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This is what a gite holiday to France is all about. A gorgeous stone farmhouse, in a beautiful big garden with a heated swimming pool and plenty of toys, plus bakeries just a toddle away for those deliciously French breakfasts of fresh baguettes, croissants and pain au chocolat.
With children of their own, the owners have created Les Ecuries with families in mind and because the 4-bedroom house sleeps 8, (plus two babies in cots or 2 children under 12 in put up beds) grandparents or family friends can come too. The secret, of course, is that happy kids means happy grown-ups, so the garden and games barn are a great start. The lovely lawn is plenty big enough for ball games, badminton and croquet, with all the kit provided, or how about table tennis, swing ball, darts or boules? Toddlers have their own box of outdoor toys to delve into and can race around on ride-ons, hang around on the monkey swing or curl up for a nap in the funky hanging cacoon. The 10x5metre heated pool has been newly relined, including non-slip Roman steps, plus it has an alarm and is fenced off from the rest of the garden. For playing indoors there are more toys to pull out, including Duplo, Stickle Bricks, Playmobil, a pirate ship and train set, or children can settle down to watch one of the DVD’s or log into the Wi Fi.
The house itself is a masterclass in simple, boutique luxury, with high end furnishings and finishing touches to complement the rustic character of exposed timbers, stone walls and flagstone floors. The kitchen and bathrooms are bristling with contemporary, designer style and the open plan living/dining room is spacious yet cosy for snuggling down by the wood burner. The bedrooms have cool, calming colour schemes and thick wooden shutters, for a good night’s sleep and two are on the ground floor, with French doors to the garden, so little ones can be tucked up close by while parents while away the evenings under the stars.
Accommodation overview
Les Ecuries Brioux is a spacious stone house with 4 bedrooms which comfortably sleeps 8 people, plus 2 babies, with one wooden cot and one travel cot provided or2 children under 12 in put up beds. The living room, dining area and kitchen is open plan, with a flagstone floor, beamed ceiling and wood burning stove, but it’s also distinctly contemporary in style with funky furniture and the latest, high spec mod cons. The kitchen includes a huge American style fridge freezer, range oven, microwave and Nespresso machine and there is a separate utility room with a washing machine and tumble dryer. The dining table seats 8, plus 2 high chairs are available, and there are two sofas for watching the TV and DVD’s. Two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor with French doors to the garden – one with a king size bed and one with two singles. A super sleek family bathroom is also on the ground floor, with twin washbasins, a bath, shower and WC. The two other bedrooms are on the first floor – one with a king size bed and the other with a king size that can be split into two single beds, and both have luxury ensuites, with walk-in showers, twin washbasins and WC. All the bedrooms have thick wooden shutters for the best night’s sleep.
Les Ecuries Brioux is located on the borders of the Charente Maritime and Deux Sevres regions of South West France, just over an hour inland from the historic port and walled city of La Rochelle. All the essential amenities families need are just 10-minutes’ walk (2 mins drive) in the small town of Brioux Sur Boutonne – including a bakery and scrummy cake shop, butchers, banks and an Intermarche supermarket. The town also has two bars and three restaurants, with one selling pizzas to take away. Thursday is market day and on Sunday, oyster and mussel sellers setup stalls by the river where there is also a children’s play area.
Larger supermarkets, more shops and restaurants are just 10-minutes’ drive in the ‘petite cite de caractre’ of Melle and there’s also the medieval silver mines to visit and a pretty, child-friendly walk through an arboretum which follows the route of an old railway track. A lively market takes place on Fridays and a local speciality is a goat's cheese called Chabichou.
There is a real variety of things to do within easy reach of Les Ecuries. Lac du Lambon (15 mins) is a centre for outdoor activities, including watersports, climbing, pedaloes for hire and mini golf, or families can see a variety of European wildlife at the Zoodyseee animal park (20 mins). The leafy waterways of the Marias Poitivin are 45 minutes away, known as the Green Venice of France and best explored by cycle or on a flat bottomed boat trip from waterside towns like Coulon, listed as one of the ‘most beautiful villages in France’. For a more full-on family day out, the space age Futuroscope Theme Park is an hour away, with amazing 4-D experiences and interactive attractions.
Les Ecuries is just over an hour from the coast, to spend days on sandy beaches at seaside resorts such as Chatelaillon Plage and Fouras les Bains. Just offshore children may also recognise the real Fort Boyard from the TV adventure game. There are more beaches around the historic harbour city of La Rochelle which is a real must for any visitors to the region with its buzzing walled town, towers and a fabulous Aquarium. From La Rochelle, a big suspension bridge spans across to the Ile de Re, known for its chic harbour towns like St Martin du Re, dune-backed beaches and cycle tracks criss-crossing the island.
Nearest medical services: GP in Melle (10 mins); A&E at St Jean d’Angely and Niort (30 mins)
Getting here: The nearest airports are La Rochelle (1hr ) and Poitiers (1hr). Nantes and Bordeaux are 1hr 45 and Limoges 1hr 50. By ferry: St Malo (3h 45) and Caen (4h15) are the closest ports to the UK.
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Check-in time: 16:00
Check-out time: 10:00
Reservation Deposit: 10%
Balance: 28 days prior to arrival
Check-in time: 16:00
Check-out time: 10:00
Reservation Deposit: 10%
Balance: 28 days prior to arrival
Check-in time: 16:00
Check-out time: 10:00
Reservation Deposit: 10%
Balance: 28 days prior to arrival
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We are the Rankin family - Jill and Alan and son Ben (aged 9) and we live in Warwickshire in the UK. We bought in this area after spending many happy family holidays here. We liked the sheer volume of places to visit and things to do as well as the sunny micro-climate in this area and the ease of getting here from the UK.
