Guest Comments

Yet another wonderful week and we are already looking forward to next year. Many, many thanks.

I love the swimming pool.

I like the holiday house and the swimming pool. Also cycling to the boulangerie.

I stayed here with my two daughters and my mother, it was wonderful! We loved the Lore Valley and the gite is very well organised. Thanks so much to Jean and Mike. We will be back again.

We arrived by train to the beautiful Loire Valley and the tranquility of Les Mortiers. Being the first guests without our own transport has been interesting but ‘do-able’ as taking in the fantastic scenery on bikes has been a great way to get out and about and highly recommended! The market at Bourgueil (on Tuesday morning) was fantastic and we bought many beautiful, juicy, fanciful fruits and cakes (of course!!). Saumur is also a must for anyone visiting here and the Loire provides a great back drop for creating the perfect photo image — we took many!! As for Jean and MIke - the words Fantastic! Wonderful! Delightful! Perfect! Certainly spring to mind. Nothing and we mean NOTHING has been too much trouble for them. They have made our holiday here at Les Mortiers absolutely, without question, truly idyllic! We thank you both from the bottom of our hearts! With much love and sincere gratitude to you both. We love Fifi! (the 2CV)

Our First French Family Holiday! It is such a privilege to spend time together as a family and Les Mortiers was just PERFECT!! The peaceful setting, bringing back memories from our farm in South Africa, the lovely gites and the could-not-do without swimming pool was just such a treat. Our little girls, 3 years and 1 year, loved spending time with Daddy swimming and visiting the chickens and ponies every day. Mike and Jean have been so helpful, from the email to book our holiday and throughout our stay. Could not have asked for better hosts! We had wonderful weather - what a blessing. All in all we had such a wonderful time.

Thank you for the warm welcome! We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Grange. Thanks also for the little extras you offered for ourselves and Hilde, like the goodies basket and the child-friendly pack. Hilde particularly loved the play pen and called it her ‘house’.

The tourist information you provided was excellent. We went on three wonderful walks and visited Chateau Villandry and the Saumur Saturday market. The only thing you could not control was the weather, but everything else made our stay a memorable one. Thanks again.

Thanks for the bubby ib Easter Sunday and the yummy cake, afterall Phil had 3 portions!!!

Here’s a list of what we’ve done and we loved all of them, your recommendations were spot on.

• L’Helianthe - fantastic meal with family.
• Visit to Villandry - beautiful gardens
• Chateau d’Azay le Rideay - atmospheric,
• Maison des Vins in Bourgueil - a nice selection.
• Saumur
• Manoir de Restigne - Food to die for.
• Gizeux - do the walk and visit the castle.
• Troglodyte in Azay le Rideau.
• Langeais.
• Usse - the most romantic castle.
• Jules Desbois Museum
• We swam most days, loved the pool and the cosy gite.

All in all this was one of the best holidays we ever had, loved it, loved it. All the very best

Thank you for a wonderful festive welcome and a perfect cosy venue for a family New Year celebration. It was brilliant to see in the New Year with Ross, Helen, Tim, you and Mike’s cassoulet! As expected, Les Mortiers is as beautiful in winter as it is in spring, summer and autumn.

Fancu for a majic time.

The fall is a good time to ‘Pays de la Loire’, We had a wonderful time and the weather was just fine. The gite was all we needed and more and the swimming pool was a huge bonus for our girls and their daddy. Thank you Mike and Jean for all the wonderful stuff from the child friendly pack. And of course for the eggs that you collected with the girls. We will certainly recommend this place to our friends and family.

We wish you all the best.

The Loire Valley has now become one of our very favourite places and Les Mortiers is at the centre of that joy! The pool and surrounding countryside have been so enjoyable that it will be difficult to leave. Jean and Mike are the crème-de-la-crème of hosts, with delightful restaurant recommendations, precise directions, and warm personalities that all to the experience an element of familiarity in a foreign land. A must to eat location is Les Caves, to visit location Chateaux Chenonceau. Jean and Mike thank you for everything! We will be back to the Loire.

