SPACIOUS LIMOUSIN FARMHOUSE IN SECLUDED COURTYARD SETTING WITH POOL

Our family of 3 in their 50's and 4 in their 20's plus two dogs found a beautiful rural retreat at Chabrenas. The rooms and facilities are first class, and the owners, Jenny and David couldn't do enough to help make our stay enjoyable. This included leading the way to the vets for the dogs' required treatments and staying with us whilst it was done so that we didn't have any problem with the French speaking vet. Certainly above and beyond the call of duty! Despite poor weather, we had a lovely time and the pool is wonderful when the sun shines. The local village has a brilliant boulangerie so we had fresh bread and pastries every morning! The living room is homely (as is the whole house) and had plenty of room for 7 adults and 2 dogs - essential given the unusually wet weather. The dogs were made very welcome too - unusual we find, even when it says 'dogs welcome'. All in all we can thoroughly recommend it.

Eight of us have just returned from two superb weeks at Chabrenas. The house comfortably sleeps eight adults in four bedrooms (two doubles, two singles and two bathrooms) and both the lounge and farmhouse kitchen are very spacious.

David and Jenny are very kind and welcoming hosts who go out of their way to make sure everything is right. They are very responsive to any requests as well as a fount of local information.

Because the farmhouse is where the owners live during the winter, it is equipped as a home rather than a holiday house. There is every conceivable piece of kitchen equipment and the appliances are top quality. The lounge has armchairs and a sofa to seat seven (our 18 year old got the footstool). There is a large TV with Sky for UK channels as well as French satellite and a DVD player. The bathrooms are lovely and all towels are provided.

The pool is very large for a holiday property - 10 metres by five metres - and the pool furniture is very good indeed. The pool area is lovely and David maintains the pool and area very carefully. There is a table tennis table (which got good use from us) and plenty of other games equipment to enjoy in the gardens.

We were blessed with fine weather throughout our stay but the house would have provided a peaceful haven anyway.

The local area is unspoilt rural France to the north of the Dordogne and is ideal for those looking for peace and quiet as a group. It is not a traditional tourist area. There is plenty to see and do but the area does not brim with conventional tourist attractions. A car is essential for getting about - we needed two.

Thank you, David and Jenny, for facilitating such a lovely family holiday for us. We would certainly book again.

We stayed here - 2 adults and 4 kids (aged 16, 14, 13, 11) in August and believe (after 10 years of self catering) that we have never stayed anywhere so beautiful, comfortable or amazingly well equipped. David and Jenny go to enormous lengths to make the house feel a home, without making you feel you are trespassing in someone else's home, so you immediately feel incredibly relaxed. The lounge and pool area especially make you feel you are living in luxury - while the kitchen is perfect and better equipped than any I have used (including my own!) which is fantastic because immediately it makes cooking less of a chore. There is a large fridge freezer, with an additional fridge in the adjacent cellar which was perfect for keeping extra bottles cold. Very useful. We were blessed with very good weather for virtually all our stay and ate outside mostly - there are 3 different choices of location for this which is perfect when one of them is in the sun! Having said that the kitchen is lovely to eat in - spacious and comfortable. The bedrooms were again extremely comfortable and everywhere was absolutely immaculate and spotlessly clean. Loads of cupboard and drawer space and space on the upstairs landing for storing empty bags easily. Outside is breathtaking - the pool is lovely and the garden absolutely huge - plenty of space for cricket, or badminton in our case, not to mention a trail through the woods at the bottom of the garden. The children also loved playing ping pong in the covered barn or whizzing about on the bikes kindly lent by Jenny and David. As I say I have never been anywhere so well equipped and this included all the cleaning equipment, loo roll, kitchen towel, linen, towels etc that you could want - I returned with all the extras I normally take with me or would otherwise have to buy abroad, unused. Jenny and David are extremely welcoming and friendly without being obtrusive and do all they can to ensure you have a relaxing time - changing towels and linen, providing local info, making the pool ready every day etc, even providing us all with a car lift to and from a delightful restaurant in Meuzac on our last evening - we had been by foot before but it was very, very hot that evening and the lift was most welcome. The area is beautiful and quiet - but within in easy reach of many medieval villages, Limoges and the motorway. We loved our time here and if we were not planning on going to Italy next year would definitely want to return.