We love the area and the house and we wanted to make a holiday home for people to enjoy. Having rented extensively ourselves we feel we understand what is required to make a real holiday home from home where people can relax - especially with children. Ben our 9 year old has been involved in making sure all our younger guests are well catered for. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do....
When we were looking for a property we wanted a place that wasn't isolated, in easy reach of day trips to the coast and in walking distance from a restaurant - but still set in countryside overlooking fields. After an extensive search we found Les Ecuries - which had it all in spades! We loved the relaxed feel of the house, the lovely original features, the spacious garden - and the fabulous heated pool. It's simply a house you can relax in - whether you're there with a large group or as a smaller family - somehow it never seems too big or too small.
it's lovely being able to walk across country to a nice simple french restaurant and back again with the stars lighting the way (the children find this a great adventure!) and it's also great to be able to have all the essentials on the doorstep too - including a supermarket and a fabulous boulangerie.
The garden is simply great for children with lots of space to run around and the heated pool (We've stayed in so many properties over the years that had unheated pools that were only used by the children as a result with adults never venturing in!) It's a lovely place to relax and do nothing or get out and about. There is so much to see and do around here - even we are still discovering new places!
Kids love the spaciousness of the garden - there's lots of space to play games in and run around and lots of things to do to keep them entertained from table tennis to boules.
That is of course if you can drag them away from the pool!
For quieter times kids of all ages love the hanging pod - last summer we often found children of all ages disappeared at different times into the pod - some to read and have quiet time, some to use it as a den or for games or as a space to tell stories to each other away from the grown ups!
Kids also really liked being able to visit lots of different places from the house from beaches at the coast to inland attractions such as the Vallee Des Singes (monkey valley) - so much to see and do!
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Sleeps 8 + infants in 1 x kingsize, 2 x super-kingsize bedrooms and 1 x twin room. |
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 | Airports at La Rochelle (1h15m) Poitiers (1 hour) Nantes (1h45m) Bordeaux (1h:45) and Limoges (1h50m) |
 | Ferry port at St Malo (3h45), Caen (4h) Le Havre (4h40)Cherbourg (5h) Dieppe (5h). |
 | All the essential amenities families need are just 10-minutes walk (2 mins drive) in the small town of Brioux Sur Boutonne including a bakery and scrummy cake shop, butchers, banks and an Intermarche supermarket |
 | 10mx5m private, heated outdoor pool. Pool has alarm and non-slip entry steps.(Pool will be fenced and gated from winter 2016) |
 | This baby friendly gite has a great list of baby items including cots (1 wood, 1 travel), 2x highchairs, baby bath, baby monitor, microwave steriliser, potty, toddler toilet seat, stairgates, plastic crockery and cutlery, sippy cups, changing mat, baby backpack, sun shelter, toddler bed guards (2), sink stools, crawl mat/baby gym, bouncer seat, plug in night lights, All windows have thick wooden shutters that keep light out. |
 | This baby friendly gite has a box of baby toys, duplo, stickle bricks, kids books, playmobil, wooden pirate ship,wooden train set, board games, bath toys, childrens DVDs. |
 | Games barn on site. |
 | Pre arrival shopping can be arranged and possibly first night meal. |
 | This child friendly gite has bucket and spades, swing ball, boules, croquet, table tennis, monkey swing, cacoon hanging seat, ride-on child toys, badminton set, rugby ball, and a box outdoor toddler toys. |
 | Stairgates are provided. |
 | Enclosed garden with badminton and boules sets. |
 | Wif-Fi is provided. |
 | There are 4 golf courses within an hour drive. Nearest is at Niort 30 minutes away. |
 | Brioux has tennis courts which is a very short drive away. |
 | Multiple cots can be provided. |
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Please click the text to scroll through reviews.
Absolutely lovely house and pool. The owners have thought of everything for the little ones.
Superb, stylish family accommodation.
This was a perfect property for 3 generations of our family. Beautiful, cool and spacious interior with very comfortable beds and excellent showers. Plenty of games and garden toys kept our children (aged 2-7) entertained and those we brought with us were untouched. We all enjoyed many hours in the warm pool which was a welcome relief in 34 degree heat. The website pictures accurately reflect the property. It is located in a peaceful area. Brioux is very close but only really offers a supermarket - there are other busier towns within a 15-30 min drive. If you decide to visit Ile d'Aix allow more time than required to get the ferry - there are a lot of tractors on these local roads!
This is a lovely property which is perfect for families with young children. We were two families traveling together with a 10 month old and 2 year old and there was plenty of space for everyone; all rooms are a good size. There are good cots for the children and plenty of toys etc to keep them entertained. We all enjoyed the lovely pool too. The place has been very well stocked with all the kitchenware, towels and bedding you could need. Overall a wonderful stay and highly recommended.
The most fabulous family friendly holiday accommodation I have ever booked. The proximity to a busy village in rural France is a major benefit. The swimming pool is the icing on the cake.
Overall ExperienceChild-FriendlinessLocationHospitality / WelcomeInteriors*Ratings by verified BFB guests who stayed here with young children.
Rated by 8 guests.
