" ESPECIALLY FOR TWO" : A beautiful riverside cottage:AUBAIS 8km from SOMMIERES

We purchased the house in March 2014 after spending time as guests in the exquisite house and beautiful grounds.
Since the purchase we have returned each year to holiday and to update various aspects of the cottage in order to provide, hopefully, a lovely holiday home in the country but not isolated. We have French neighbours with whom we have an excellent relationship….. they are very quiet and discreet.
Being ready for you has to be our priority in what we do during our stays as well as having our housekeeper, a professional team of cleaners, and an irrigation expert, nearby for any of your immediate needs. We shall have created an attractive seating area beneath a new pagoda on the platform that once supported the swimming pool.
We focus on the gardens and grounds as much as inside the house and try to keep our photos up to date so that what you see is what you get!
OUTSIDE: The Mediterranean styled garden is on three levels and so we have tried to make sure that there are opportunities to relax on each. We have sought to provide plenty of comfy padded recliners and seats on the 3 levels of the riverside garden. We have also provided a ' plancha' on the upper level of the garden for all alfresco dining.
No guests had stayed, due to Covid, since Summer 2019 until 2022. We were able to return during to the cottage during 2020 and 2021 to do all that was necessary to keep the cottage fresh and bright!
Our highlights
Most importantly for us is the fact that we have our own private access to the river and canoe, which we purchased from a local kayaking company, KAYAK VERT, together with the necessary life jackets for the safety of our guests.
Having immediate access to the river for swimming and taking our canoe out is of greater importance this year, after the destruction of our pool, than ever before.
We have turned what was the base of the pool into a relaxing, attractive site for observing all that the river affords us.
During October 2018 we had work done on the step down to the canoe to make entry a little easier for all of us!! Our regular guests much appreciated that alteration.
The metal seat, by the steps to the river, allows views down river whilst the recliners afford you extended periods to relax in the sun with views upriver. We are leaving binoculars for you all but if you are a real watcher you may wish to bring your own, too.
The huge cypress trees on the upper level ensure that there is always shade in which to sit on even the hottest of days.
We believed, from the outset, that all guests would be spending much of their time in the garden and cooking alfresco on the plancha on the upper level of the garden....and that has proved to be the case!
We do hope that everybody will be able to take advantage of the cool that the canoe on the river offers during those hot days.
We updated the watering system In September 2021 to ensure that the plants in our garden have a chance, as best we can.
We also renewed the garden lighting to ensure that sitting outside when it is still very warm and welcoming is desirable even in the dark!
Our 2023 guests were the last to witness these updates.......See their reviews!
We hope that our 2024 guests will have positive comments for us to compensate for the loss of our pool.
INSIDE UPDATES SINCE BUYING IN 2014.

Inside the house we have, again, done everything we could to provide comfort and warmth or 'cool' within an enviable environment. Each year we have tried to make a major improvement.
THE LATEST UPDATE WAS THE NEW AIR CONDITIONING UNIT THAT WE PUT INTOTHE GUEST BEDROOM DURING OUR STAY IN NOVEMBER 2022.
THE TOSHIBA CONSOLE U2FVG R32 MODEL.
We then totally redecorated that bedroom. We hope that all of the 2024 guests will welcome this innovation!
Previously we have put in a new bathroom, installed a totally new kitchen and totally updated and decorated the lounge/ dining areas. (See recent photos).
Rather than for us try to list all of the changes it would be better for you to see the updated photos and to read the reviews of our guests over the past 5 years.
We have now had our first 7 years of welcome guests. We were totally booked for our seventh set of guests booking their 2020 holidays. Sadly none were able to come because of Covid. ALL were totally refunded. We did not even make the cottage available for 2021 BUT we were delighted to welcome old and new guests during 2022 and 2023.
We should like to thank each and everyone of our past guests for their encouraging words NOT JUST THOSE WHO HAVE WRITTEN LOVELY REVIEWS FOR THE WEB-PAGE, but also all the guests who have left equally appreciated feedback in the VISITORS BOOK and sent texts directly to us.
We have since learned that those return guests who have booked their 2nd, 3rd or more holidays directly with us are no longer permitted to send in reviews of their holiday to Home Away. We learned that some owners had abused the system and so only guests who have booked directly with Home Away were able to write reviews and rate us on their 5 star system! VRBO who took over from Home Away are doing the same.
The VISITORS BOOK IS LEFT AT THE COTTAGE for you to see the comments if they are excluded from now on or should you need confirmation. We hope that your experiences at the cottage will encourage you to write, too!

REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU BOOKED THE COTTAGE IN PREVIOUS YEARS:
We should like to thank all guests for the care that they have taken of the property throughout their stays. It was encouraging that so many appreciated the input from our housekeeper, in our absence. We have passed on that appreciation during each of our holidays at the cottage.
Our housekeeper oversees the professional cleaning team who will come in after each set of guests leave. They started working with us in 2022. We had been waiting to work with this team since 2019.We look forward to working with them again during Summer 2024.

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL PAST GUESTS WE HOPE TO WELCOME YOU BACK AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE.