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Advice to gite owners from a guest


Montcigoux
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 Stan Streason wrote:

The problem with most gites or self catering acommodation is that ultimately the furniture and quality of interior decor is not as good as at home


That might indeed be the case in your property, but not in mine. As we live next door, the rental property is an extension of our home.
The property I rent out is not furnished with lower quality items, but with furniture which was in our house in the UK.

Similarly, the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelves and the other other knicknacks are all personal items (in the case of the pictures, they were shot and printed by Mr Clair in his days as owner and manager of a pro photo lab).
I bought new beds, new sofas and new chairs from Ikea to ensure the maximum comfort at a price my business wallet could sustain.

 

In fairness you may both be saying the same thing. As you buy new the best stuff will migrate into your real home and a cascade from there into the 'business' home might result.    Not lower quality per se (as it was bought for you originally)  but perhaps not kept to the cutting edge of style/condition as your main home.

 

We too buy for comfort. We don't live next door and we do visit and use it, so no cascade effect. One of our despairs over the years is that rental accomodation rarely has good seating and lighting (I read more on holiday than at home ...!). Our places have both.

 

Other posters have mentioned the need to be practical, provide a speed and coherency with replacements (e.g. Ikea etc) at a budget. I think that is realistic.

 

As for wow factors. Ours is the view. The rest is good but not wow (unless you are wowed by LOTS AND LOTS of books in 2 languages plus toys for several ages)

 

In fact we once sayed in a 'right dump' in Calella  and had a very big initial disappointment (tears in fact). But the view over the bay was tremendous.

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I don't understand the acceptance that you should expect to have an initial sense of disappointment when arriving at your gite. I would be very disappointed to think our guests felt like that, and on the whole I feel that most feel the opposite. We are not a high priced property but it is a house (rather than purpose built gite) with a huge garden with a 'wow' view, and it is well equipped with generally good quality furniture and equipment. Actually the photos don't really do it justice, and that is why I feel guests are pleasantly surprised on arrival.

We do know how you may feel though, as numerous times in the past (mostly in the UK, but a couple of times in France) we have felt like that on arrival, and I lost count of the times my husband said, "Well, it's only a base". But that was years ago, and I feel that on the whole rental properties are much better than they used to be. (We went to one in Porthleven in the 80's where the damp was running off the walls, and the whole place was like a squat - but I do have fond memories - my son was conceived there!!
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[quote user="Dianes"]I don't understand the acceptance that you should expect to have an initial sense of disappointment when arriving at your gite. I would be very disappointed to think our guests felt like that, and on the whole I feel that most feel the opposite. We are not a high priced property but it is a house (rather than purpose built gite) with a huge garden with a 'wow' view, and it is well equipped with generally good quality furniture and equipment. Actually the photos don't really do it justice, and that is why I feel guests are pleasantly surprised on arrival.

We do know how you may feel though, as numerous times in the past (mostly in the UK, but a couple of times in France) we have felt like that on arrival, and I lost count of the times my husband said, "Well, it's only a base". But that was years ago, and I feel that on the whole rental properties are much better than they used to be. (We went to one in Porthleven in the 80's where the damp was running off the walls, and the whole place was like a squat - but I do have fond memories - my son was conceived there!![/quote]

Absolutely!  I don't believe that many holidaymakers arrive at a gite and expect an exact reproduction of their home "comforts".  Surely the point of renting a holiday home, rather than staying in an identikit chain hotel, is to experience something different?  My criteria are clean, reasonably comfortable, and fit for purpose (i.e if it's there, it should work properly).  I'm not that interested in hifi equipment/plasma tv's etc - that is not what we go away for.  If a property's USP is a fantastic view, it should be visible, if it is child-friendliness (outside toys/fences etc) it should be there, otherwise the owner is deceiving their guests.  The kitchens in my gites have those brown flowery tiles - finances won't stretch to redoing the kitchens just yet, but I did plan to paint them until a friend told me it was very French and what she would like experience in France is Frenchness.  I have not had a single complaint - everything glows with cleanliness which in my book is more important than shiny, sparkly newness.  My highest price for a week is less than 500 euros (the going rate in the part of the world), so a B&O hifi or Gaggia espresso machine is really out of the question!

Fi

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[quote user="Fi"]  My criteria are clean, reasonably comfortable, and fit for purpose (i.e if it's there, it should work properly). 

