to recommend. Thank you!
This is quite simply a perfect cottage in a quiet and superb location. The inside is simply and beautifully furnished with well-equipped kitchen. Bedrooms are a good size and very comfortable. This is a perfect cottage for a family of four (we have two teenagers). The pool is absolutely beautiful and the perfect temperature - certainly well utilised in our stay. The badminton net was an added bonus (although we used it for volleyball). We stayed for two weeks and found that the location was perfectly placed for the most beautiful areas in the region with lots of lovely markets, the beautiful Dordogne and lovely villages. We can't recommend this cottage enough and will definitely be back. If we could give more stars we certainly would.
Had a wonderful week. Very well equipped villa, both inside and in the garden - plenty to keep the children happy. Pool was wonderful especially with the very hot weather. Beautiful location, very peaceful but close to lots of river beaches where we enjoyed swimming and kayaking. Thank you.
We loved our stay at Hill Top house! It was so private! We stayed there for a week at the beginning of July 2019. The weather was perfect around 30 Degrees Celsius every day!
We spent most of the daytime soaking up the sun around the amazing pool, in the sun loungers. We ate outside every evening flitting between the sitting areas provide.
We flew into Bergerac and hired a car. The journey to the house was approximately 45 minutes. We stopped off at a large InterMarche to get supplies, however there is 2 medium sized Carrefours within a 10 minute drive from the house.
We visited Sarlet, Beynec and Bergerac on the cooler days, I would highly recommend Kayaking around Beynec as you get amazing views of the Chateau.
We will be back!
We rented the main house for three and a half months. The location was ideal being close to all the major tourist attractions and places of interest we know well. It was within walking distance of shops which is useful and there were walks for our dogs from the doorstep. The house was very attractive, spacious and well equipped with the excellent heating system worthy of particular note given the season of the year with temperatures dropping well below freezing. We considered ourselves very lucky to have found such a great rental for our long stay in the area.
Beautiful setting. Well equiped. First class accomodation.
We thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day stay in Hilltop house. We stayed with our Two adult children and their partners and could not fault the facilities. Unfortunately we were broken into during our stay and had electronic equipment stolen but we didn't allow this to affect our enjoyment. It is a remote property making it all the more inviting and if you take the time to ensure you don't leave yourselves open to break a in I would thoroughly recommend this property.
We had the best holiday ever at this lovely cottage. It was so clean and comfortable. Very quiet, very helpful neighbour when we got lost, very cool having deer coming to eat plums in the garden. Just wonderful and so hope to return one day.
The photos do full justice to the property which is in a lovely peaceful location. The property was very well equipped and locals were on hand if there were any difficulties or queries. Even on days when whether was not so good, it was very comfortable just relaxing in the cottage. The kitchen is great and much larger than in most cottages and there is a TV with BBC channels.
The cottage is also very near some of the best and most picturesque villages in the Dordogne so there really is plenty to do if you want to do things, but when the weather is good, it was great just to sit by the pool. It really is a beautiful area and there are great restaurants around. We did not have any bad meals.
The owner was very responsive with his replies to emails and we would highly recommend the property to anyone.
Pierre Lapin is a beautifully restored cottage with a definite wow factor. The cottage was beautifully clean on arrival and is well maintained throughout. The welcome pack was much appreciated. The cottage is situated in a very quiet location, this suited us and many happy hours were spent quietly by the pool enjoying the sunshine. We had our daily walk to get bread, something we love to be able to do in France. The garden of this cottage is amazing we loved all the fruit trees, the plums were delicious! Ian and Heather were very easy to deal with and we always had quick responses to emails. We were fortunate enough to meet with both the lady who looks after the property in France and the gentleman who tends to the pool and garden, both were very friendly and although my French is far from good we communicated well.
We visited Sarlat on the train leaving from Le Buisson, we had lunch in one of the many restaurants and a walk through this interesting and historic town.
The supermarket at St Cyprien was perfectly adequate with plenty of choice, we had some delicious steak from the butchery counter. We also went into Le Bugue, worth a visit; the supermarket was much busier and there was more choice certainly in the cheese and pate departments.
For us this was the perfect holiday, the cottage was very comfortable, the immediate surroundings quiet and peaceful but if you wanted more action you donât have to travel far.
We have re-booked for 2017, I guess that really says it all!
