Peaceful Medieval Cottage + beautiful shared pool

Description from the owner

Intimate, luxurious, a period gem from the 1970's with up-to-date equipment, the cottage is designed to provide an elegant, comfortable and convenient background for your perfect holiday. Relax in serenity and peace in this "sensitively restored" medieval cottage built within the ramparts of the Château de Brissac-le-Haut. The silence and serenity are tangible here at the end of the Rue Caterine.

The "spectacular" natural-shaped pool (up to 3.5 m deep), with multiple distinct seating areas and a fine view over the nearby hills to the Cevennes mountains in the background is shared with guests at No 5 and with the rare guests in the a...djacent private chateau.

The Master bedroom has a California King-sized bed and an adjacent balcony with "spellbinding" and "timeless" view and comfortable Bertoia chairs to relax in as you watch the day and the night unfold. Many guests spend hours every day on their balcony, soaking up the tranquility, listening to the silence, and enjoying the dawn chorus and the sunrise, then the Swallows swooping and racing even below the balcony, the quiet activities of this peaceful Occitane village, the moonrise and finally the star-spangled night with the bats and the owls to continue the show. The house has a private garden for particularly agreeable outdoor dining under the flowering Jasmine vine. "The garden was fantastic - especially in the evenings, when after supper we sat and watched the sky change colour, content to listen to the birdsong give way to the sound of crickets and frogs and watch the stars come out."

The property also includes an empty room with one window, tiled floor and electricity. An artist's studio? A writer's den? A child's playroom?

Located between the Cévennes National Park and the Mediterranean sea, Brissac is well placed for canoeing, walking, climbing and mountain biking. The historic towns of Nîmes, Montpellier, Avignon and Carcassone, and the beaches of the Mediterranean are all within easy reach. Good restaurants are everywhere.

The property is a wonderful place to fill yourself with the peace and serenity of Brissac.Read more

Additional Location Information

The Medieval village of Brissac-le-Haut is perched on a castle-crowned hill between the Causse du Larzac and the Mediterranean littoral. Brissac le Bas, with a boulangerie and a superb Haute Cuisine restaurant, is an easy walk, although coming back is uphill all the way! Ganges (6 miles or 10 km) has all the local amenities such as supermarkets and petrol station, ATM, cafes and shops, including a good coffee roaster and a patisserie that makes their own divine ice creams, as well as the Friday street market full of local produce and products, and a Sunday "Marche au Puces." You can visit a market in a nearby town or village every day of the week, then come home to prepare delicious meals in your well-equipped kitchen. For even wider choice, Montpellier and Nimes are within easy access by car.

There are more restaurants than we can count nearby, from simple country hostelries to superb haut-cuisine establishments - the Restaurant Book kept in the pool house is becoming an excellent resource as guests add cards or brochures and describe their experiences.

Canoeing on the nearby Herault river is a popular activity, with numerous starting points and distances from 3 to 20 or more km. The Herault also offers several good spots nearby for paddling, jumping off rocks, or even just swimming.

Walking is another pleasure, ranging from gentle meanders round Brissac or along the river to serious hiking in the Cevennes. We provide the relevant guide books and maps for walkers and cyclists.

In Brissac history is everywhere around you. The local area is chock full of Romanesque buildings, including our own castle with its two 11th century towers. The thirteenth century, the time of the Cathars, is recent history, and Brissac's strong fortifications were built to keep out the English after the battle of Crecy (they were terrifying but never came this far east). Roman Nimes, medieval and modern Montpellier and the Mediterranean beaches are nearby; the Causse du Larzac, Avignon, Arles, the Camargue, Pezenas, Carcasson and Millau are all a nice day out.

The local area is becoming noted for producing excellent wines, which you can buy at the supermarket, or when visiting the domaines, or 'en primeur' for collection the following year.

All good fun if you can bear to leave the peace and serenity of Brissac and "one of the most beautiful pools in Herault." "What a dilemma!" said one guest.

Location Type River, Rural, Village

Rental fees

What Past Guests Are Saying

• mary
  berlin

  nice...but...