[/quote]

Fi... I couldn't agree more... I know it's going to be horses for courses and different folks look for different things but I'm with you... I'm sure you'll do very well [:D]

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I am sure everyone on this forum does their utmost to provide very acceptable gites. [:)]

Many have defended what they provide in great detail, though I am not sure why they feel they have to do this[blink]

Perhaps we should start a new thread Advice to gîte guests from gîte owners!

BTW we have seen nothing more from the poster who started the "Advice to gîte owners from a guest"thread[;-)]

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[quote user="Rose"]

[quote user="Fi"]  My criteria are clean, reasonably comfortable, and fit for purpose (i.e if it's there, it should work properly). 

[/quote]

Fi... I couldn't agree more... I know it's going to be horses for courses and different folks look for different things but I'm with you... I'm sure you'll do very well [:D]

[/quote]

Thank you very much [:D]

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I am a gite owner myself and recently joined up with gitecompare.com. It is set up in the style of a comparison website and I think this in itself makes it a lot easier for holidaymakers to search for and find exactly what they are looking for- everyone is searching for something different out of a holiday afterall.  I paid for my listing so am 'highlighted' which means that I also have my photos listed; I agree the more photos the better as everyone prefers to know what your property looks like and I think it seems a bit like you have something to hide if you don't put pictures. I also agree with Montcigoux that knowing the exact description of the property is important and on this site when uploading your information you have to fill out exactly how many bedrooms you have, whether your pool is above ground etc for example- whilst this may not be for all gite owners, for my property it works well and I am happy to be as honest as possible as I would like to think that I would receive the same honesty in return if I were searching for holiday accommodation. On a negative note they don't have availability calendars, but instead you are encouraged to untick on a form when you are not available which means that in searches you will only appear when you are available. I guess it just depends on your personal preference with this. My last point about the site that I have really liked so far is that

they link the nearby tourist attraction, bars, restaurants etc to my

gite which I think is really great for my prospective holidaymakers.

Sorry that you have had many bad expereinces with accommodation, Montcigoux and I hope that your future stays improve!

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Thanks Rose  and to all the people who have posted such interesting comments.  Rose's experience pretty much mirrors my own and I have stayed in both english owned and french owned gites. I have stayed in some smashing gites  well done to the people at Lassales with the pool  in the Haute Pyrennees - you know who you are. Others have left a lot to be desired. Booking ahead doesn't always get you a better gite in my experience. Although I have never run a gite or a b& b  I find both these forum topics very interesting and feel I can almost put myself in your shoes. Sorry also I don't post very often a very demanding working week of 60+ hours every week including travel means I am usually too shattered to do anyhing more than  read the posts. I envy you all living in France and wish I could join you again. Perhaps one day!
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  • 2 months later...
Asa Gite owner I am writing to thank you for such a clear and relevant posting - although i have been renting gites for ten years, there were some excellent point in your post which reminded me to make sure I will put the information on my site - thank you again and hope to see you in Languedoc in the futuere.

Tony
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  • 2 weeks later...

Without reading through every single other post, I would just like to add that I often find lights in many gites to be too dim.  In one place I had to lie on the floor in an entrance hall to get enough light to read in an evening and that wasn't enough, so I went to bed early with a headache.  I just found myself going to bed ridiculously early and not being able to sleep, because I could neither read nor do the cross stitch I'd taken with me. Also, in parts of the kitchen it was too dark to see what I was doing.  In future, I'll probably start taking a desk lamp or a bright uplighter with me.

Also, I sometimes think that gite owners assume that everyone is going to go out to restaurants, or just barbecue or warm up a tin of cassoulet.  I now take with me a salad bowl, baking trays and sharp knives, having bought a rabbit (pre-decoupe) which actually needed decapitating.  After trying to hack at it with a penknife, I went to ask the gite owners if they had a knife, and they lent me one from a large case, containing more knives than they have in stock in some hardwear stores.  They didn't say to keep the knife for a week, so I returned it and bought one which I now take with me.

In case any B&B owners read this, it would be really nice if B&B's could find space for either a communal kitchen (if they have several rooms) or just a coin cuisine.  We did stay at one B&B where there was a sort of cupboard unit which closed off, containing sink and hob.  I've almost run out of places in France where I would be able to find enough to visit for a full week, and whilst we usually camp, it is hard work having to pack up after only 3 to 5 days in order to move on.  Hotels/B&B's work out too expensively if you have to go out for meals, so B&B's with a coin cuisine would be really excellent.  I have considered taking in a Remoska and camp stove.  Thanks.

