BELLE ETOILE - FARMHOUSE, IN RONSENAC, POITOU-CHARENTES, FRANCE

12 of us travelled to France for a big family holiday and to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary. We flew into bordeaux and the property was an easy drive — approx 90 minutes. The property itself is amazing, very tastefully decorated, modern and has everything you need to make it your home for the week. It's excellently located to be able to explore the surrounding villages. We happened to be there on one of the hottest weeks (40 degrees plus) so not a great deal of exploring was done; Angouleme is worth a visit though as is the nearby Villebois Lavalette for early morning croissants and late afternoon ice creams. The pool — it made it for us, amazing for all ages as it has wide steps leading into the pool which the younger ones liked to splash about on. It's deep enough but not too deep and large enough for pool float races! All in all a fantastic week of family time, we had a lot of questions prior to arrival and Gareth was very helpful in answering any queries we had and giving advice about the area. One slight improvement that we thought could be made — more fans, we only had 2 and with the extreme heat could have definitely done with more, but it's a very minor issue. Would 100% return, we all can't wait to.

Brilliant relaxing holiday for all 16 of us ranging from grand parents to a baby. 8 young children and 8 adults. We must have picked the record breaking hottest week of the year so the beautiful big pool was ideal and in the hottest part of the day the cool games room and well equipped farmhouse were a welcome break from the sun. Lots to do for everyone so we didn't feel the need to leave Belle Etoile. However we did tear ourselves away to go canoeing in the pretty town of Brantome and visited Aubeterre's amazing subterranean church. A week wasn't long enough so we hope to visit again. The owner was very helpful with tips and advice from the initial booking right throughout our holiday. We would definitely recommend this beautiful home.

Stylish, clean with amazing views. Loved our visit to Cognac, a short drive away. Will definitely visit Belle Etoile again soon.

We have visited Belle Etoile before in 2014 during the summer. This year we decided to visit in October for a week during half term. The house is immaculate and home from home. As soon as you arrive and your car tyres crunch onto the large gravel parking area, you begin to relax. Opening the door to the country style kitchen continues the process. The house has a comfy lounge and well equipped kitchen with everything you will need for the family. The furnishings throughout are stylish and you soon feel that your holiday has begun, yet you feel like you are at home. The bedrooms had very comfy beds, with one super king and plenty of space for large families. There is even more accommodation on the second floor, which we did not need to use. We also booked the Garden Room, which is freshly furnished with a double bed and an ensuite with wet room style shower. For October, we were not expecting much from the weather, but we were blessed with three days of full sunshine with temperatures up to 25°C. We will be booking again for 2018.

The property is superb. The uninterrupted views across wonderful french countryside are incredible. I instantly relaxed. The house is so spacious; easy to spend time with lots of other people without tripping over one another. Brilliant pool too. And loads of space outside. Definitely going back. Owners very helpful and keen to ensure that we loved our stay. Which we did!

We rented Belle Etoile for a week for a family gathering and celebration for 14 (adults & children). We rented the farmhouse, gite and garden room. Each element is beautifully decorated and it worked brilliantly as a combination for families with children and adults. The farmhouse accommodated the families with well proportioned rooms and gorgeous views, and the children loved the top floor rooms — especially as the height is a little limited so best for adults to duck! A perfect den for cousins to enjoy. The gite is a fabulous space and the garden room a perfect sanctuary. The furnishings are beautifully done. There are wonderful areas to all get together by the pool, outside dining area and kitchen but it has enough space for everyone to unwind and relax too. We enjoyed fabulous weather and loved the pool — the big sky and views are fabulous. The pool is cleverly designed — the extra length swimming lane is perfect for working off the extra breakfast croissant! The games room was enjoyed by all and is lovely and cool on a hot day — perfect for a bit of family competition be it pool, table tennis, table football. We rented bikes and cycled to the tennis court in nearby Ronsenac and did some short forays around the very quiet roads (good for children on bikes). The surrounding area is great and we enjoyed day trips to Aubeterre, the market at Riberac and the lake at la Jemaye. The owners are extremely friendly and could not have been more helpful. All in all a brilliant week and a perfect spot. We were all sad to leave at the end of the week. Thank you Belle Etoile for some wonderful memories.

Spent a few amazing days down at Belle a couple of weeks ago. The setting is beautiful and the house is spectacular. Loads of room and given that there were 14 guys around the place, it still felt spacious and open. The pool is great, the pétanque court in excellent condition and with the addition of the new fire pit, we were able to keep ourselves amused and warm long into the night. Bike hire was excellent, golf course was a huge amount of fun and the woodland restaurant divine. I would highly recommend it to everyone.