Gramat near the Quercy national park

[Stevehoward]

My wife and I have been looking for a hotel to buy in the Midi pyrenees for the last eighteen months without success, but have just received details on one that may be suitable but is located just outside Gramat, north east of Cahors.

Trouble is we have not ventured this far North in the region and have no idea what the area is like. Any information would be gratefully received before we decide whether a trip would be in order.

There, that seems vague enough!

Many thanks,

Steve Howard

[TartanCarol<STRONG><FONT face=Celtic color=#ff0000 size=5>Tar]

Hi I hate to say this, but Gramat was the place we got no sleep at all........there was a zoo with wolves that howled day and night.............sorry not to be more positive

Bises Carol

[Iceni]

We live about 10 mins from Gramat though luckily not on the Causse.

IMHO Gramat is grey, the town and surrounding landscape are depressing and, as my father would have said, will not even grow a decent weed.

But that said, surely what matters is whether the business will make money ? Gramat is close to Rocamadour and St Cere (6 week cultural festival every summer) both of which are major tourist attractions. In addition there is a big old convent in Gramat so plenty of night life I am sure.

Rodez is a bit over an hour away with both Limoges and Blagnac reachable in 2 hours or so. The A20 is on the doorstep and Calais can be done in 8 hours driving and Caen etc a hour closer. The Paris TGV is picked up at Brive, about an hour by train but the service from Gramat is infrequent.

Would suggest that you let yr fingers do the work and search the net rather than take my (biased ?) virew on the beauty of the Lot close to Gramat.

John

not 

[Stevehoward]

hhmmm, so let me get this right. . . . .

A grey barren town without a trace of vegetation apart from the occasional clump of tumbleweed rolling desolately down the main street, accompanied by the sound of wolves howling mournfully on the wind.

Not so much the place for a holiday hotel, more like the set off a Clint Eastwood movie!

Seriously though, the figures show a healthy turnover on an eight month season so it does appear to be popular. I just wonder, based on the above, how many come back!

I have included the sale details website below and wonder if anyone recognises the hotel and where it is actually located. It does say it is only near to Gramat.

 

Methinks I had better come and have a look

 

Thanks to the two people who have responded so far, any other info gratefully received

 

Steve Howard

 

http://www.frenchhouserestoration.co.uk/franceproperty500over/bautan28wf.html

[Iceni]

Sorry Steve cannot help with the location - it looks like Rocamadour but then so do lots of places and if it were in Roc I would have expecvted them to say so.

If the figures look good then a visit would be justified. My view of Gramat is obviously not shared - though as you say they may come once and never return !!

Hope it all goes well for you.

John

[Cerise]

I don't know the region terribly well, but we are about 100 km further south and before the A20 was finished used to drive through that way.  Now there is A20 from Brive to Montauban - very fast with good services - we no longer use that route and neither do many people we know.  If the hotel is actually in Gramat may be that passing trade at least has dropped off.  It is reasonably near major tourist attractions especially Rocamadour, but the area is a bit like Dartmoor and I imagine would be very bleak in the winter.  As I say, we are further South in Tarn & Garonne and, even here, we frequently get temperatures of -10° in winter and not too many tourists.  If the figures look OK the only thing to do is look.

Good luck

Maggi

[letrangere]

Steve,

Agree that Gramat is a grey town, fully understand where Di's coming from about les Causses but personally we love it.  It's fabulous walking and riding country and we find the wild, desolate nature quite exciting.  However, we're there - just a bit further south - outside the summer rush (have just come back, in fact) and I would question that 8 month season.  Rocamadour is understandably hugely popular and I've always thought there's a surprising lack of hotels in relation to the number of visitors it receives.  But 8 months, ie April through to November?  I'm not so sure about that.  And re Cerise's comment, we usually drop in on friends outside Albi on our way home and always comment that it gets appreciably warmer just an hour's drive further south, winter comes later, spring always appears earlier.

M

[Hoddy]

Les Causses is very like The Burren in County Clare. I like them both very much, but I wouldn't want to live there and I doubt if they would have a long holiday season.

Hoddy

[Ian Hoare<br>All the best<br>Ian<br>La Souvigne Corrèze<br>http:www.souvigne.com]

Hi Steve,

you said:-

 My wife and I have been looking for a hotel to buy in the Midi pyrenees for the last eighteen months without success, but have just received details on one that may be suitable but is located just outside Gramat, north east of Cahors.

Trouble is we have not ventured this far North in the region and have no idea what the area is like. 

Gramat is a town on the Causses as others have said. It's about an hour south of us and we drive through it on the way to Cahors etc. The Causses are limestone plateaux. Think of a cross between the Downs (chalky plateaux) and the lake district with fields delimited by dry stone walls. About the only viable agriculture is goat farming to make milk for the AOC Rocamadour cheese, a variant on the "Cabecou". I find the town itself entirely uninspiring, though I love the causses as a paysage. That said, I've not visited their "parc animalier" where the wolves are.  Wonderful orchid country at this time of year. I'd not be surprised to hear that it has an 8 month season, though. Rocamadour is the second most visited site (after Mont St Michel) in France apparently, though I hate what they've done with it.

I would be hesitant about buying a place there, if you don't know it. How old are the existing owners? If they're not at retirement age, in effect, you're saying "We could do better than the French" That may be true, of course. If they ARE at retirement age, it is highly likely that they've not been doing the renovations needed to bring the place up to modern requirements, fire proofing, sound proofing, safety lighting and so on. So be deeply suspicious. "Caveat emptor" is still very much the binding principle in property purchases.

Ask yourself why so MANY small family run hotels are closing (A friend of ours runs walking holidays and is finding it increasingly hard to find suitable places).

Sorry to be negative, but I would be dubious about Gramat.