Tot Ziens (see you later)

For ten days we felt like real Frenchmen.

You live in paradise here and we want to thank you for sharing it with us. Amber had her first swimming experience and she loved it! Her first golden medal will be dedicated to you both! Thanks for all the baby stuff we could borrow, she loved her temporary friend, the singing rabbit. Erik and I had a great time as well. The lovely villages, the superb wine tastings and the unexpected meeting with Veuve Amiot were very nice! And our evening with you hosts, the one that started with Jean asking us to join a glass of wine, is one to remember! We had a great night and we won’t tell anyone that the one glass became a few …

Thanks Mike and Jean for these lovely days.

PS The brocantes in Vernantes and Beaufort are well worth a visit! Both open from Thursday to Sunday.

The only thing we had in mind for our holiday was to get away from work and enjoy life. It took around 2 minutes to realize this plae is what we were looking for, just as soon as we opened the door on the first morning. I am not sure which I like most, the distant sound of calling cows, the leaves rustling in the breeze or the ratchet of a pheasant in the hedgerows, but I know I could listen to it all day every day.

Our little boy turned 2 and a half during out stay and he has loved everything. Virtually every day we have visited somewhere and after a couple of hours he is wanting to return to his ‘holiday house’ to see the horses, donkeys and go swimming.

The wine we have had has been beautiful and the time of year was perfect – hottest day 28C and the last few mornings have seen a frost! Local produce is superb at the markets and we have feasted on chestnuts and walnuts by the kilo!

We’ve enjoyed visiting local markets on various days and seeing the towns too, best of the bunch for us is: Chinon, Saumur, Villandry, Langeais, Bourgueil, Fontevraud Abbey, the lake at Rillé. All of these have beautiful chateaux and/or markets.XXThanks Jean and Mike for hosting us so nicely – you are very kind and helpful! We loved the wine so much we’re taking a stack of it back and I can only hope we come back soon for more!!

Kind regards

Thank you Jean and Mike for your lovely warm welcome; the homegrown veggies and homemade preserves were delicious and much appreciated. We thank you for making our stay so enjoyable, and for being so informative. All of your recommendations were ‘spot on’. We loved the restaurant especially. The ‘files’ (tourist) we found particularly helpful. Mike thanks again for bailing us out at the start of the hols.

Hope to see you both again sometime.

I love the swimming pool. Thank you.

We’ve had an absolutely fabulous relaxing time … Tasha now has webbed feet, but the underwater swimming and diving is second to none … for us the great attraction was being home, relaxing and enjoying the scenery

Thank you for a very pleasant and relaxing fortnight, you have a wonderful place here. We all enjoyed, very much, the pool which gave Hannah (15 months) her first real experience at swimming/splashing – she’s now a true water baby! Local area was fantastic and we especially enjoyed Saumur, Rillé with great walks and lake, chateaux (Ussé and especially Villandry) and of course the wine. Weather was just right for us, all in all, Great!

Thank you

I like the pool.
I like the place.
I like Mike and Jean.
I cannot wait to come back next year.

We have had a wonderful relaxing holiday – one of our best. Thank you for your warm welcome and kindness during out stay. Anna and Jamie loved meeting Tia and Jack and swimming in your lovely pool.

Many thanks

We came for a week in 2002 and have been back twie a year ever sine! Yes we love it here, Jean and Mike make it a home from home. The area is beautiful, the food is great and the wine, if you take the time to do some tasting, has a huge variety of styles, prices and colours. Ask Mike and Jean to give you some suggestions. Do visit the markets and see how the French live. We could learn something!!

We have had the best weather ever and despite the first day being spent in Saumur hospital, thanks to Mike for his translation skills, a broken collar bone did not stop our son enjoying a wonderful holiday.

See you soon!

Thank you for a lovely holiday, we enjoyed the pool and being able to watch hares from the doorstep.

Our highlights were the Chateau at Brezé with its underground fortress, Fontevraud Abbey for the atmosphere and picnics by the Loire.

