Aux Jardins Des Thevenets

A place of candles, curiosities, cats and countryside. You know when you turn into the drive that you have found the right place. A beautiful old french house with converted outbuildings that immediately invokes a spirit of peace and calm, relaxation and wellbeing. Set in the middle of the Auvergne and standing alone in the most beautiful countryside and setting, it is a place to relax, to watch the deer, red kites, buzzards and songbirds. It is so quiet. The house meanders over many rooms all decorated in a traditional french style with, I think, all rooms ensuite and ranging from sunken baths to mosaic tiled showers. Rooms are sizeable and all have views over the surrounding area. Breakfast is just a taste of France with pain au chocolate, bread, jam, hot dishes and, of course, croissants which are collected from the bakery first thing every morning. The owner also does ridiculously low priced evening dinners on prior request. When we were here a five course meal (including at least twelve different cheeses) was 25 euro and this included wine. The house has loads of safe area for children to roam and play. There is a swimming pool although I think this is only heated during the spring and summer. The town of Vichy is very near. Steeped in history and a miasma of architecture it is famous for its health spa (people come from all over the world to take of the waters) and it boasts a casino and many restaurants ranging from Michelin starred to the most amazing little cafes. Anything wrong, Well, the new owners are still settling in. There is some work to do in undoing the ravages of the past and it shares the adorable french quality of mystical lighting and water systems. However, everything works fine, water was hot, its spotlessly clean and the food was plentiful and tasty. While we were there a french couple who were staying told us that they had planned a trip in the summer to the west coast and had now cancelled it to spend another holiday at Aux Jardins Des Thevenets. I can understand why and we will be back.