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Enough with Gîtes


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Been scanning various forums over the last few weeks and that horrible word 'gîte' keeps coming up.

"I want to move to France and open a Gîte".

"We are thinking of moving to France with our kids and opening a gîte".

STOP you Muppets!!!

You can not move to France and open a gîte and survive financially.

GOT IT !!!!!
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I came across one tonight I thought you’d appreciate ALBF. It had a link to their website which had the word Dordogne in its name. The website was taking ages to load so I searched for them on Facebook instead. There they were under the same name. dordogne****holidays so I had a look. Straight away it gave their location, Department 46, the Lot. It seems that people who don’t live in the Dordogne think they do, or are they trying to attract British holiday makers who haven’t heard of anywhere else?
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I lived in 19 Correze close to the border Most of the Brits said they lived in 24 but although the villages looked the same, they were still both Crap

The Brits are in 19 ,24 and 46 because the French could not find work in the 70's and left the areas they were poor areas hence cheap prices

In the old days 1996, my first home was 24,000 ff for two houses and a hectare of land £24.000, how things have changed
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[quote user="BritinBretagne"]I came across one tonight I thought you’d appreciate ALBF. It had a link to their website which had the word Dordogne in its name. The website was taking ages to load so I searched for them on Facebook instead. There they were under the same name. dordogne****holidays so I had a look. Straight away it gave their location, Department 46, the Lot. It seems that people who don’t live in the Dordogne think they do, or are they trying to attract British holiday makers who haven’t heard of anywhere else?[/quote]

We are back to the Dordogne thing again. Living, retiring or opening a gîte.

In terms of forums this year, the Dordogne is still the top destination for the British moving to France.

"I am moving to France to escape all those racist bigots that voted for Brexit who hate multiculturalism"

"I am thinking of moving to the Dordogne" LOL

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I have been thinking about where we have stayed over the years.

A few gites, always run by french people booked via Gites de France, never in the Dordogne, never been there. A few in the Alpes and then in Brittany.

We have never stayed in a B&B in France and for the price, would frankly prefer to stay in a chain hotel. We have stayed in the odd B&B in the UK though. I truly cannot think of a good reason to stay in a B&B in France, not one.

English friends have a son who has just opened a couple of gites in the west of France somewhere or other, apparently doing VERY well, but people always say that they are doing well, especially to their parents. They have not had any problems with anything, and good on them if that is true, my soap opera life means that I feel very happy that someone somewhere is leading a straightforward life and hope that it is true.

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We've decided we quite like the Pyrenees for our holidays..we were thinking about buying a small apartment there but changed our mind, so have been looking for holiday rentals. We don't mind paying a little extra to have somewhere that is nicely furnished, provides bedding and will do the cleaning, but we have really struggled to find somewhere. They are all very basic.. This way however, all the gites are nice, clean, well provided for etc.. Some friends of ours have just bought house with 3 gites. They have tidied it up, modernised it a bit, put their prices up, and although just their first full season they are full and already have bookings for next summer..(And yes, they are fully registered and pay charges and taxes) so I guess if you give people what they want then you will do well wherever you are.
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We have stayed in a number of places in the Logis chain.  Sometimes they are sublime and sometimes so-so.  You need to find those with 3 fireplaces (on their logos, it is fireplaces instead of stars).

The food could be regional and wonderful and the owners really helpful to "étrangers" as we were in those days.  Still étrangers now, of course, but knowledgeable ones, we hope!

Have stayed in French-owned chambres d'hotes and gites but never tried British ones.  The best ones are when I go with just OH and not ones I go with French friends.  Not hard for you to guess why, OH and I pay more for comfort but my French friends tend to choose basic cheap ones so that as many as possible can afford to join in our weekends of walking and sightseeing.

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we have many french guests who deliberately choose English hosts because they run good CdH. We are lucky to be very busy with people from over 20 countries all over the world who prefer a personal service to the coldness of a grimy 3 star hotel. There is a war on between hotels and CdH which might provoke the hotels to pull their socks up! As for the UK prices are ridiculous. I resent paying so much for so little in the UK. There are few (premier inn etc) who are good value for money, but paying £100 for B&B is plain silly...
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If you stay in a 'Brit gîte' in France you run a very high risk of being electrocuted. We have all read the rewiring threads on French forums !!!

"How do I rewire my gite" ?

Having said that, given the plumbing threads on forums you could also drown as well.

Then there are the swimming pool threads which are equally as scary.

Drowning, electrocuted or chemical poisoning in a Brit gîte. I can think of better ways to go.

French hotel for me all the way.
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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]If you stay in a 'Brit gîte' in France you run a very high risk of being electrocuted. We have all read the rewiring threads on French forums !!!

