4 adults, 2 babies age 12 months and 20 months. I trawled the internet and brochures looking for the perfect villa for our 2 week summer break in the Dordogne. We wanted a villa that was stylish as well as being baby friendly.

 

I stumbled across Le Cheval Blanc on Baby Goes 2 and after viewing 100s of other villas as soon as i looked at the picture gallery, I knew that this was "the one". I immediately emailed to see if there was availability for the weeks we wanted, which there was, and quickly booked it up.

 

EVERYTHING is provided. By this I mean that all we had to take was our clothes and a few personal effects in our suitcase, not normally the case when travelling with babies !!! Bed linen is provided (it isn't in a lot of self-catering villas in France). Bath towels are provided. Towels for the pool are provided. A paddling pool was provided for our babies. Nothing was too much effort for the owners. When we arrived at the villa at 10pm, after long delays at the airport and picking up the hire car, the owners were there to warmly greet us, they had even offered to make us some food as we were arriving so late.

 

As soon as we entered the villa our reactions were "wow". Huge living area, beautiful staircase and gorgeous bedrooms and bathrooms. The kitchen is kitted out with everything you can imagine. As well as the usual kitchen appliances they also had a blender and in the cupboard there were dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, bin bags, dishcloths, tea towels, cleaning products, everything we'd need. The utility room had washing powder, fabric conditioner, stain remover. All the bathrooms were supplied with loo paper, soap, shower gels, shampoo and conditioner. The attention to detail was amazing.

 

With regard to the babies, highchairs and booster seats were provided. Plastic plates, cups, cutlery. Stairgates. Travel cots, baby style bed linen. Plug in night light for babies. Steriliser, baby bath, baby seat for the bath (all available if needed). Baby monitors. Changing mat. Wipes. The list is endless and everything had been thought of. A basket of toys for the house. Down by the pool area there were loads of toys for the pool. I can't praise this villa enough.

 

And for the adults, there's a bar in the lounge area, complete with fridge, bottle openers, glasses, sink, cocktail mixer etc. AND a fridge by the pool to put your drinks and food in, with a gas BBQ, and plugs so you can plug in your monitor when the babies have gone to bed. Plastic glasses and plates are provided for the pool area too, to save taking these from the main house. There's also satellite TV, DVD player and DVDs, a games rom with playstation and games. Table tennis. CD player. Loads of books.

 

We flew to Bordeaux and it was an easy 1 hour drive to villa, on very quiet motorways and empty country lanes. The villa is situated in a small village that has no shops or other facilities. A car is a must and if you want to eat out you'll need to drive for 10 mins to one of the larger villages or towns. So long as you know before you go (which we did) that it is in the middle of nowhere it's fine. Large supermarket in Riberac for all food (great fish counter) and fabulous bottles of wine at approx 5 euros a bottle. If you're arriving on a Saturday, make sure you stock up with food and drink to last until the Monday as very few supermarkets open on a Sunday. There is one that opens for a few hours on a Sunday morning, in Tocane (opposite direction to Riberac). A lovely welcome basket was also provided for us.

 

This villa is a fantastic place to visit for a group of friends + children. Although the kitchen is great and well equipped, I would imagine that larger parties than ours would run out of room on the work surface front - there isn't a lot of work space - when preparing food. But i'm just being picky ... We had a really fab time here, would definitely return here and have recommended it to friends and colleagues. Joanne, Carl, Jude (12 months), Carole, Kev, Emilia (20 mths).

Joanne Tranmer
July 2005