Saint-Paulet holiday farmhouse "La Bomba" in Saint Paulet

La Bomba lived up to expectations and was perfect for a large gathering of family, at its maximum 12. The house had plenty of space for everyone to do their own thing when the weather wasn't so good. The bedrooms were all lovely and no-one felt hard done by as often happens in a large party. Catering was easy with two large fridges and plenty of cutlery, crockery etc and lots of seating for both outside and in. The cleaner was charming and came in every week to change sheets and towels.
The pool was immaculate. We had no young children so didn't need to use the alarm so I don't know if that is effective or not. The garden was large enough to put up a badminton net and play petanque and has some lovely plants and flowers, in particular a very prolific fig tree.
The local information provided is excellent, and we made good us of the local tennis courts, the mobile bakery, and visited a couple of the markets nearby regularly. The local restaurants we tried were all good - there are at least 4 good restaurants within 20 minutes drive.
It is not a part of France I had visited before and I would certainly go again, but it is definitely for those who want peace and quiet in a really rural environment. We encountered very few other tourists. It is in a part of France that is becoming depopulated as the small farms are eaten up by the larger ones. The only downside to this for visitors is that many of the small villages have no shops, though markets are regularly held and supermarkets are close. The house is surrounded by fields of sunflower and wheat, and a feeder to the Canal du Midi runs along the edge of the property providing lovely walks, or cycle rides if you take along a bike. It is great cycling country.
We did a couple of good days out visiting the Cathar castles, the nearest being about 2 hours away, which provided a complete contrast in terms of scenery.
I would certainly recommend this property.

We had a lovely time at La Bomba - 3 couples with 4 children between us. The house is very spacious - there was more than enough room for all of us and to escape to be on your own if necessary. The house is well equipped, the table tennis table came in handy for the few unfortunate rainy days we had whist there. The grounds and pool are fabulous, well maintained and perfect for young children to explore.
One thing I did feel would make a good addition would be some sort of visitor book or additional info on the local areas/restaurants rather than just leaflets or a list. We ate at Chateau Pomerade which was fabulous and the nearest restaurant (about a 30 minute walk) was actually really good as well.
A really wonderful place and great value for money - would recommend to anyone looking for a 'get away from it all' holiday in a fantastic area of France

Overall an excellent property and ideal for large groups.

The facilities are as described on the website - there is an excellent pool and all the rooms are large, attractively decorated and individual. The house is huge as well, meaning screaming kids at one end don't disturb sleeping kids at the other!

The garden, while very well kept, isn't quite as big as you might think from the photos but is plenty big enough - we set up a badminton net and had plenty of room to spare.

The village of Saint Paulet is tiny and has nothing in it - literally no commercial premises at all - so if you want coffee, bread or a wander around shops you have to travel a short distance by car although there is a bread delivery to the house three times a week.

The immediate surrounding area is very rural and is lovely - rolling hills dotted with tiny villages. It's great for cycling and walking and the stream at the bottom of the garden makes for a nice walk through the trees.

We took day trips to Castelnaudery (typical, pleasant French town), the lake (good for swimming and a nice walk), Carcassonne (stunning and well worth a visit, if a tiny bit 'theme park' for my liking), Saint-Felix (small but very nice village for a coffee and a stroll) but mostly just stayed around the pool for two weeks.

The house is great for children; our party included three children under one, one two-year old and one four-year old and they all had a ball and it was very safe (although we never really worked out the pool alarm!).

If I had one complaint it was that the place could have been cleaned better. I know it's a rural property but it didn't seem to have been professionally cleaned before we arrived. This didn't spoil the holiday and, in fairness, we didn't complain and given how responsive the owner was on other things prior to our trip I'm sure he would have done something about it had we mentioned it.