CasaGiga 1986 (Saint-Saëns)

Our family get-together in France took us to Normandy this year, and we rented Esta CasaGiga. The sprawling estate is lovely, with a covered swimming pool, a great kitchen equipped for large scale cooking, room to comfortably sleep 10 couples (we used all the beds during the week everyone was there). The surrounding area is mostly farmland (dairies, wheat fields, some horse paddocks). During our August visit we had warm, dry weather, very sunny. Saint Saens per-se is a small village about five kilometers away, and has a really nice centre ville with a fantastic bakery, butcher and green grocer, plus two reasonably large stores. To the north, Dieppe is a half hour drive, and Rouen about as far to the south. There are good restaurants all over the area, including in Saint Saens, Buchy (10 minute drive), and of course in Dieppe and Rouen. This is an area with rolling hills, forests, and winding small country lanes. Cars drive slowly, and we found it really nice for biking. There are several bike trails nearby, including flat trail one that runs from Neuchatel all the way to Dieppe.

Excellent

A mixed experience! The cottage is spacious and well-appointed. There are several bathrooms adjacent to the bedrooms. The kitchen is functional. However, the pool is not heated, which is inconsistent with the description. Several bedrooms had no heating or hot water. And to top it off, the manager turned off the hot water the night before our departure. The manager's welcome was deplorable; she claims to be eco-friendly at the expense of basic comforts, namely hot water and heating in winter! She was downright rude because the clothes dryer was used, even though it's provided!