Saint-Maximin holiday house: Saint Maximin

Our first experience of St Maximim was navigating our brand new hire car through the VERY narrow streets of the village.Thank fully it survived the week and was returned undamaged. The house was nothing like we expected. The information about bedrooms was incorrect but we are pleased to note that the advert has been altered to reflect the true arrangements. We should perhaps have realised that 18th century cottages have certain features such as very low doorways, which for our 2 x6 foot plus men were a real problem but we did not expect to go up to bed via a stone spiral staircase which reminded us of many a church tower we have climbed. The double room on the third floor was spacious but the 'ensuite bathroom' although adequate in terms of facilites was only separated from the sleeping area by a curtain, leaving little to the imagination. The shower area in the second floor bedroom, we felt could have been dispensed with to give that room more space for clothes storage and those of our party who slept there always used the shower room on the ground floor. The kitchen had all the appliances necessary although the table which seats 6 according to the website was a tight squeeze with 4 of us. The only issue we have with the kitchen is that the cooker was situated under a low archway making it impossible to attend to cooking food unless you were short and the lack of a larder for food that did not need the fridge meant that we did find food left on the worktop was spoiled. On the plus side: the booking arrangements went without a hitch; the on site manager Gill was very helpful and only a mobile phone call away if we had a problem; the bottle of wine and olives to welcome us was a nice touch; the area is wonderful, easy access to a large supermarket, and also to nearby towns such as Nimes and Avignon for sightseeing. Don't miss the Pont du Gard just a few miles away and the Camargue is easily do-able and gives the chance to spend time on a beach if you want. Finally, make sure you have a meal at Cafe Julien in the village - you need to book but well worth it. I would recommend the area and the house but only for a maximum of 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children who are not too tall and like the idea of quirky accomodation.