Country Kids

Rooms

The old farm buildings, where once Roquefort was produced, have been beautifully restored to hold 5 apartments (in the Old Dairy), a self-contained cottage and a large farmhouse villa. Wonderfully welcoming and well equipped, the French rustic-chic décor includes whitewashed walls with stonework peeping through, sofas to slouch on, super-comfy beds atop chunky tiled floors, and blackout curtains and blinds, and air-conditioning. All have full kitchens, private terraces and thoughtful family features, such as toys, age-appropriate accessories and TVs.

Ideal for big family groups, the grand Farmhouse has 5 bedrooms (including a jaw-dropping master suite), and a palatial double-height living space.

Self-contained, but close by, the quaint, cosy 2-bedroom Chestnut House is more open-plan than the others – perhaps not ideal for light-sleeping little ones.

Back at the Old Dairy, ground-floor Apartment 1 is big enough for a family of 4 (or more) and grandparents, too. The terrace is shady and secluded, tucked away at the back of the building.

We stayed in the Old Dairy’s smallest apartment: top-floorApartment 5, with a good view of what’s going on around the resort. The 2 bedrooms can interconnect, there’s a huge bathtub to splash around in, and the terrace (fenced and gated) felt very private.

The remaining apartments have 3 bedrooms a piece (sleeping up to 6). We loved ground-floor Apartment 2’s generous wisteria-shaded terrace, at its most luscious in spring. Up on the first floor, Apartment 3 has a fun kid-friendly mezzanine bedroom (properly walled, with a window) and a terrace shaded by kiwi trees - great for all older kids or babes in arms. Conversely, Apartment 4 (also on the first floor) is ideal for families with crawlers, as it only has 2 internal steps. Outside, the gated, fenced terrace has gorgeous rural views.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Bathrobes
• Central heating
• Coffee / tea making
• Cots available
• DVD player
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Safe box
• Toiletries
• TV
• Washing machine
• WiFi

Eating

All-inclusive rates include all on-site meals for the whole family: the buffet breakfasts, chef-prepared evening meals delivered to your apartment, an à la carte lunch menu, meals-to-go, kids' meals (including a pasta bar and pizza-making) and two lovely communal lunches per week. During our visit we enjoyed a fun Friday barbecue with steak, salads galore and an incredible lemon meringue pie. Perfectly set under the wisteria at a long table – cold wine, great company and happy kids running amok.

Every apartment has a hand-built kitchen with an indoor and outdoor dining area. You get a large fridge-freezer, full cooking equipment, a dishwasher and kid-friendly extras. A generous welcome basket also awaits your arrival, practically stocked with everything from hot drinks and milk to bread, pasta and sauce, and fruit and veg. Once you’ve devoured the contents of the welcome basket, the on-site shop can provide savoury and sweet snacks, and cold drinks. Adults are welcome to grab a bottle or more from the extensively-stocked wine cellar "La Cave".

We loved the indoor-outdoor bar, where cushioned wicker sofas ask to be lounged on throughout the day. It’s close enough to all the apartments to use a baby listener, and parents often stay here until the early hours, relaxed in the knowledge that their kids are safe. This is the venue for the daily afternoon tea and the buffet breakfasts (warm pastries and freshly squeezed juices). Some guests stick around to eat here, others take it back to their apartment, and the really savvy ones have their children collect it for them. Best of all, on Fridays there's a kids' PJ party breakfast, so us parents get to go back to bed!

You get two nights free childcare a week so you can dine a deux in the local restaurants; if you prefer to stay in, a dinner can be delivered to your apartment (all included in the rates). The village has a great restaurant, La Calade (just 10-minute drive down the hill) who does authentic French cooking and good local wines. A fantastic view over the Lac du Salagou can be seen at L’Auberge du Lac while enjoying a lovely romantic dinner.

Features include:

• Bar
• Barbecue
• Communal dining
• Dishwasher
• Food blender
• Fridge
• Full kitchen
• Hob or stove
• Kids' meals
• Microwave
• Oven
• Restaurants nearby
• Toaster
• Vegetarian options
• Welcome hamper
• On-site shop

Activities

• Splash about in the family pool, or float serenely in the (small but secluded) adults’ pool and hot tub. The family one is heated and heavenly, lined with teak loungers and poolside ‘beds’
  
• On site you have tennis, table tennis, 9-hole mini golf, a small gym, a hot tub, yoga, beauty treatments and massages – you may choose to never leave your holiday bubble!
  
• But in case you do, Laure can arrange off-site activities including horse and pony rides, horse and carriage rides, canoeing, pedalo-ing, golf, an electric boat trip, archery, wine-tasting and more
  
• Tour the tree-lined Canal du Midi, picnic, windsurf, or wild-swim by the lovely, peaceful Lac du Salagou
  
• Or pose in 16th-century Pézenas, an exquisitely cobbled hilltop town full of pretty restaurants and boutiques
  
• Visit the old town of buzzing Montpellier, a 50-minute drive. It’s the most popular city to live in France
  
• Come home and chill out in the bar
  
• Borrow a DVD or catch up on an entire box set - plenty to choose from
  
• For child-specific activities, see our Kids page

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cycling
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Kayaking
• Language courses
• Plantlife / flora
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Wine tasting
• Yoga

Kids

This is paradise for parents and children alike; family luxury is redefined here. It’s not about 300 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and someone to clean your sunglasses while you dive into an infinity pool. It’s more about gently cajoling harried parents into remembering how to relax – for example, twice a week a babysitter is provided so you can explore local restaurants a deux.

Lying by the adults’ pool, I heard my young son charging past on a treasure hunt and just smiled before going back to my book, content that both of us were in our respective happy places!

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Toddlers (1-4 years), Children (4-12 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

Every apartment is designed with families in mind. Apartment 5 and the Chestnut House each have space for up to 5 people in 2 bedrooms; the other apartments have 3 bedrooms (sleeping 4-8). The Farmhouse is the largest and grandest option, sleeping 10-12 in 5 bedrooms (3 are twins). All apartments have space for at least 1 baby cot - see rates.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

Distances:

• Airport: 1 hour (Béziers)
• Hospital / pharmacy: 20 mins (Bédarieux)
• Village shop: 10 mins (15 mins to supermarket)

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Country Kids lies between the villages of Octon and Brenas in the Languedoc region of southwest France. It is 50 minutes northwest of Montpellier.

By Air:
Béziers Airport (60km) and Montpellier Airport (72km) are both about an hour's drive; Nîmes (120km) and Carcassonne (146km) are just under 2 hours away. Toulouse is also an option (240km) – approximately 3 hours' drive away. You'll need to hire a car while staying at Country Kids.

By Train:
If you'd prefer to travel overland from the UK, there are good services to Montpellier and Avignon. If you are coming from London and your train is not direct, we recommend you change trains in Lille (a platform change) rather than Paris (a station change).

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to France and getting around