17th century manor house on the banks of the Charente / tennis - swimming pool

We all loved our time at Nicholas’ house. There is so much to do at the house and it is surrounded by a wall which makes it very easy to be with young families. We picked the vegetables and fruit, fed the chickens and absolutely loved spending time in the river. The pool is beautiful and the house is homely and elegant with everything you need for a happy and easy stay. Nicholas was extremely communicative and kind. We would love to come back again as a group or with others - thank you so much.

We have just returned from a family holiday staying at this impressive chateau. Driving through the gates, the extensive grounds and the buildings themselves, with vines creeping up and along the stone walls, are most impressive. To the left is the swimming pool, which is great: clean and deep, and a very decent size. We loved it. Going into the main house itself, clearly this was a dearly loved family home, with cherished momentos throughout. However, as an offering priced at a relatively premium level, some issues that we would consider basic ‘must haves’ were lacking. Addressing these would have transformed our experience: • The entire interior, in particular the kitchen and the bathrooms, needs a thorough deep clean. The kitchen is very well equipped – with multiple culinary devices (although, with superb boulangeries nearby, we recommend leaving bread making for another time!). However, the level of dust and cobwebs indicated it hadn’t had a thorough clean for some time. • Similarly, the bathrooms need a serious overhaul (and clean). At this price point, we would expect fittings to be in good working order (a shower head that is supported in its holder, a toilet seat that is not rickety and flaking) • In addition, several of the beds, both frames and mattresses, could do with being replaced. • There were several bicycles that we could use, but each needed attention before this could be considered: luckily one of us had brought basic tools, so we could inflate the tyres, align the wheels and brakes, lubricate the bearings etc. Even so, we could not describe the rides as comfortable, and it is certain that we would have used them far more if they had been well-serviced and maintained (or not mentioned at all - in which case we could have considered bringing or hiring our own bikes) The dishwasher broke and we are grateful for our host’s rapid response to getting it fixed. There is ample outside games equipment. The gas bbq was excellent and got daily use and feeding the chickens/harvesting the vegetables was delightful. The lovely local area provides numerous opportunities to enjoy the Charente river (kayaking, paddle boarding etc). We all enjoyed it! It is telling that all the adults concluded the same: that we would happily return to the area, but not to the property. It is stunning, with enormous potential, but if it is to be used as an income-generating asset, we expected the basics to have been thoroughly covered.

Les Ballons was a wonderful experience! All the amenities that were advertised were made available for our group's use. It is an ideal location for a large group of travellers & we would definitely visit there again. Dave

The property and grounds were huge, easily accommodating our party of 17. The pool was fantastic and well maintained. The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is the house was not very clean. The bathrooms and pool house in particular needed to be scrubbed. Also the equipment in the garage was very dirty. All in all though, a fantastic property and I would highly recommend it. Great communication from the owner as well. Thank you!!

The photographs of this property on the website do NOT do it justice - the house, the grounds, the facilities (especially the pool), its proximity to the Charente and excellent shops in Ruffec make it a perfect location for a family holiday. Although Mr Guyard was not present, he answered all of my queries promptly via email.

The property is as beautiful as it looks on the picture and the grounds are simply stunning. We visited as three generations of one family and there was lots for all of us to do. The pool was fantastic and loved by all. We played badminton on the courts, fished in the river, barbecued and played table tennis. There was lots to see and do int he local area and Oradure sur Glane a couple of hours away was well worth a visit. The owner was really helpful in the booking process and we loved our holiday.

From the moment we booked "Les Ballons" Nicolas ensured he helped us make this an amazing trip. The chateau itself is stunning, well equipped and makes for the perfect stay. The grounds are well kept and offer fun for all ages (ping pong, swimming, football, tennis, fishing, long walks, bike rides, etc). The proximity to Ruffec is very convenient (a short bike ride, or even shorter car ride). I cannot recommend this property enough and we will definitely be back.

We had a fantastic holiday experience at Les Ballons, we were a party of 8 adults (including one disabled) and 7 children, and the house easily accommodated us all, as well as a very impressive house we where all also blown away by the facilities on offer, we made regular use of the excellent pool, bar area, mountain bikes, tennis and badminton courts, table tennis, bbq, 5 a-side football area, and we even tried a bit of fishing down at the river, and the walled and gated gardens meant it was also great and safe for the kids to play and explore as they wished, . We would highly recommend Les Ballons to anyone wanting a great family or group holiday, and the owner was also very helpful and flexible throughout the whole experience, thanks again Nicolas!