Loire Valley – cream villages, cream cattle, very flat and neat and beautiful flowers everywhere in pots and wild. Maize and sunflowers. A great experience, only our 2nd week in France. Saw Saumur, Tours, Villandry Abbaye de Fontevraud etc etc. Chateau de Chenonceau was worth the drive – thanks Mike. Gite was comfortable and Mike and Jean generous hosts.

Thank you.

I really enjoyed staying here again, it was fun to feed Misty, water the plants, feed the horses, go in the pool, go shopping to the markets and make new friends (Sarah and Will)!! I always enjoy it here and hope I can come back next year.

Thank you for the nice cupcake drawing – Jean and Mike

Many thanks again for a fantastic week! Highlight, as was last year – the pool! We all enjoy it and the kids absolutely love it. We love it so much we find it a great effort to drag ourselves away, but we did manage a bubbly tasting at Gratien and Meyer in Saumur, where the kids could participate with non-alcohol fizzy drinks – they enjoyed that!

We did the usual Rillé Lake and the gardens at Chateau de Lathan – boys requested a third visit there, so must be good! Bringing our bikes was also a highlight. Joel and Dad cycled every morning for croissants and pain au chocolates! I am afraid one week is just not enough for us. The boys are really sad we are leaving so we’ll have to stay for longer next time. XX Many thanks for making it a very special and friendly place.

Oh the weather was fab.

Thank you for letting us sleep at your house.

[Thank you for the great picture too, Oshana — Jean and Mike]

We have particularly enjoyed the wine tastings with good recommendations from Jean and Mike.

Troglodyte caves also worth a visit.

Thank you so much for the hospitality and fellowship during our stay. We envy your lifestyle and looking forward to sharing good times either back here or in Australia in the near future.

Best wishes and thank you.

Another peaceful week – can’t believe it – miracles do happen!

Thank you for everything.

How wonderful to enjoy early summer here at Les Mortiers, everything is fresh and green. Rachel (4) and Katy (3) have loved exploring the garden with all its flowers, plants, wildlife and hiding places! The pool has been great, as ever. We look forward to stepping on those new flagstones next year!

The arrival of the 4 new chickens was very exciting and the quails are also a great addition. Their eggs are now the girls’ favourite delicacy. Chateaux visits have been really good, especially Ussé (Sleeping Beauty’s chateau – perfect for little princesses) and Brezé (the underground chateau is amazing for children and adults). Rachel’s picture expresses our joy and gratitude for another perfect holiday.

Rachel – we liked your picture so much it is now on one of our postcards. Jean and Mike

Thank you Mike and Jean for such a lovely welcome. What a lovely place you have.

Mali would like to make a special thank you to Tia for the super generous and kind loan of her musical rabbit.

PS Postcards – nice touch

Best wishes

A lovely but chill week – thank goodness for the fab stove. Langeais, Chinon and Ambois were great and the girls loved the aquarium. The pool was a huge bonus and kept the girls happy. Would love to come back soon.

Autumn is a wonderful time to be here with some warm sunny days to laze and potter about here, and great markets (Bourgueil and Langeais) and Chateaux (Villandry is our favourite).

We have all enjoyed daily swims, and a roaring fire on these chilly nights has been a delight. The girls loved feeding the chickens and collecting eggs – the best we have ever tasted! The buildings and garden at Les Mortiers look more beautiful each year.

From the first bottle of Guy’s red in the garden to the last sweep of the floor, we feel completely at home here, all of us. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Brookes, and thank you for another perfect holiday.

What a stupid idea to come here and think that we could see Anjou in one week! Not only that, we underestimated the number and size of the chateaux (with all those staircases), we had forgotten to plan for the markets and the caves. Thanks to Jean and Mike for their quick and friendly response to our extra wishes. The pool is great, even Martin enjoyed it! In summary: we will be back.

Mike and Jean – You are never getting rid of us!! Until next time! Have a lovely wedding – you are an inspiring couple!!