"How do I rewire my gite" ?
Even done to either the UK spec or a tiny bit badly, still better than the lethal 1940's non spec!

Having said that, given the plumbing threads on forums you could also drown as well.

Then there are the swimming pool threads which are equally as scary.

Drowning, electrocuted or chemical poisoning in a Brit gîte. I can think of better ways to go.

French hotel for me all the way.[/quote]
Yes always found 1980's psychedelic wallpaper amusing, not to mention the chocolate coloured sheets with equally but clashing psychedelic duvet cover

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We lasted one night in an establishment where the loo was in the bedroom with the evacuation uncovered to add the experience. You get it all wherever you go. But if you can't find a good CdH in France you need to relearn how to look.
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[quote user="Théière"]
[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]If you stay in a 'Brit gîte' in France you run a very high risk of being electrocuted. We have all read the rewiring threads on French forums !!!

"How do I rewire my gite" ?
Even done to either the UK spec or a tiny bit badly, still better than the lethal 1940's non spec!

Having said that, given the plumbing threads on forums you could also drown as well.

Then there are the swimming pool threads which are equally as scary.

Drowning, electrocuted or chemical poisoning in a Brit gîte. I can think of better ways to go.

French hotel for me all the way.[/quote]
Yes always found 1980's psychedelic wallpaper amusing, not to mention the chocolate coloured sheets with equally but clashing psychedelic duvet cover

[/quote]

But that is France. That is the point of going on a foreign holiday. 'It is foreign' !!!!

If you want a 'Shabby Chic/ Farrow & Balled bedroom go and stay in Sussex.

What am I missing here ?

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Apart from the Logis hotels, we had a favourite French chambre d'hote that we used just outside St Malo; about 10 minutes to the ferry.

Found her by chance.  She ran it with the help of her husband.  Spotlessly clean bed linen, snowy white, and a very generous breakfast with homemade jams, honey, croissants and another pastry that is sort of round and hollow like a very shallow Yorkshire pudding (don't know the name).  Fruit juices, yoghurts, large pot of coffee and large jug of hot milk.

In those days 38 euros for a double and 42 euros for one with sea views (all with ensuite bathrooms), so low prices.  Parking in the grounds, nice garden and sea views at the back and she was always pleased to see us even though we had trouble conversing with her.  When I rang to book, she'd always know it was me and that all added to the sense of anticipation of going to stay with "Mrs Goat"....because she kept 2 goats in an enclosure and we couldn"t pronounce her Breton name[:)]

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I imagine that there are good b&b's in France, but there is no guarantee that the service will be universally good, because each runs their own establishment as they think they should.

Whereas, we have never had a problem with any of the chains. If we have had a problem, then it is has been dealt with quickly and we know what we are getting. Also one can complain to the Head Office, someone's home and what does one do?

Another thing is eating out. Lots of the chains have perfectly decent restaurants, not haut de gamme, but neither are the prices, quality/price good. In fact, last time I was in France, my french friends took me to a chain hotel restaurant, because frankly finding a 'good' restaurant where we used to live is very difficult and we had a very pleasant/decent meal at a reasonable price.

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I have stayed in quite a few French-owned B&B - almost always choosing ones that do evening meal because I hate having to go out again once arrived. As long as you go for 3 or 4 ears/keys they will be immaculate - often super modern decor far better than I have at home.

Gîtes can be another matter. I have booked 3-épi Gîtes de France-listed (French) ones, and they always seem pretty basic. The shower head is always impossible to attach to the wall, and its hose is bent and twisted; seating is uncomfortable, and beds often ditto. I think the French have a romantic idea that their holidays are going to be “back to nature”.

For hotels, often the Logis de France ones seem stuck in a time warp today. I rather like Ibis, for good-value town-centre rooms, with pleasant staff and reasonable breakfasts.

It's a shock in the U.K. that rooms are often charged per person, and not per room; can’t get my head round that,if a double bed is being slept in by one person, surely the laundry cost is not half the cost that it would be if crumpled by two...

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[quote user="idun"]
I imagine that there are good b&b's in France, but there is no guarantee that the service will be universally good, because each runs their own establishment as they think they should.

[/quote]

That’s exactly why I enjoy visiting them. A bit of research beforehand and it’s rare to find a dud one.
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This is what I want from our holiday accommodation:

Clean, modern and safe.. no nick nacks or other ornaments.. tasteful bordering on plain..

Prefer somewhere that supplies and launders sheets and towels.

Good cooking facilities as prefer to provide own breakfast and snacks.

Outside space/garden or terrace with a nice view.

Comfortable bed..not one that has been chucked out after being slept on for 20 years.

Option to pay for someone to clean.

Somewhere that accepts dogs.

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