Een fantastische cottage. We hebben hier met veel plezier van de rust mogen genieten. Bev is een perfecte host. Dank aan haar voor alle extra informatie die zeer welkom was. Wij hebben het idee dat we er vrienden bij hebben gekregen.
This is such a great cottage for a couple - or, as we discovered - a couple with a new baby.
It was full-on searing French Summer Heat when we arrived (and stayed pretty much that for the entire week), yet the cottage stayed cool at all times. Our baby also serves as the perfect excuse for not really investigating the region to the fullest (although Loches and Montresor were pretty good)- nor being able to come up with any incisive or educated recommendations other than to say that I doubt that there is any time of year that I/we wouldn't like to come back here. The biggest disappointment to our stay was to discover that that the owners could provide home-cooked versions of 2 of my favourite foods: boeuf bourguinon and coq au vin if requested. Why I didn't spot this until the morning we left!?!... I blame the baby...
If I had to answer what it was I loved about France, this cottage has about 88%. I've taken 12% off because of the whole boeuf and coq thing...
We have just returned from a lovely week at La Riaute and would thoroughly recommend it. The cottage has been beautifully renovated and is a great place to relax. Whether you want to visit the chateaux of the Loire, to spot kingfishers and herons in the Brenne National Park or to explore quiet unspoilt villages in the Berry region this is an ideal base. At the end of the day you can relax in a garden full of flowers, fruit and vegetables and enjoy a view across the open countryside that surrounds the cottage.
My husband and I recently had a short stay here in the 2nd week of our holiday. We arrived from Brittany after a very long ride in very very wet weather on our motorbike ( our choice for locations) to find a fabulous Gite with a small outbuilding which housed the washing machine and in where we hung our very wet biking gear to dry. Once in the Gite we found everything you could possibly need from bread, cheese, butter and just what we needed a bottle of wine. After a good nights sleep and a trip to the supermarket we where set for the week. The views from the garden are amazing so if you do not fancy a day out you can sit and watch the wildlife in the garden or the farmers tending their crops. We had a trip to one of the many Chateaux in the area which was a stunning place stretching across the river Cher. There is also a nice little bistro/bar in Villiers about 500m from the Gite which served ice cold beer or wine and had a dish of the day, we had to wait a few minutes to be served as the owner asked if it was ok to serve the local workers first. This is a must visit area and a beautiful place to stay in ( even had a garlic crusher and the owners make meals and preserves from their own grown food). We only wish we had been here for our whole two weeks, and if you go read the guest book before you plan any trips as we didn't read it until our last morning and realised there was so much to do.