Guest Comments
2020
We had the pleasure of staying a week in this gite and what a delight! Breakfast on the decking (bought from the boulangerie just a couple of minutes' walk away), looking out at spectacular views was simply idyllic. There are several restaurants within walking distance and we especially enjoyed Tapas at Oncle Jules. There is so much to visit in the area and our highlights included the chic town of Narbonne, historic Carcassonne, Gruisson for the beach and "moules-frites" and a great day out into the mountains to see the Chateau de Perpeyretuse. David is the perfect host and provided a lot of useful information about the gite and surrounding area. We would highly recommend staying in this fabulous location.
Chrissie and Brian
July 2020
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Le logement de David se situe dans un petit village au coeur des vignes et dispose d'une terrasse (BBQ, transat à disposition...) ,très agréable avec "une petite piscine " qui permet de se rafraîchir après de longues excursions . La vue sur le village et sur les montagnes noires est magnifique. Il y a la possibilité d'effectuer de belles ballades notamment le long du canal du Midi et de visiter facilement aussi bien la région de l'Aude que l'Hérault. David et son épouse sont très accueillants , nous permettant d'arriver avant l'horaire prévu. De plus , David a été très disponible durant notre séjour. Je vous recommande les yeux fermés. Thank you very much David !!!!!
Jean Christophe & Elise
August 2020
2019
We want to thank you for the fantastic stay we've had at your property in Ginestas. The gîte was well equipped for two persons and the outside area was a great place to relax. The view from the deck is wonderful. The local bakery within 100 metres was a big plus. We have visited some nice villages like Lagrasse and Roquebrun and the city of Beziers. We've had very good tapas at L'Oncle Jules and in Le Somail there were some nice restaurants too. On top of that you were a very nice and friendly host!
Thanks a lot,
Paula and Henk
2018
A delightful residence within a charming village. Great for cycling along the canal du midi , taking in lunch on the way. David provides excellent communication before and throughout the stay.
Maureen & Mick
Great place for a base camp to go and visit local area and amenities. Car essential but well worth it and the gite is ideal. Great host and plenty of great advice.
David
Un hôte charmant, discret et très disponible. Un lieu très doux, très beau et calme avec une vue magnifique et une piscine-tonneau très originale et agréable. Beaucoup de balades à faire aux alentours. Nous avons passé un merveilleux séjour !
Odile
Sehr schöne Unterkunft am Rande eines kleinen Dorfes mit eigener großer Terrasse und "Weinfasspool" in einem Olivengarten gelegen. Gastgeber David war bei Ankunft vor Ort und für Rückfragen jederzeit ansprechbar. Der Dorfbäcker war zu Fuß in 2 min erreichbar. Idealer Ausgangspunkt für Ausflüge ans Meer, in die Montagne Noire und für Städtebesichtigungen wie Carcassonne und Narbonne.
Stefanie
2015
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We had so many highlights whilst staying with you, but we particularly
Enjoyed the Lake in Homps and the Sunday lunchtime music and meal at The Three Pigs is a must and every meal we had at L'Anais was gorgeous! We really enjoyed the amazing Oysters at The bar on route to Bize (Cabezac). Most of all we were able to relax... Your Gite is beautifully situated far enough away from the village to feel secluded and yet close enough to get involved in Village life if it took your fancy. This is the first time we have stayed in a Gite without a pool, and we can honestly say that your amazing plunge pool was all we needed. After all, we only use a pool to cool off, so the plunge pool was ideal... The beautiful views didn't fail to take our breath away each and every day.
View of Ginestas from the Gite Homps
Trois Cochons, Ginestas, Sunday music event Blue Sky, Warm water
David & Samantha, August 2015
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…. as requested our top 5 experiences/best bits of this years stay. They were difficult to narrow down, the hot sun was the star of the show!
Day trip to Spain (Angela's first time). a) fantastic fresh orange juice in Palafrugell b) very large wine shop where we spent a “happy hour” c) very beautiful Port of L'Estartit.
Witnessed from the decking the spectacle of the Venus/Jupiter “Collision”
Body Surfing at Marsellan Plage
Le Chai – A lovely wine shop in Homps with friendly, honest advice and great value!