We have just had a fabulous 2 weeks at this beautiful house. We were on holiday with our two daughters aged 6 and 9 and to quote them "this is the best house ever". Inside the house has a lovely traditional French feel whilst also being full of luxuries especially the incredibly comfy beds and bedding! Everything you need plus lots more like great games and DVDs for the kids. Outside is also great with an enormous garden, badminton and of course the swimming pool. The table tennis table in the garage was an added bonus as we had a couple of rainy days. The property is ideally located, quiet and secluded but only 10 minute walk into the local village with a great bakery. Everywhere we wanted to go only seemed about a 20 minute drive so we visited Beynac, Castle, went canoeing, visited Le Bournat, went to a great water/theme park - Jaqcou Park as well as the market in Saint Cyrpien. I couldn't recommend this property enough for a great family holiday home in a great location.
We had the opportunity and pleasure to stay here on our holiday and it was perfect! We highly recommend this holiday rental property and look forward to a return visit!
Really impressed with this lovely property. Great location with easy reach (20 mins on a good run) from sarlat, Beynac. The children loved the badminton court, table tennis & swimming pool. High quality throughout.
A Little Disappointing Compared to Our Expectations
My wife, daughter, and I stayed here for a week in Summer 2014. Overall, a mixed review.
What We Liked: It's a pretty and rustic cottage set in a verdant landscape with a charming exterior. Our daughter also appreciated a nice selection of board games and pool toys. It's big enough for 2 adults and 1 or 2 children. The village of Coux-et-Bigaroque is a 15-minute walk. It's a pleasant village but not particularly interesting or charming.
What We Didn't Like/Missed: We missed some creature comforts like a dryer (you have to dry your laundry on a line in the garage), and the house (especially downstairs) had very old-fashioned furniture on the main level (think grandparents' sitting room!). It also wasn't super-comfortable. Other peeves were no bathroom downstairs, the need to cover the swimming pool each night (a very heavy cover), and (least important) we couldn't get the English TV channels to work.
While we were there, the owners (who have their main house across the way) weren't in France, which suited us because we prefer privacy when on vacation, but that might otherwise have been an issue because the cottage's pool and backyard are clearly visible from the owners' house's patio.
Our only other comment is to advise that it proved very difficult to get our full security deposit refunded, even though my wife took such pains to leave the house in pristine condition. The owners' seemed to have no scruples about retaining a portion of our money. We did eventually get all the money back, but it took a lot of time and effort. So, in summary, a nice cottage but too many issues for us to choose this one for our next visit to the Dordogne.
Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our stay in Le Coux. The house is beautiful, very tastefully decorated and really well equipped (Thank you so much to the owners for providing a cot and high chair.) We were lucky enough to enjoy the fantastic pool every day. Really didn't want to leave!!
Lovely comfortable cottage-beautifully restored.Great kitchen,bathrooms,bedrooms & sitting room-all as lovely as they look in the photos.The pool was fantastic & as with the house everything you might need was provided. Ian and Heather are very welcoming and knowledgable about the local area. We had a fantastic week & can thoroughly recommend the cottage
My husband and I and our 6 year old son stayed for a week in Pierre Lapin in early July and had a wonderful time. It was the best accommodation and most lovely region of our 4 week holiday in France and Italy.
The cottage is beautiful, exactly like the photos on the internet and in a gorgeous and convenient location.
The cottage itself exceeded our expectations with an extensive library for both adults and children, children's board games, even a badminton set which was set up on the front lawn. A welcome basket including champagne, home made jam and croissants and coffee was an added bonus along with everyday necessities like washing powder, olive oil and glad wrap.
Ian and Heather were lovely and helpful hosts, with great tips for the region including fun family outings like canoeing and the nearby Air Parc (my son's favourite thing on our entire holiday).
You can walk into the small village for fresh bread from the bakery, as well as coffee at the cafe (although we relied on the great coffee machine in the house). The beautiful villages of Domme, Sarlat and Beynac and prehistoric cave paintings were a short drive away, along with other less visited, beautiful villages. Good supermarkets are a 5-10 minute drive.
Summer was a perfect time to stay and we swam in the pool every afternoon and even into the evening. We often ate on the outdoor table, even seeing a wild deer on two occasions.
I'd highly recommend this lovely region and cottage for a relaxing stay with a great mix of history, beautiful villages and fun, family activities.
Cathy, (Melbourne, Australia), July 2011