Maine-et-Loire Vacation Rental house: Le Puy Notre Dame, near Montreuil Bellay

Villa Patrik is a well appointed property. The house was very clean and well-presented. The owners have taken great care to make their guests stay enjoyable. You could safely leave your Loire travel guides at home - information on local attractions was compiled in a file and a selection of books (including regional guides) to cater for everyone in the family is available. The owners were attentive and friendly.

Sanziers itself is really a satellite of nearby Le Puy Notre Dame. The downside of this is that there are no bakeries or shops there. However, Le Puy Notre Dame is only 5 minutes away by car and within easy cycling distance.

There is a good tourist office in Le Puy Notre Dame and walking and cycling trails around the village through the vineyards (a big hit with the children) so bring your bikes. If this is not an option, the owners have bikes available on the property for the use of guests, fine for local use.

The highlight of our stay was a visit to Domaine de la Reniere one of the best of the local winemakers. There we met the genial Rene whose family has been making wine in the area for over 300 years. We left much the wiser about Loire wines and having the children with us (6, 10 and 13 years old) made no difference to the warmth of the welcome. His white wines are particularly good - try the 'Parole' and the incomparable 'Authentique'.

We would have no hesitation in recommending this property to a friend.
Damian and Bernie

The Cottage was lovely. Beautifully furnished and decorated, very clean and contained all that you would need for an enjoyable stay. The location was excellent. Very close to many attractions but peaceful as in the countryside. The owners were very friendly and helpful and available for any questions or information. I would highly recommend this property and would stay there again if returning to the area.

With regard to the area. We were a little disappointed with Saumur. But found Chinon a lovely town to visit. Out of the many places to go, we would recommend Fontevraud and strongly suggest you pay for the audio-guide as it is very informative. The small town of Montsoreau was totally lovely. There is a waymarked walk through the town into the neighbouring town of Candes-St-Martin and back. This is definitely worth doing.

What a perfect place from which to discover the lovely area of the Loire Valley. The cottage was much larger than we expected and with so much character, very clean and well equipped for our needs. Sitting outside in the warm evenings for dinner was enjoyable. The gardens were lovely. We enjoyed the ping-pong table, and it was great being able to do our laundry and hang it in the warm French sun. Visiting the Troglodyte Caves near Doue La Fontaine was a great experience. Within two hours we also enjoyed some of the many Chateau along the Loire some of our favorites being Chonenceau and Villandry (the garden was incredible). Getting our baggettes and coissants delivered in the morning was an experience. Hearing the sounds of the country instead of the city was relaxing. We loved the little villages nearby and thoroughly enjoyed the Vintage Car Races in Puy-Notre-Dame. Montrieul Bellay was a good place to pick up something at the Boulangerie or use the bank machine, and for our Canadian way of doing things the Super U grocery store was perfect!
Our hosts were great and so ready to answer questions and help in any way they could. Thanks Peter and Margaret for a great stay.