Flayosc, Fontroussiere

We booked to stay at Fontroussiere back in March. After seeing the websiete we were quite excited about going to a remote hamlet half up a mountain/massif. Even though we were staying from Monday to Saturday we still had to pay for Saturday - Saturday..

After driving for 6 km from the nearest town, Flayosc, we drove through a gate wich has a security code which was emailed to us before we left the UK. Once through the gate it is a 1.5 km drive on rough dirt track. I wish I'd hired a 4x4 instead of a Corsa. I was glad to have pre paid to have the excess on the car insurance reduced to zero as stones and small rocks bounced off the body work and caused scratches.

When we got to the Gite (cottage) our hearts sank. The gite was dark and even with the 2 lights and all of the windows open it was still difficult to read the literature (French) about the Ts & Cs. Downstairs had a kitchen with a table, a fridge (which kept us awake all night) 2 cooking rings, and oven /grill combination and basic cooking utensils and some pieces of crockery.

There was no lounge area and the upstairs is a mezzanine floor, which is reached by a dangerous staircase, that had no hand rail stopping you falling into the kitchen, not ideal if you have toddlers. Upstairs consisted of a bedroom and bathroom (shower, no bath) which were adequate.

The childrens room was adequate consisting of of bunk beds and their own bathroom (shower, no bath). Bedding costs extra, we took our own.

We had to pay a 150 euro deposit against any breakages. We could also pay 30 euros for the staff to clean the property or we could do it ourselves.

The gite was not that clean when we arrived so we thought their standards we not that high and cleaning would not be problem, we decided to do it ourselves.

Guests are also expected to get rid of their own rubbish as no bins out side were provided.

The ground around the place was very uneven and places were overgrown grass and weeds.

The next day after doing some shopping in Flayosc, ( a ten minute drive down the dirt track and through country lanes) we discovered the pool area. No life guard. The pool area seemed adequate enough and there was even some inflatables left by previous residents.

In the evenings people were sitting outside their gites eating meals on tables that had been provided for them. Not all gites had tables outside, it seems there was a lottery on who got one. As we had paid for the top category we expected to have a table and chairs but as we spent most of days out and came back late it wasn't a problem.

Our biggest problem was on the last day when it was time to leave. We got up early and and after packing spent an hour sweeping and cleaning. One of staff came into the gite and decided that our cleaning was not good enough. I pointed out that it was cleaner than when we arrived, but they still took 30 euros from our deposit.

If you don't mind getting away from it all this is an ideal place. Remember to hire a 4x4. Agree to the cleaning then you get ripped off like we did, and don't use the fridge as you won't get any sleep.

Personally, I expected to get to get better value for money (535 euros).