Thank you for a great stay and just what the doctor ordered. The pool has to be complimented, swimming outside in September – amazing.

Our seventh summer visit to Les Mortiers has been as inactive as the first! We’re not sure if we are being predictable or we’ve found a home from home. Here’s to the next visit.

Thanks for a superb holiday once again! Two fabulous weeks in this gorgeous part of France. See you again next year.

Thank you. We have had a lovely week in the Grenier. Good location, excellent rousit information, tasteful decoration, super pool. We hop to come back for a second visit.

We have had a fantastic week here at Le Grenier. Mike and Jean have been very friendly and helpful. Highlights included – horse riding at Chateau Gizeux, the lake at Rille, Fete des Vins at Bourgueil, castes at Chinon and Breze, the Foire aux Chiens and of course playing by the pool. We cannot believe how quickly the week has passed and how relaxed and contented we all are.

A great holiday in a lovely area. I’ve never met more laid-back hosts and we all loved the pool.

We’ve had a blissfully relaxing week in this lovely idyll.

Many thanks for a wonderful and relaxing stay, we were both so liad back we almost fell off our chairs! Parcay Les Pins is a delightful village and the locals are great, we enjoyed the fire stations open day. We will be sorry to leave, once again, thank you for a truly great and relaxing holiday.

Thank you both for a most enjoyable week in wonderful surroundings at Les Mortiers. This is the most perfect place to be based to visit all the attractions of the Loire area – and there are plenty of them.

Thank you for a lovely stay. I (Chloe) really enjoyed it. I will recommend to my Mum and Dad.

If heaven is a place on earth, this is where it is and who better to have looking after it but Mike and Jean. Nothing was too much trouble, even the loan of a guitar for which I will be eternally grateful. We will be back.

Having driven all night from Cumbria, aside from the great welcome from Jean and Mike, the first clue to the fact that Le Grenier is a superior gite is the comfortable bed, so beautifully made up with pure cotton sheets.

What a beautiful property you have in such tranquil surroundings. Lovely comfy beds with cotton sheets and to lay in bed looking at the stars was amazing.

A fantastic holiday! We’ve had a wonderful time. The highlight of the week must be the pool. The boys have loved it and would willingly stay in it all day and every day. We enjoyed the peaceful evenings, placing our chairs outside the Grenier door, reading and taking in the beauty of the place. We hope to return next year.

Thanks ever so much for helping to make this a truly memorable holiday. The Grange is a beautiful and comfy place which felt like a home from home and will hold special memories for us in years to come.

We’ve had a lovely week, we wish we could stay longer. Loved the swimming pool and enjoyed my bike rides to by croissants in the village. I love all the environmentally friendly things too. Hope we see you again.

Words cannot express how we feel about coming here. Thank you again for making us so welcome and for the flowers.

A wonderful relaxing break. We were looking for somewhere quiet, calm and yet with enough entertainment for the children, and we found this here. A perfect retreat.

A wonderful place to be in the autumn – misty mornings, gentle sunshine and ‘mellow fruitfulness’! The heated pool has been a great development for the little ones and for us – a lovely treat each day. Thank you Jean and Mike for your hospitality, friendship and access to World Cub Rugby.

We’ve had a wonderful week in the Loire. What better place to celebrate my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary. We’ve all thoroughly enjoyed our week here. Thank you Jean and Mike for being welcoming and helpful hosts. Thank you too for the celebratory bottle of fizz!

Our 3rd visit to Les Mortiers. Despite the weather enjoyed visiting favourite places again – Langeais, Villandry, Saumur and Chinon. Pool as good as ever and thankfully heated. Thanks Jean and Mike.

Brilliant holiday. Les Mortiers is a gorgeous spot and the pool is fab!

Another year, another great holiday. We will be back next year for another does of “The Good Life” – minus Felicity!! See you next year.

Thank you for another great visit. The horses have been great, so have you!

Another great stay here. Pool was great with the heating. It has been a holiday to remember.

Many thanks, Mike and Jean, another great chill. Still the perfect combination of tranquil surroundings and great hosts.