  Left on 10/08/2012 for a stay in July 2012
  
  

  the place is as nice and well kept as everybody else mentioned, we had 2 wonderfull weeks there, but the bad news came late and very surprising: it took the owner Ms. V. Samson more than 2 month and 2 reminders to inform about our security deposit which she hadn`t returned up to that time.With great astonishment we heard that she won`t give us any of our 250.-Euros back. The reasons she listed were ridiculous. She accused us in a very shameless way of having stolen her towels and pillow, and having broken things, which also other people used paralell to us, but she deceided ( 2 month later) that it was alone our sons fault. This way of handling things felt very strange because she would have had enough time during our stay to talk to us, especially since we got along quite well. She seems to avoid any diskussion or eventual conflicts and prefers to offer the bill later, when one can`t really do or say anything anymore.
  Our money is gone and it was not possible to convince her per mail that it would have been her duty to talk to us about socalled damages right away and face to face. Because of that we can`t recommend the place.

  More Details ►

  Detailed ratings for this rental

  • Check in
    
  • Cleanliness
    
  • Comfort
    
  • Location
    
  • Service
    
  • Value
    

  
  

  
  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? No

  ---

  Was this review helpful? Yes

   

  Response from Vera Sampson - 10/12/2012

  

  Vera Sampson

  Owner

  We're very pleased that Mary enjoyed her holiday on the Rue Caterine, but disappointed that she didn't understand the meaning of the term "Security Deposit," or what purpose it serves.
  
  As she handed me the key on leaving, Mary tried to tell me about a broken "Comfort Chair" which had been that way from the start of her stay, but she had mentioned nothing on arrival, not was the furniture other than in good condition when she received her key. As I had never heard the term I could only say "I will have to see." The missing linen was simply not to be found after departure, either in the house, or in the pool area, nor even in the countryside around.
  
  In fact, Mary's list of damaged and broken items came to more than the security deposit, but I decided not to bother about the rest, because she didn't seem able to appreciate the value of many of the things in the house. When there is a suspicion that it may be difficult to repair or replace items we do warn people that the final calculation for their deposit may be a while in coming, but Mary doesn't seem to have understood. We charge for repairs because we provide a beautiful and comfortable place for guests' holidays, week after week, with everything clean and in good condition.

• annemoedk
  189541

  A wonderful and very special place!

  Left on 03/30/2012 for a stay in March 2012
  
  

  My husband and I and our 7 months old daughter stayed here for one week in March and we feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful and very special place! Vera has been a perfectly warm and welcoming host right from the very first email, and the cottage had everything we needed - even baby equipment such as a bed and a high chair for our daughter was provided for us, which made our holiday so much easier! The surroundings are very nice; a small quiet village with just a bakery and a gourmet restaurant and a small but lovely park by the river - no disturbances here! But plenty to see and do in just a short drive's distance. The best thing however is the cottage itself, gently and tastefully restored and with an amazing view from the balcony where you never get tired of sitting and just watching the mountains and the village below; whatever the weather and time of day... We definitely hope to return another time!

  More Details ►

  Detailed ratings for this rental

  • Check in
    
  • Cleanliness
    
  • Comfort
    
  • Location
    
  • Service
    
  • Value
    

  
  

  
  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

  ---

  Was this review helpful? Yes

• Merlotlondon74
  London

  Fabulous property, a gem and a real find.

  Left on 02/01/2012 for a stay in August 2010
  
  

  This was my third visit to this property, which is a telling piece of information in itself!
  
  Brissac Le Haut is a very romantic, ancient village on a hill, topped by the imposing Chateau de Brissac compound, of which this gite, and its sister, sit on the perimeter. It is very quiet, with no shops, no restaurants - just the sound of birdsong and the very occasional tourist wandering around, taking it all in. The gite itself is a very tasteful conversion of a medieval building, with a nicely-appointed kitchen and living room on the first level, a large landing, a large bathroom and very generous king-bedded room with the clincher - a balcony from which you can see miles in all directions. Sitting on this balcony is a delight - I know of no other place like it.
  
  Outside, you have a lovely area for Bbqs and alfresco dining whilst, inside the castle garden, there is the most dramatic of swimming pools (sculpted into the rock on which the castle sits); again, with amazing views.
  
  The area is wonderful, with lots to see and do. Go canoeing in the Hérault gorge, visit the beautiful medieval down of Saint Guillem-sur-le-Desert, browse the market in Ganges, go wine tasting in the Pic St Loup, while away an hour or two by the river in Laroque... or simply hang out at Brissac and do nothing by the pool. What a dilemma!
  
  In sum, an amazing find. We will we back!

  More Details ►

  Detailed ratings for this rental

  • Check in
    
  • Cleanliness
    
  • Comfort
    
  • Location
    
  • Service
    
  • Value
    

  
  

  
  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

  ---

  Was this review helpful? Yes