Demeure de la Garenne

We booked our two rooms through Voyage Privé which offered us little extras like a free wine tasting at a local chateau, a bottle of champagne for the 4 of us and the opportunity to use the bicycles available at the gite. The property is in the small town of Montmirail. On arrival we were welcomed by the owner Cecile (who speaks perfect English - thank you!) who could not have done more to make us comfortable. While we were enroute (and running late!) she had booked us in to a local restaurant, Restaurant le 5.1 (highly recommended). She and her husband have renovated the property to an incredibly high standard. The first thing that took our breath away was the wonderful views from our rooms through the big windows that offered views over the terrace, pool area and lawns. Additionally, the rooms had the little touches that other places forget. Locally produced soaps and shower gels, linen sheets, beautiful fixtures and fittings while not modernising so much that you lose the feel of the original chateaux. There are bicycles available for hire. Cecile will prepare a picnic lunchbox for you to take with you on a bike ride (at additional cost). There is a swimming pool. The gardens are beautiful to walk through in the morning and while they are simple, they provide wonderful views of the countryside. Breakfast was a feast of home-made sweet pastries, croissants, jam, fresh fruit, yoghurt and eggs and bacon were offered too. Coffee was excellent. There is a third room available (slightly lower cost) that does not offer the same views as the house sits on an incline so the windows to the front (town) side of the house are higher up. However, this room boasts a stunning Victorian style bath and has just as much charm as the other rooms. There are also three ‘eco-gites’ available set away from the main house in the lower gardens which offer uninterrupted views across the valley. We cannot recommend this gite highly enough and have already made plans to return with friends when they visit. Demeure de la Garenneis ‘hospitality perfection’.