Visiting our favourite wine shop in Limoux and enjoying a glass of Blanquette de Limoux in the main square while sheltering from the 34C heat.
Thank You, Andrew and Angela
Ed. Seems a bit of a theme here!
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We just wanted to briefly share with you some impressions from our holiday - below are our 5 favourite things about staying in the region, with some photos attached.
1 - Delightful walks along the Canal de Midi
2 - Beautiful beaches within 60-90 mins drive (La Franqui & Argeles Nord - We spent a day at each)
3 - Wonderful sunny weather (the entire time we have been here)
4 - A day out at Carcassonne (the castle is very impressive)
5 - Wondering amongst sleepy towns (where time seems to have no meaning)
Best,
Anna & Sam
2014
This year we have asked our guests to name the 5 most memorable things about their stay in the Gite.
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We had a great stay, the top points for us:
1. hangover free local wine, we liked the red which we bought from the cave in Ginestas
2. the locals were all very friendly
3. the gite is lovely, the little plunge pool is a great idea
4. the beach we drove to was called Serignan. It was about a 40 minute drive. Towards Beziers. It's a lovely wide beach with lots of sand and little else. Make sure to take water etc with you as there are no beach shops. Also be careful not to wander onto the nudist part by accident (unless you want to!).
5. there is loads to do in the area and driving was not a chore the roads are lovely and the scenery beautiful, once you get used to driving on the wrong side of the road that is!
Once again thank you. This evening we are in our own sitting room with wine and olives stretching out that holiday feeling for as long as possible.
Beth & Paul July 2014
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1. It just has to be the Gite and that view.
2. The local hospitality and warm welcome we received
3. Walks along the canal du Midi and enjoying a coffee at Le Somail and Homps whilst watching the boats go by.
4. Driving and walking around the villages - the information and recommendations you provided helped us enormously when planning our days out, shopping, restaurants etc.
5. Narbonne on market day.
if we can have a (6) then the wine cave and local red - it went down very well!! (and no hangover)
Paul & Linda July 2014
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And our top five - we’ve been discussing these since getting on the plane at Beziers.
In no particular order:
Ginestas Vin Cave
Walking the Canal Du Midi (Le Somail and Ventenac)
Evening walks around Ginestas
Walking around the Lac de Vezoles and driving the l'Espinouse
The wildlife - native fruit trees, Slow Worms, Bee Eaters, Cranes, Butterflies, Praying Mantis (in the garden!), Osprey, Eagles etc
Ben and Sophie Aug 2014
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1. L'Abbeye de Frontfroide
2. Minerve
3. Le Canal du Midi, especially at Le Somail and Homps
4. Market at Olonzac
5. Restuarant at Ventenac - "Le Coustellou"
Chris and Elaine Aug 2014
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Many thanks for a wonderful stay in Ginestas! The Gite is a haven of calm relaxation while providing an excellent base. Regret to report breakage. One of the dinner knives snapped whilst cutting steak. (Ed. cheap Steak?)
Our top five......
1) Cycle Hire @ Melo Velo in Paraza - Booking is highly advised, great service from Phil (Eng) with maps etc. Recommend Approx 48km ride to Le Somail for breakfast, picnic at Lac Jouarres with a swim & coffee on one of the villages along the Canal du Midi, on the way back.
2) Kayak on River Orb @ Base Real www.base-reals.com. We did 12km from Roquebrun (Le Petite Nice) that takes in some mild rapids & slides. Take a picnic, beers, wine etc to stop along the route. Very beautiful. N.B. Book in advance
3)Our 11 km run through vineyards and alonf Canal du Midi. The route David suggests to Ventenac, join canal to La Somail through the village to the North (not crossing bridge) back to Ginestas along many of the tracks through the vineyards and cross the D607 out of Le Somail eventually staying till you meet the A. de la Ginesto.
4) Wine - Spoilt for choice and we wanted to try many a cave. In the end we made the mistake of buying beforehand at Carrefour! Stupid! Very friendly at the Cave in Ginestas and wine VERY drinkable. This is a must, an excellent evening at L'Oncle Joules. Excellent selection, very friendly & great atmosphere. Need to book for outside terrace.