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I'm not a Gite or B&B owner and whilst I'm sure these comments are sincere and relevant to the poster personally I find them a bit unreasonable and a tad petty.

If the light is too dim either ask the owner for a brighter bulb or spend a couple of € on one yourself. Would that be too high a price to prevent a ruined holiday.

If you are a seasoned traveller you will know that wherever you go there will NEVER EVER be a sharp knife, I've lost count of the number of knives we have had to buy over the years. I agree that a Gite should offer reasonable cooking facilities but it's

a bit much to expect the same level as you might have at home.

Communial kitchens in B&B's - no comment other than the clue is in the name B&B and I think most B&B owners (and their insurance companies) would have something very forceful to say about the use of a camp stove in their rooms !

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All comments are welcome from our guests, we supply proper kitchen knives as I also appreciate how worthless cheap knives are, hopefully we have sufficient light for every one to be happy. The other year one guest said it would be nice if the lights could be dimmed so we supplied several table lamps which could be put on rather than the main lights creating ambiance.

I think supplying 1 standard lamp that would do for sewing/ reading etc is not a bad idea.

The only comment from a guest last year that we will not action is supplying a dishwasher, it was a couple and a baby! we don't state we have a dishwasher.

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I am a B&B owner and the thought of providing a coin cuisine fills me with horror! memories of back-packing in oz, the smell of the communal fridge still haunts me........ although in fact ,we do provide a fridge for guests use and they are free to picnic in the garden or on the covered terrrace. A B&B/ chambres d'hotes does what it says on the tin ,if you want more self catering, rent a gite.

BTW I do regularly check the fridge and clean it!

W Rat

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Theiere and AnOther, you make valid points.

If people want all singing all dancing gites kitted out just like home then the gites are out there but they come at a price.  Gite owners need to write honest advertisements and those renting should take care to read the details.[:)]

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Well, here's a post from a gîte virgin.  NEVER in my live had self-catering accommodation, perish the thought!  However, now an OAP, exchange rate is up the creek, lots of time on my hands and a dog to accommodate......so here goes.

Stayed in a gîte recently, wonderfully well-equipped (probably better than my own home![:-))] )Everything that you could want, including a stick thing to pulverise your soup.  Even hot water bottles for the bed.  Wonderful but, because the owners do not do their own cleaning, there were some issues with cleanliness.  I cleaned out the sink and draining board and the OH cleaned out the glass on the poêle.

Before leaving, I cleaned the shower, the loo, the terrace because I couldn't stand how they were left.

Know what, I loved staying there despite there being no proper heating, etc etc and I thought it excellent value for money.

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I'm on site and mega fussy about cleaning - it would be just too embarrassing to get a complaint about muck and rubble.  Did get a complaint about the general dirtiness of outside - they didn't approve of earth - a bit hard to avoid in the middle of the countryside.

I have stayed in lots of gites and it's the small but niggling issues that stay in the mind, like a gite for 8 with only 8 each of cups/plates etc.  Or no cleaning materials (can think of better things to spend my money on, and if you want the place kept clean, you should provide the wherewithal to do it).  Or paying for bedlinen then having to make the beds myself, and said bedlinen is a shabby, non-matching jumble of the owner's cast-offs. 

Half the fun (for me anyway) is being somewhere which isn't like my house - all part of the holiday experience (notwithstanding my comments!).

Fi

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Our gite experiences go back to the days when the children were small and rural gites were pretty basic - and invariably owned by a French couple who spoke little or no English.  We usually took it as par that the kitchen would need scrubbing when we arrived, and that it would consist of a cooker, fridge, table and chairs and a cupboard or shelf.  The shelf would always house an odd collection of cookware and crockery and the bed linen (and beds) were 'different'.  Despite all this we had some wonderful holidays.  I feel that modern gites have lost something of the 'authenticity' and charm of those earlier days. 

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Part of the rating assessment by the préfecture requires that there should be enough plates, glasses etc for twice the maximum capacity of guests, all matching and in good condition (no chips).

For a capacity of 6 guests, I have to supply a set of 12 matching diner and dessert plates, 12 cereal bowls, 12 matching wine glasses, 12 matching tumblers...

