CasaGiga 3043 (Drôme)

We spent a few days here with our 3 kids, and those were the most peaceful, relaxing, rejuvenating days I had for a long time. The place is located in a scenic location, surrounded by hills and pear trees. I loved the fact that the kids had plenty of space to run around, and enjoy the kids games in the garden. The accommodation is first class and the spring water swimming pool is a delight. But the most admiring are the hosts. They are so friendly, making you feel like you are part of the family. And their extensive knowledge of healthy living and their ability to apply those principles daily to their place (no chemicals around, water is purified with plants, soap is natural, all cleaning products are natural,...) is truly impressive. Our host was kind enough to prepare some delicious meals for us using exclusively healthy and organic products. I can't think of a better place for a retreat or for a break to recharge your batteries. I can only recommend this piece of heaven on earth.

Pros A really beautiful place in an incredible setting. The pool is petite but absolutely, naturally clean and perfectly refreshing on a sunny day. The remoteness of the place is a real selling point - the peace and serenity of the surrounding hills is remarkable. The lodges themselves are quite small in terms of living space but very tastefully designed. There is not much space for 4 people to relax inside but in good weather there is a terrace and pool-side. The grounds too, are really beautiful. There is an excellent outside cooking area and my 13 year old was enamoured with the high quality table tennis table! The ethos is genuinely good - environmentally friendly, nature-aware - although on a purely personal note, for a place which goes so heavy on eco-campaigning, it would have been nice to have a vegetarian (or even better, vegan) section of the outside cooking area. Cons €60 for sheets for 4 people for five nights is a lot of money. Don't forget your sheets! Before you leave the lodge, you are expected to tidy and clean up the entire lodge (or pay €60 to do it - the costs add up). This is fine but you need to be out by 10 a.m. and when you have kids, well, it's a rush. But it is unclear why you actually do have to be out by 10 a.m. as the next person can't check in until 5 p.m. Bear this in mind if staying with kids and talk to them about this BEFORE you find yourself rushing to get out on the day you leave. Also, no eating on the decking outside the room - the only place to actually sit outside the room - is a difficult rule and means all food needs to be consumed inside regardless of the temperature and the fact that it is actually nice to sit on the veranda and eat while on your hols.

Divine indeed and I will definitely return. The energy, the care, the love which were put into this jewel are unbelievable and give you a place you can definitely call HOME. Thank you for the food which was amazing. I can honestly say that it put me on a path of eating better and being more conscious and considerate of what I put in my body. Thank you for the TIPI, this beautiful space to retire to. Thank you for taking care of us the way you did, it was truly a multi-dimensional bliss of experience!

It's obvious that this very unique concept was founded by 2 very passionate hosts. It's perfect for relaxing, taking advantage of the amazing location, rejuvenating – we totally enjoyed our experience and the key feature was the natural spring water pool. Simple but luxurious accommodation. I can only but recommend this place. Thank you

First off: the location of the home is marvellous, the views from the property breath-taking and the outdoor space well thought through. The region itself deserves 5 stars as it has beautiful rivers to bath close by and you can also pop down to the south coast for a day trip. Local markets are cute, too. We were 4 people staying in one of the apartments (German and British) and have the following negative remarks which affected our rating: NO PRIVACY There is no privacy - as the picture of the house shows (each window is one apartment) your neighbour will sit on the terrace 1-2 meters away from you. This also means it is impossible to have private conversations and even if you don't want to you'll hear your neighbours all the time. When people are in the pool or are walking around it, they will always use your bit of terrace and can look into your living space unless you put down blinds (we didn't want to sit in the dark...). WE DIDN'T FEEL WELCOME It is hard to feel at home and relax not only because of other guests that are so close, especially when having young children but also because there are a book and signs dedicated to dictate how you should live and respect their way of life (e.g. a sign on the toilet of at least 10 lines telling you how to limit toilet paper, no joke!). Although we tried to be very considerate we once forgot a snack container outside - the next morning the owner immediately reported this and asked for us to be more vigilant as it had blown onto the property. Of course we would never just throw plastic into nature. Why make your guests uncomfortable? MONEY-FOCUSSED OWNERS Once you arrive it feels like flying Ryanair - which is not expected at this level of costs. The hosts probably finance their own home with the rental (which is attached in L-shape) so they will offer you cremes, and soaps, and fruit jelly, and tea for large amounts of money (of course under the sign of organic well-being). We also forgot our bed linen (genuine mistake as it happens in the frenzy of holiday packing) and although we only needed linen for three beds (one double, two single) we were charged per person (4x). This would be no issue in modest accommodation but is hardly acceptable when you pay more than €1000 for one week as we did. SMALL SPACE The space is super small which is OK if you don't want to spend much time inside but we actually wanted to relax at the property. Overall we would have wished to feel like we are wanted guests and experience hospitality. Instead it seemed like the owners were more concerned with making money out of organic lifestyle. Such a shame, we were so excited about the stay...