And when your trouser button starts to pop after all the local wine and food, then it is well worth hiring bikes and heading off for the day into the woody forests. Many thanks for such a relaxing time here.

Great to arrive here after our damp week in Brittany! Our third visit here. Once again, thanks for your warm hospitality. A bientot.

Peace, rural peace!

We have had an amazing time here at Les Mortiers. Thank you Mike and Jean for being absolutely super hosts. We loved playing with the donkeys and horses. We went to lots of chateaux and our favourites were Villandry and Chenonceau.

By far the best foreign holiday we’ve ever had. We’re all sorry to go and I’m sure we will be back. Thanks so much Mike and Jean.

Thanks to Mike and Jean with assistance and local knowledge. Must be one of the nicest places in France.

Another wonderful week. See you next year!

If only you could ‘bottle’ what you have here at Les Mortiers you would be millionaires ten times over! Thank you for the peace and relaxation.

Wow! We have had such a delightful stay here!
It was so relaxing and welcoming!
This was our 2nd time here and it was sooo much fun! The pool was awesome and so were the horses!
I really hope to come again!
This is the best
I will never forget it
Merci Beaucoup

Culminated in Real’s fantastic wine tour, wonderful wine, but a new perspective on French history, industry, agriculture and entire way of life.

It’s been a great time again.

Do try the local strawberries!

Jean and Mike very welcoming without ever being intrusive.

Fabulous week at Les Mortiers – unbroken sunshine for the whole week. Our kids loved it all, especially the garden and the pool.

What a lovely escape we have had at Les Mortiers. Thank yo so much for your hospitality.

PS Swimming pool – fabulous!

Blissful sunny days in such a beautiful part of France and in such comfort.

A fine fortnight. We have had a comfortable and relaxed time.

A wonderful holiday. In all – a great week. Beautiful and even relaxing with a five and a two year old.

Our second visit was as good as the first – lovely weather, lovely cycling, lovely place. Thanks for a brilliant time.

Our second visit. Collecting sweet chestnuts and walks in the wood. We will miss the smell of pine cones burning in the log fire, with chestnuts roasting slowly on the top.

We went to Saumur on the horse and cart ride. It was really good. I can’t wait until next year.

The atmosphere here is lovely and still. See you next year.

Can’t think of many reasons to go home really!

Un grand merci Jean et Mike a vous deux pour un merveillieuse weekend. Votre attention a tous les details qui rendent la vie plus belle, plus agreeable, plus humaine, plus sensible et formidable. Bravo pour ce joli gite – merci.

A bientot

Wonderful week, great food, marvelous hospitality – excellent rod-building course. Thanks Mike and Jean. See you next year.

We have had an enjoyable week at Les Mortiers. Despite being late in the year, we have had some good weather. Les Mortiers is well situated and in a lovely setting. I’m sure it must look fabulous in the summer. Thanks for a great time.

Lots of places in the world are beautiful, but the reason we love the Loire is because of Mike Brookes and Jean Winter. To us you are family and we love that you are part of our lives.

Now we expect a return engagement on the other side of the Pond!

Another wonderful week. Thought the addition of the cover on the pool a great innovation for all-weather swimming.

Last time we were here I wrote a poem!

We ate too much, we drank too much
We slept for a million years
To stay again in this wondrous paradise
We’ve left ---------------there will be tears.

We feel refreshed and ready to face the stresses of ‘real’ life.

The pool was great, the Parc du Puy du Fou was a superb day.

Another wonderful holiday. Many thanks Mike and Jean. Back in September 2005 for the hat-trick.

A week of glorious weather (which surprised everyone!) superb accommodation with every requirement fulfilled and a wonderfully tranquil location. Our busy, bustling city at home was swopped for a week of bird song and frog song. The children spend hours in the lovely pool. The ‘dome’ was very effective and quickly raising the temperature to a very comfortable 24C.

We had a wonderful week, the accommodation was perfect and our hosts made us feel most welcome. We would love to return.

Les Mortiers – idyllic oasis in a beautiful part of France.