I keep a spare set of everything to replace any breakage.

Thank goodness for Ikea! [:D]

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Scooby wrote the following post at 08/11/2009 22:05:

"Our gite

experiences go back to the days when the children were small and rural

gites were pretty basic - and invariable owned by a French couple who

spoke little or no English.  We usually took it as par that the kitchen

would need scrubbing when we arrived, and that it would consist of a

cooker, fridge, table and chairs and a cupboard or shelf.  The shelf

would invariably house an odd collection of cookware and crockery and

the bed linen (and beds) were 'different'.  Despite all this we had

some wonderful holidays."

ah, those were the days![:)]

"I feel that modern gites have lost something

of the 'authenticity' and charm of those earlier days."

I agree, some of them seem to be aiming for the boutique hotel look.

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[quote user="Fi"]I'm on site and mega fussy about cleaning - it would be just too embarrassing to get a complaint about muck and rubble.  Did get a complaint about the general dirtiness of outside - they didn't approve of earth - a bit hard to avoid in the middle of the countryside.

I have stayed in lots of gites and it's the small but niggling issues that stay in the mind, like a gite for 8 with only 8 each of cups/plates etc.  Or no cleaning materials (can think of better things to spend my money on, and if you want the place kept clean, you should provide the wherewithal to do it).  Or paying for bedlinen then having to make the beds myself, and said bedlinen is a shabby, non-matching jumble of the owner's cast-offs. 

Half the fun (for me anyway) is being somewhere which isn't like my house - all part of the holiday experience (notwithstanding my comments!).

Fi

[/quote]

Fi, I'd LOVE to stay in your gîte but I'm not househunting in the your area and, at the moment, we have to concentrate our time on the this stressful and frankly not very enjoyable activity.

The gîte we were in wasn't dirty or anything like that.  All the easily viewable areas were fine.  Just, for example, when I wanted to use the fold-up clothes airer, it was so full of dust and dirt that I couldn't be bothered to clean it so I didn't use it. The plates drainer looked fine until you lifted the tray under it.  Little things like that really.

I don't mind my own dirt and my house is far from immaculate but I do like hotel rooms and suchlike to be spotless (on the basis that you don't know whose dirt it is!)

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I think it is a very individual thing.  Some people (many of my friends in fact) don't want any hassle on holiday, like everything planned out and prefer nice hotel accommodation.  I tend to like to experience the authentic country, go off the beaten track and avoid hotels if possible.  Next May we're backpacking across Eastern Europe to Istanbul staying with locals where possible (couchsurfing).  Where we can't find spare couches we will stay in hostels etc. The above friends think we're nuts but then we'd hate their package holiday in a hotel.  It's horses for courses.  The most important thing is to be absolutely honest about what you are offering.  A pleasant surprise is always better than a disappointment.

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[quote user="Scooby"] The most important thing is to be absolutely honest about what you are offering.  A pleasant surprise is always better than a disappointment.
[/quote]

One of our guests said we undersell our gite, I said I know, I like it like that [:)]

Your trip sounds great Scooby, did something similar across Thailand....

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Thailand and the far east is on our must do list, Théière.  We are hoping to include Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia but it will be when we have retired (22 months and counting [:)])...and after we have spent a few months in our French house.  Mr Scooby wants, for once, to be able to go to France without having a looming return date....to enjoy the freedom of being able to go back to the UK when we feel like it and not because we have to go back to work.

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I didn't mean no dirt exactly:  just don't like it when I have paid for a place that is meant to be clean like a hotel room.

When Gemonimo and I do our Compostelle Route next year, I am sure we will find dirt aplenty, and bed bugs or whatever else (apart from dirty pilgrims) that lurk in those refuges![:D]

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

I didn't mean no dirt exactly:  just don't like it when I have paid for a place that is meant to be clean like a hotel room.

When Gemonimo and I do our Compostelle Route next year, I am sure we will find dirt aplenty, and bed bugs or whatever else (apart from dirty pilgrims) that lurk in those refuges![:D]

[/quote]

I thought after I posted that you could read that as suggesting that it was not reasonable to expect a modern gite to be clean!  The Santiago de Compostella route looks fabulous - are you taking the route through France or across northern Spain (or both)?  There are some fabulous places on route - we've tried to visit those that are a reasonable distance from us.  I often think it must have been a massive undertaking for a pilgrim traveling on foot.

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