Chateau St Surin

Description from the manager

The 17th century Chateau St Surin sits in 12 acres of tranquil garden and parkland with a private swimming pool, providing an ideal location for families and larger groups. Enjoy a self-catered holiday in the sunny and warm climate of South Western France. The Chateau St Surin (sleeps 16) shares the estate with the Domaine (sleeps 10) and the Etables (sleeps 12). However, each property has its own private terrace, swimming pool and grounds. This is wonderful chateau holiday experience and the property will exceed all your expectations. Within a short driving distance (30 minutes) of the Chateau St Surin are blue-flagged beaches, wine and co...gnac tours, and of course shopping possibilities.

The Chateau St Surin has 8 bedrooms to sleep up to 16 guests. On the ground floor there is a salon with piano, satellite freeview TV, a snooker room with full sized table, a dining room and a fully equipped kitchen. There is also a double bedroom with en-suite bathroom, and a further shower room. On the first floor (bedroom floor) there are 5 double bedrooms, 2 twin bedrooms. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, there are 6 en-suites and 2 seperate bathrooms altogether. The house is well appointed with all modern conveniences, the kitchen having electric cooker, gas hob, microwave, washing machine, dish washer, fridges and freezer as well as kettle, coffee machine, toaster, iron and hair dryer. There are cots, Sat. TV, CD/radio, internet connection and bicycles available for hire. All linen, house towels, kitchen towels and utilities are included in the rental. We do ask you to bring pool and beach towels. Outside the chateau has its own private parkland, swimming pool and BBQ with decked eating area. There are a full 8 acres of parkland.

*Please note, locations shown on the maps are approximations only The region of Charente Maritime is one of the sunniest parts of France and benefits from a mostly sunny and warm climate from April through to October. The influence of the Gulf Stream means that winters can be as mild as the Mediterranean. Cognac & Saintes are 15km away and Royan is 25km from the estate. The airports of Bordeaux, Angouleme and La Rochelle are within 1 hours drive and are served by an increasing number of UK regional airports. St. Genis & Pons are both 5km away where there are restaurants and small shops. The nearest beach is only 35 minutes drive. There are 3 golf courses we use on a regular basis, Saintes (typical UK type club), Cognac (good course, above average) and Royan (reminds one of the Berkshire courses - pine on sand - good course). The area has many historical sites relating to its past including the periods of Roman occupation, Richard Coeur de Lion and Eleanor of Aquitane, the French Revolution and the Second World War. As the centre of Cognac production, the towns of Cognac and Jarnac are must visits with guided tours around the headquarters of such as Hennesey, Martell, Remy Martin, Otard, Hine etc. etc., as well as many opportunities to visit local producers. The coast line from St Georges de Didonne north to St Palais sur Mer has miles of sandy beaches, good fish restaurants and the towns of Royan, La Rochelle and Rochefort are interesting places to visit and are all within one hour's motoring. The area abounds with many fine restaurants, some more expensive than others but all incredible value for money. Many local artisans welcome visits to view their business, including, barrel making, wood carving and sculpture, pottery production, chocolate making and many more. The wine production areas of Bordeaux are within easy reach with the Blaye region only half an hour away and St Emilion only just over an hour by car. From the towns of Blaye or Royan it is possible to take a car ferry across to the Medoc. The city of Bordeaux can be reached in an hour with its good shopping, art galleries, museums and historical buildings. The same can be said for Saintes. Within an hour there are three top golf courses, at Saintes, Cognac and Royan with more around Bordeaux. As well as the obvious sea fishing, river fishing in the Seugne is only 5 minutes away and in the major river of the area, the Charente only half an hour away. Only 5kms in either direction, there are good quality local tennis courts. There are several horse stables around providing riding for all levels through the local woodlands. A very local stable provides carriage rides around the lanes of the area. An international length (1.2km long) go-cart track is only 10 minutes from Clerbise. Canoes are available for hire on our local river Seugne. A busy nightclub is just 5kms away and is open from Thursday to Sunday inclusive.

Although the Estate is mainly let on a self catering basis there are extras available to help take a little of the self out of self catering. We can provide a chef, maid service, babysitting, morning bread delivery and access to the increasingly good wine cellar. We are also able to arrange Wedding Blessings on the Estate which are becoming increasingly popular.