It was a long journey and a long drive but worth every kilometre. The gite is top notch and so are Jean and Mike. We have managed to cram in a lot in two weeks … We finished off with a wine-tasting tour with Real which was excellent. He is a lovely man – very interesting and informative – highly recommended.

Our memories of our numerous barbecues, dips I the pool and bottles of lovely wine will help us get through the cold, dark and wet English winter.

Merci et au revoir until next time.

So much to see and so much to do, and such a good time had by all, we must come back.

Thank you very much for a splendid week in this lovely gite. We have found peace, quiet, relaxation and a wonderful sense of space to re-condition our frazzled edges… We are rested and refreshed and back to the fray in Southampton.

A lovely relaxing week – don’t want to leave. We found what we were looking for – tranquillity, good food, good wine and a perfect base for exploring. We will be back next year.

The local pizza van is super (Wednesday in the village) … Above all a fantastic week was had by all, very relaxing, lovely and peaceful. What a shame to have to go home, which seems another world away…

Many thanks to Mike + Jean and all that! And I recommend Doue Zoo Feeding those donkeys and playing with a toddler called Tia, the lake and Vilandry and that’s my recommendation for all you holiday people.

To Mike and Jean thanks for the warm welcome, the lovely wine recommendation and the stoic acceptance of my Tim Henman overhead smash on the light-fitting whilst attempting to blot a moth!! Restaurant musts – The Moulin Blue just outside Bourgueil – 10/10 The Brochet (Pike) was amazing. Les Forges and the Auberge in Place St. Pierre both worth a visit and the 3 Cheese Gallette at the Rille Lac Creperie! Lovely weather, complete peace and quiet. Many many thanks, a beautiful holiday.

Two weeks of bliss, weather fantastic, loved the place, the pool and the evening sunsets.

The wine tour with Real taught us more than we could have learnt ourselves. Will be back next year.

I had a really good time on this holiday. Too everyone look after the donkeys, especially Greedy they will eat all your leftovers from tomatoes to potato peelings!!!

What a wonderful gite. This was our first time with an independent gite that we found on the internet. Much better than we have used before. Mike and Jean are wonderful hosts. We really enjoyed out time here. Particularly the pool.

A splendid location for the Loire attractions – plus a lovely pool and care and attention from Jean and Mike – what more can you ask.

Michelin rating – 3 star (worth a journey!). A wonderful time – good location to go sight seeing and to relax in between.

Thank you Jean and Mike for letting us share in your idyllic and peaceful way of life!

This place is magical. From the moment we turned off the road – to entering the gite, seeing the garden, the pool – everything. We have had a super week. Super gite, super weather, super holiday. Don’t want to go home.

We have had a fabulous few days here with our young children. Despite what they say about the changeable weather … we’ve had nothing but “blue to blue” since we arrived. Thanks for a great week.

Back for the second time, lovely as ever. Weather glorious and swimming pool so good. This year even I swam! Loved every minute, hopefully we can return. Such a lovely holiday.

We Came…

• After 5 nights in Paris and we felt like we were with our best friends, and knew that we had selected an “ideal home” for our vacation.

We Saw…

• Chateaux too numerous to list.

We Ate…

• Mike and Jean reserved a table at L’Oree des Bois for the Sunday after arrival. It was exceptional.
• On Monday we ate at Nichole’s – whose daughters were home on vacation – and are as lovely and warm as Nichole. We all tried to converse in a foreign language and did!
• On Tuesday we went to the market at Bourgueil to stock up on food.
• On Wednesday our friends from San Diego arrived. We had drinks at L’Orangerie (our favourite spot in Saumur), lunch at Auberge St. Pierre – the Coq au Vin is good – and returned to Les Mortiers for dinner at the picnic table where Mike and Jean joined us for an evening (and night) of fun, food, and wine, and more wine! No-one counts wine bottles at Les Mortiers!
• On Thursday we returned to Nichole’s where we were warmly greeted by not only Nichole, but here husband who donned a stetson hat and posed for a picture with Nichole, whom we jokingly referred to as his “squaw”.
• Friday – Sunday, we toured Normandy and Brittany.
• Monday we lunched at Jeanne de Laval in Les Rosier – lobster salad, turbot in béarnaise – only 3½ hours because we passed on the cheese course – sensational cuisine!
• Tuesday, back to the market at Bourgueil where we bought sea bass for Wednesday and joined Mike, Jean and their friends Iain and Jo for lunch at the Faisan D’Or. Of course, we had the Gallette Bourgueilloise for breakfast.
• Thursday, our last day here was the best. Lunch at L’Orangerie, and after a day in the life of a gite owners buying supplies and testing the wines of Guy Delanoue – superb!