5) Narbonne - Carcassonne was a huge disappointment. Drab city with large castle ruined by tat shops and themed restaurants sums it all up. Narbonne is pretty, nice shops, good history, cafes in the sun and a real surprise. Head for breakfast at Les Halles (park there too) then mooch round the shops before lunch and home.
Gary and Richard Aug 2014
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1) Chateau de Queribus, followed by lunch in Cucugnan (we also went to Chateau Peyrepertuse which was much busier / not as estoreric).
2) Dinner in Ventenac, walk along the canal etc to Le Somail.
3) Minerve! Wow! Lovely pottery shops and galleries.
4) The lake at Homps; relaxing, clean and great for a quiet afternoon reading.
5) Le religieuse au chocolat at the patisserie in St. Marcel (this is a childhood favourite and you can only really get in proper rural France now - fab!)
We also had a good meal at La Bouche D'O (V.salty)
Thank you!
Steve & Catriona Aug 2014
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1. The view from the pool - watching the sky turn pink over the hills and seeing Ginestas nestling there - as if unchanged since Roman times.
2. Minerve - wonderful Cathar village and a nice drive up into the mountains - worth a half day trip.
3. Any of the Vide Greniers are worth a look. We walked along the Canal du Midi for ours at Ventenac. Just like a car boot sale and a chance to pick up some French 'antiques'.
4. Le Somail - really pretty spot, again on the Canal du Midi. Walk or drive there for a relaxed lunch.
5. Narbonne - LOVED Les Halles. Worth a visit for the lovely food and local specialities. Try a Narbonnais - a pain au chocolat except filled with apple and topped with pine nuts ....mmm!
Oh, and for 6 - L'Anais - 2 minutes down the hill and an art deco treat for dinner!
Kathryn and Rupert Aug/Sept 2014
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2013
We were pleased we extended our stay because the last two days were lovely. As for the gite we thought it was very comfortable and provided all we needed for our stay. The views were fantastic. We particularly enjoyed our long walks through the vines down to the canal finding very good restaurants in either direction. Our two visits to L'Anais in the village, one for lunch (had the daily special to be recommended) and one dinner were impressive and friendly - walking distance again too! We took your advice and visited the local cave (twice) making purchases to bring home with us. As for using the car we most enjoyed Olonzac market, Minerve and Narbonne (market again). Visits from the veg fairy were appreciated! Best of all for us, we did not have to use the car on most days. We will certainly return when we can.
K.W.
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Thank you for renting us the gite – we loved it and had a very happy few days there – we would happily have stayed longer. So what did we love? The situation is perfect – quiet and peaceful (despite the clock but that was actually rather charming) but so close to the village and so many lovely places. The standard of the conversion is clearly high and we loved the clean lines and Mediterranean feel. The walk in wardrobe is great and even tamed Dave not to scatter his clothes around as there was somewhere practical to put them. The bed was very comfortable as was the sofa. As I tried to explain to David– you have to stand in the shower to appreciate the view – smoky purple hills at sunset – just lovely. I tend to be a cook on holiday as at home so the addition of a pasta pan would be great and perhaps a sauté pan with a lid. Otherwise it was equipped with everything we could need I think. There is a real pleasure in buying food in markets such as Narbonne – cooking and then eating on the decking
The village was delightful ; for us country folk to walk to a bakers, a bar and a great restaurant was a real treat. The restaurant is clearly a real asset – lovely people - ironically the girl is from Norwich so lots to chat about. I would really stress a visit to the Cave – we loved it and the wine.
I think you should mention how very easy cycling along the Canal du Midi is – despite our first day of punctures. It is clearly a very popular pastime and we would certainly love to do more. Narbonne was a comfortable trip though a guide book would have helped us to understand we had to cross on the railway bridge! We also drove to a nearby village and cycled to Carcassonne. The little shelter at the side of the gite is perfect for bikes. Somail was a great little evening trip pre dinner for a drink.
As for visits there is so much to see. Even in our brief stay we managed to get down to the beach (twice) at Leucatte Plage and Gruissan Plage – both lovely and for different reasons. The salt pans and the walk round them at Peyriac de Mer were also much enjoyed.
A.G.
N.B. Pans have been added - Owner
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