Check-In: 4pm

Check-Out: 10amRead more

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What Past Guests Are Saying

Overall Rating

• martin p
  banbury

  We will be back

  Left on 08/31/2012 for a stay in August 2012
  
  

  Stunning house, nice poeple,lovely grounds. We spents hours around the pool, or eating on terrace over looking the park land as the sun went down,a very relaxing way to spend time with familt and freinds.We are already planning our next visit.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Groups, Families w children

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• Mooooose
  Bath

  Wonderful

  Left on 08/27/2012 for a stay in August 2012
  
  

  14 families pooled resources and cycled the area staying at this chateau and 2 associated accomodation units.
  We arrived at 1700 to be greeted by about about 6 people cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and the place was spotless aside from the pool area that is outside so trying to keep that clean in a sandy, windy and sunny envoironment would be tough.
  The chateau has about 8 bedrooms, the vast majority en suite and well appointed. The lounge has comfy chairs, though one is quite comical as has an enormous seatin area, so ebven tall peoples legs dangle in mid air!!
  The kitchens are well supplied with all the essentials, though the hard water in this area does take it's toll on coffee makers so ours was blocked, but cafetieres were available.
  The pool in the chateau was big and very welcomming
  The 2 assocaited units Lea Etables and Domaine. We stayed in the Domaine and this was superb, bright and breezy.
  The owners andrew and Marje were very helpful but not intrusive. I've organised chateau shares before and they were a cut above. Nothing is worse than an owner in all the time checking everything. We organised a communal meal one night at a local restaurant, they booked it, brought back a menu and typed up our choices. My impression was that they would do whatever was required but weren't 'in your face' every moment of your stay.
  
  I'm booking again, it's that good. I've organised over 100 cycling events at lots of locations and return to just a handful, yes it was that good

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Groups, Families w children

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• Duncan H
  Chester, England, United Kingdom

  Great base for exploring

  Left on 08/27/2012 for a stay in August 2012
  
  

  Stayed here with a group of families. We self catered. Children had a great time in the grounds and three pools. Our room was very spacious. Copious hot water. Reasonable cooking facilities. Owners very welcoming and tolerant of our vast numbers of bicycles.
  
  Fridge space a bit limited because everyone was self-catering for three meals a day.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Groups, Families w children

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• karenrobd
  Chester, United Kingdom

  Lovely peaceful stay

  Left on 08/27/2012 for a stay in August 2012
  
  

  We have just spent a week at the Chateau St Surin with a group of friends on a family cycling holiday. We stayed in Etables which was charming. When we arrived we were asked after unloading to leave the cars round the back of the Chateau. This was fine as we were not intending driving much and it meant all cars were out of the way of this beautiful Chateau. Rooms were clean and comfortable with towels left in the rooms. We had a perfectly adequate kitchen although could have done with few items such as kitchen scissors ! Pool was lovely after a days cycling . We had a very hot week with temps in high 30 s and this made for hot nights . Our room only had a small window and could have done with a fan to circulate air, but this is the only fault i can find.
  All in all a wonderful stay in wonderful surroundings.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Groups, Families w children

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• CaptainZag
  Northampton, United Kingdom

  Excellent Chateau in quiet rural setting - Ideal for large group

  Left on 08/27/2012 for a stay in August 2012
  
  

  We stayed here as part of a large cycling group. There were around 40 of us, making full use of all the rooms and the 3 swimming pools.
  
  The 3 different self contained parts of the Chateau meant it could cope with the 40 of us comfortably.
  
  The morning delivery (arranged by the owner) of fresh bread, croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisin etc was a wonderful treat.
  
  It is in an ideal location with easy access to Pons, Saintes and Cognac (slightly further afield).

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  Recommended for: Friends, Groups, Families w children

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• CW
  Twickenham

  Beautiful garden, shame about the basics

  Left on 07/13/2012 for a stay in July 2012
  
  

  The garden is large and well maintained and some of the rooms in the chateau are beautiful.
  
  However, the general attitude of the owners was very disappointing; we were not made to feel welcome at all and they seemed to resent our presence. We were not permitted to even temporarily park in front of the chateau to unload our bags! Sc website mentions wine tasting but when I enquired about "access to the increasingly good wine cellar”, we were told we'd be better off at the supermarket.
  
  The chateau's kitchen is woefully inadequate for a large group; the fridges were old, rusty and inefficient, door compartments missing and broken. Coffee making facilities unusable initially and we bought an extra one in the end. There is a large purpose built catering kitchen alongside the hall - ideal for large groups but we weren't permitted to use it.
  
  The owners' own website mentions a covered bar area alongside the swimming pool. In reality, it was a dirty and dusty dumping ground for old pool toys and games, which were scattered around the floor when we arrived, and a number of half built unusable bikes in a heap at the back. Sc website says bikes are available but the owner said he hadn't had time to fix any of them.
  
  The barbecue had not been cleaned and still had food on it. The plastic garden furniture was dirty and looked as though it hadn't been cleaned even once during the season!
  
  It's an old chateau and we didn't expect everything to be perfect but much of the maintenance that has been done looks as if it's been done on the cheap. During the rain, the kitchen walls leaked profusely, as did the front door - much to the surprise of the owners!
  
  It would have been nice for the towels to be have been placed either in the bathrooms or the bedrooms, instead of in one pile in the hallway.
  
  The place could be so much more but the distinct lack of hospitality rather spoiled our week.
  

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? No

  Recommended for: Families

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