Country Kids - Apartment 5

BFB's Overview

A holiday here should come with the warning: “You May Find It Difficult to Return to Your Former Life!” After a week of luxury, waking up in the beautiful French countryside, bonding with your babies in the petting farm, pool or play area, and, thanks to the unlimited drop-in creche included in the price, enjoying some child-free time for lounging, swimming, playing tennis, zip-lining, sailing, touring vineyards (there are 2x free activities per guest included in the summer packages) or discovering bustling bistros, its easy to understand why guests flock back year after year!


New owners, Laure and Sylvain Neveu took the reins from the Scher family in 2015 and have since poured their hearts into continuing their dream of making this gorgeous country estate, set amongst vineyards about 20miles from Montpellier, into most parents’, idea of the perfect family holiday retreat. Their experiences with their children show in the range of activities and services on offer, as well as the balance between facilities and independence, and sociability and privacy. There are great spaces, facilities and activities for bonding with the kids, but also an unlimited drop-in - drop out, creche, two complimentary evenings of babysitting, daily housekeeping, meal service, onsite spa and bar, which aims to allow parents the chance to truly relax and reconnect with each other and other adults too.


The exceptionally well thought out package (varies seasonally as below) includes daily buffet breakfasts of delicious, fresh-baked pastries, conserves, local butter and honey; two evening meal deliveries, two sociable communal meals), unlimited complementary creche/kids club, a weekly 'lie-in' creche collection service, two evenings of babysitting, complimentary Wi-Fi and a huge welcome pack with fresh fruit and vegetables, which, when added to the complimentary meals and breakfasts makes for almost a full-board deal. Plus there are also two activities per guest from horse rides and wine-tasting, to canoeing and mountain climbing making the price excellent value for money, especially for larger families.


The luxurious and stylish guest accommodation has been carved out of what was once the old dairy and the former chestnut store and comprises five apartments and a stand-alone two storey house, each with their own private entrance and terrace.

Old Dairy - Apartment Five is a top level apartment with a spacious, gated, terrace enjoying a beautiful view over miles of lovely scenery. The apartment's most outstanding feature is its huge marble sunken bath large enough to fit the entire family in at once and like a mini private indoor pool for little ones! There are two bedrooms, one with a king double and the other with twin beds. There is a separate toilet and a good-sized lounge/kitchen/dining area. There are all mod cons from dishwashers, microwaves and washing machines, two flatscreen TVs (SKY), DVD players and IPod docks. Like all at Country Kids, early booking is essential.

PLEASE NOTE:Country Kids is now open year-round and all inclusive summer packages have now been extended to include 27 May - 16 September 2017. The Spring and Autumn packages include the crèche, babysitting, daily housekeeping and daily animal feeding. Buffet breakfasts, other meals and off-site activities are optional and can be arranged at an extra charge. Please see details of what's included below (depending on season);


• Luxurious accommodation
• Unlimited use of crèche/kids club (10 weeks up to 6+ years, open 6 days a week)
• “Big Kids” Activity programme for 6-12 year olds during school holidays
• Two nights babysitting (your own dedicated babysitter in the apartment)
• Early morning crèche and Kids Club on Fridays (after Thursday night out!) for the 7am PJ Party. Staff can collect your kids from your apartment at prearranged times for a lovely lie-in!
• Daily animal feeding sessions on the petting farm
• All outdoor and recreational facilities at the resort, such as tennis, cycling, a great petting farm, main pool heated with slide and toddler pool plus the adults only pool, Jacuzzi and spa area.
• Supervised on-site activities for kids and parents including adults yoga, wine tasting, tennis and swimming lessons for kids and family yoga sessions (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Two great adventure activities off-site such as horse & carriage rides, canoeing, horse riding and rock climbing (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• A fully catered package including all meals, all alcohol and drinks; buffet breakfasts, two communal lunches, a lunchtime menu to order from, kids dinners, delicious evening meals prepared by our chef and delivered to your apartment and meals prepared by our traiteur (summer packagesst ONLY)
• On-site shop stocking the basics and delicious chef prepared frozen dishes plus a daily bakery delivery (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Fully stocked honesty bar plus on-site wine cellar (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Afternoon tea and cakes at the bar
• Arrival shopping pack
• Bar opens early for free tea and coffee and stays open till late for evening drinks
• One massage and beauty treatment per adult (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Twice daily cleaner (once daily for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Weekly washing and ironing service (optional for Spring and Autumn packages)
• Use of baby equipment.
• Wifi in all apartments.

Location Information

Three local activities from a long list ranging from windsurfing, zip lining and canoeing to golf rounds and local vineyard tours are included in the price of a week-long stay and additional sessions are easily arranged. There's a great deal of sightseeing locally from day trips to the bistros, boutiques and cultural attractions of Montpellier to the Mediterranean beaches, Lac de Salagou and pretty local towns, many of which have excellent markets and are great for antiquing. However, most guests find it a struggle to tear themselves away from the beautiful grounds of the estate with its streams, natural and manmade swimming pools and plenty of shady spots for quiet reading or contemplation of the lovely scenery. Tracey and Stuart are a mine of local information and have plenty of recommendations for dining out.

Getting There: Country Kids is based at Le Mas Pandit, situated between the villages of Octon and Brenas in the Herault department (34) in the South of France. The closest airports are: Montpellier 73 km about 1 hour, Nimes 122 km about 1.75 hours, Perpignan 160 km about 1.5 hours, Carcassonne 164 km about 1.8 hours and Marseille 215 km about 2.5 hours. Each of these airports is serviced by low cost airlines.