Saint-Hilaire-La-Forêt, Pays de la Loire
St Hilaire la Forêt is a historically fascinating village in the Vendée, just 4.5 km from the nearest beach. The village square, a 6 minute walk away, boasts a church, the Mairie, a pétanque alley, a grocery shop and bar. The shop and bar sell fresh baguettes and croissants every morning. The Stone Age museum ‘Le Cairn – Centre de la Préhistoire is a wonderful place to discover the Stone Age through child friendly hands-on activities, exhibits and information about the local monolithic sites of which there are a number. There are numerous on and off-road cycle paths that start and end in the village and take in the local area including the towns of Jard sur Mer with its Port and Longeville sur Mer, the wonderful expanses of beaches at le Bouil, le Rocher and les Conches as well as the local countryside of sunflower and maize fields with the odd vineyard thrown in for good measure!The are has so much to offer for a variety of age groups, and interst groups from watersports, to nature. Please note: this site requires payment in GBP. If you wish to pay in EURO, please book through Property Ref: 1934899 Link: https://www.abritel.fr/location-vacances/p1934899a uni_id=3648656
The property had everything we needed. The garage was particularly good to store our bike. We enjoyed the quiet roads and tracks only visiting the coast on a couple of occasions.
We found the property to be clean and very well equipped. We especially appreciated the UK television as we were in France for the Queens funeral. It was quiet and relaxed with nearby wonderful beaches which we were able to use on an almost daily basis as we were very lucky with the weather. thank you to the owners for making this property available to rent
The house is very well equipped and has a great garage for storing your bikes and equipment. Each room has a nice cupboard to store your stuff. Their is a small supermarket in town which also carries fresh bread in the morning. The only thing missing in the garden is a larger roofed area to sit outside ... against the sun and the rain. There is a nice bicycle trail right from the center of the town to the beaches - 6 km away .... the best beach for us was Conches ... 10 km by bike. The contact with Andrea our host was excellent. We can recommend this location.
This was overall one of the best properties that we have stayed in France. The location was very convenient, and nice and quiet. The kitchen was well equipped was every utensil you could ever want to prepare a meal. The bed was comfortable as was the lounge. The basket of tea, coffee & wine was a really nice surprise. The instructions in both English and French were clear and most helpful. We also liked the satellite TV and English DVD's & books. Because on Pat's mobility, the only other thing that we would have liked is a handrail in the shower. We hope to return next year for a longer stay
After searching for some time for a holiday home that offers good facilities as well as being close to the coast we decided on Andrea’s property and were not disappointed. The house is located in St Hilaire la Forêt, a pretty village set just back from the coast offering a more relaxing and authentic French experience rather than staying in the swathe of holiday villages right on the coast. The house is far better equipped than many holiday apartments that we have visited, it is spacious, nicely furnished, and has a lovely garden. If you like cooking then the kitchen is a real treat and has all that you will need to cater for a family, with the choice of large dining tables both inside and out. There is also a secure garage that is absolutely great if you cycle and take bikes on holiday with you. Shopping in the area is well provided for, we stocked up at the large 'Super U' supermarket in Jard-sur-Mer which we preferred as it has a great selection of fresh foods and wines, but there is an equally large supermarket in Longville-sur-Mer, both are only a short car drive away. There is also a small shop in the village for basic items. Once settled in we took to our bikes and quickly worked out the best cycle trails to the beaches, the cycle routes start next to the 'Mairie' in the centre of the village. Twenty minutes or so of cycling through fields of sunflowers brings you to beautiful Atlantic beaches such as Le Bouil, really great for swimming, paddle boarding and searching out crabs in the rock pools at low tide! We also headed down the coast a little way by car to visit the popular seaside town of La Tranche-sur-Mer, I learnt to windsurf here many years ago and it still has an excellent nautical centre with great windsurfing and sailing facilities. La Rochelle airport which is served by several UK operators is only a little over an hour's drive away so Granny was able to visit us whilst we were staying. It is also an easy journey to the fascinating Ile de Ré, the ports of La Flotte and Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the island as well as the lighthouse at the westernmost tip are really worth a visit if you have time, although it’s best not to cross the bridge on a Saturday in the high season as you will queue in traffic for a very long time! So all in all a highly enjoyable stay in a lovely holiday home with so much to see and do in the area for a two week holiday. We really look forward to returning!
A very nice villa,very comfortable,nicely furnished,Super kitchen.The villa is perfectly situated to explore the surrounding area ,our particular favourite is Jard Sur Mer ,but is near to many places. the villa is in a lovely village, with a shop and a local bar.we loved our stay We cant wait to go back!