Thank you for your assistance, hospitality and friendship.

Lovely to be back, if only for a few days. First in the pool this year! Bought the wine for our wedding this summer from Bouvet Laduaby – highly recommended. A truly wonderful place to be…

Les Mortiers was the perfect place to stay while exploring the Loire. Your generous hospitality made this vacation a great one. Thank you so much for all the advice on where to shop and buy food and wine. […] We appreciated how well equipped the kitchen is, since I love to cook.

Managed to totally chill-out.

As it was our first time in the French countryside we didn’t quite know what to expect, however, all our expectations have been surpassed.

We leave feeling totally rested and relaxed.

Thanks for a great holiday. Troglodyte caves were a great visit, but I much preferred your wonderful pool. Nichole’s chicken + chips was wonderful.

Jean and Mike, thanks for the great holiday, you’re right Nicoles is a great place to satisfy your appetite! The troglodytes gave a cool atmosphere and were very interesting but I much prefer your relaxing pool! Your chicks certainly caused some panic when we came back to find 2 escaped. Thankfully we were brave enough to pick them up, thanks again.

Had a lovely time in a lovely place. The horses opposite are really friendly and your chicks are really really sweet. We hope we didn’t traumatize them too much by picking them up (the story is opposite)

P.S. The pool was fantastically groovy.

Les Mortiers has the best of both worlds, old world charm and new world comforts.

Seven days of loveliness. thanks very much Mike and Jean – you’ve got an oasis!

Recommendations:

    Train touristique @ Saumur
       Tuesday market @ Bourgueil
         Lazing about @ The pool
      Avoid the drunk @ Parcay
       Swatting flies @ The kitchen
             Earplugs @ Saumur (loud Vespas)
               Boules @ The sandpit
Sparkling Brut wine-tasting and museum
                      @ Bouvet Laudebay
Toilet seat balancing @ The bathroom
        Keep it short @ The visitors’ book

Everything about your place is conducive to total relaxation.

A lovely relaxing retreat for our honeymoon and our first visit to France.

We came a long way but it was worth every minute. Thank you Michael and Jean for a peaceful and happy time. A wonderful retreat from the rush of modern life.

And finally a lovely house, good weather, brilliant hosts and a magnificent pool – loved our time here!

I think we will look back on the 2 weeks we spent at Les Mortiers as one of our best holidays ever. We loved the relaxed ambience provided by Mike and Jean. From the cotton sheets to the ice creams in the freezer, every detail was attended to. It was the perfect place for us as well as our children. Our children loved feeding the horses carrots, watching the chickens, playing in the sand and of course the pool. We enjoyed the pool as well as sitting out on warm evenings drinking wine and enjoying Jean’s lovely flowers. We hope to return next year.

Probably the best holiday so far! The most relaxing place we have been. So much for the kids to do with the animals, pool and so much open space to run around.

Les Mortiers is one of the few places in the world we would return to!

To think we found Mike and Jean’s labour of love on the bloody Internet. We never would have discovered this precious hideaway without the web, web pages and the miracle of e-mail. Hi-tech brought us to a place where the pace of life slows down and the outside world can just go away for a while.

We only paid a fleeting visit to this lovely little gem in the Loire valley … the accommodation is outstanding.

I can’t remember having so much delicious wine and relaxing this much.