Tornac holiday farmhouse: Tornac

We stayed in September for a week at Mas des Costes and had a fabulous time.

We have rented many houses all over the world and it was obvious from the outset that the owner is very organised. He answered all my initial queries about the house very efficiently and I felt reassured that this was going to be a trouble-free stay. I particularly liked the fact that there was a local caretaker on call in case any problems arose during our stay and that the house was cleaned after our departure (not always the case with some rentals). The owner, who called a couple days after our arrival to see if everything was ok, had left an information booklet that answered all our day-to-day queries. I got the impression that he genuinely cared about our stay, and was concerned to know if we were having a good time.

The house itself is very comfortable with a large open-plan kitchen/dining room with doors opening out on to the Mediterranean garden. The living room, well equipped with books and games, is very comfortable with French windows opening out onto a dining terrace. The television also has more than enough UK TV and radio channels to keep you occupied which was very useful in the evenings as it got dark in September at around 7:30 pm. In addition there is a large, well-maintained swimming pool located on the upper terrace of the garden.

Mas des Costes is surrounded by very beautiful countryside, mainly vines, and is located about 4 miles from the picturesque town of Anduze which lies at the foot of the Cevennes mountains. Anduze is very manageable, offering all the facilities you need. There is a SuperU supermarket, hairdressers and a newspaper shop plus many cafés and restaurants that provide outside dining. There is a much larger SuperU supermarket in Ales.

We spent a lot of time exploring the area and there is a lot to see. Certainly a week is not long enough and we would like to return. Apart from the major cities such as Nimes, Montpellier and Avignon, there are smaller towns such as Uzes and Sommieres to explore. We would also recommend a visit to Sete on the Bassin de Thau which is known as the Venice of the Languedoc. The antique steam train puffs its way from Anduze to St Jean du Gard in the Cevennes, a journey to remember that is also a must.

As you can see from the above, I really would recommend Mas des Costes and we plan to return next year.

What a perfect time we had at Mas des Costes! The house is lovely, very beautiful and spacious, and the pool is perfect, especially for those of us travelling with children. Truthfully, neither the description nor the pictures do the property justice. The house has been wonderfully restored and updated providing everything one might want on a vacation. One great touch is the very helpful (essential?) information brochure provided by the owner which gives useful insights into the local towns, attractions, shops, etc. We used the recommendations to plan a number of events ranging from meals to a climb through the trees to a bit of spelunking in the grotto and simply enjoying a cafe in Anduze!.

Everything was in good order when we arrived and the gardener and handy man were very pleasant when they came by during our stay. Extra-special touches included chilled bottles of rose and beer waiting for us when we arrived and a call from the owners to make sure everything was perfect.

We enjoyed our stay very much and highly recommend Mas des Costes as an ideal vacation property although we would hate to make it harder to find availability as we will definitely plan to stay there again when we find ourselves in southern France!

This is a wonderful place for a relaxing holiday. The house provides every comfort and facility you could wish for in a simple, tranquil environment. The new kitchen, pool and outside dining area are lovely. It is easy to visit many beautiful and interesting places by car and the helpful owners have provided plenty of local information including good places to eat out. We highly recommend.