Le Chabrol has completely lived up to our expectations, although on the other hand it was difficult to have a good idea of the house and the surroundings in advance. If you have been there, the photos are very recognizable, but...
Le Chabrol has completely lived up to our expectations, although on the other hand it was difficult to have a good idea of the house and the surroundings in advance. If you have been there, the photos are very recognizable, but conversely, it remains a surprise what you find. Well, a few striking features of the house: it is spacious (your luggage dissolves almost by itself), and decorated with care and taste. Art always remains something personal, but most of the paintings and sculptures were to our liking. You will also find a number of good books and (especially classical) CDs. In that respect, we found Le Chabrol to be a friendly house in which you quickly feel at home.
We would like to highlight a few properties for future tenants-to-be. Le Chabrol is not everyone's friend. If you don't like climbing stairs, for example, you should avoid this house. Kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are located on top of each other, the kitchen is also connected to the dining room on the ground floor, between the bedroom and the bathroom you can "turn" to the living room. This in turn offers an exit to the terrace. This means that the spiral staircase is used intensively, even by those who want to visit the bathroom at night. The handrail is not on the outside, so that in the beginning you sometimes have the feeling of being able to "fly out of the corner". In the semi-darkness (also during the day, we kept the shutters closed because of the heat - so you didn't really use the dining room because it was just too dark) you easily miss the last step, especially if you are not so used to it yet. A sticker in signal color would not be a superfluous luxury.
There is internet, but the WiFi does not penetrate the solid walls, nor do the signals from the mobile provider. Only in the living room we had some coverage and even then the connection was very slow. No problem for us, but if you want to stream TV broadcasts, for example (there is no TV set), you have to make do with images that sometimes stop every minute.
The bedroom is the highest room and is located under a low ceiling. And that is noticeable when the temperature outside has been around or above 35 degrees for weeks. Especially the 1st week (we were there for 2 weeks) we had a hard time getting used to the heat. The fan also barely cooled the temperature: at higher speed it started to sway, resulting in a lot of noise. Of course, the house is not to blame for the extreme weather, but if it is cooler for a day in between, the walls will release the stored heat and it will still remain very warm in the house.
The hot water from the boiler made for a wonderful shower but did not reach the kitchen. Fortunately, there was a properly functioning dishwasher.
Mattresses in France are always an adventure. We found these mattresses hard and they caused sore and stiff hips (we are "side sleepers"). It wasn't until our stay was almost over that we got used to it a bit.
The fact that you can't park your car at the house is especially difficult when unloading and loading the luggage and groceries, but we didn't have any angry neighbors at the door when we had occupied a spot in the Rue Chabrol itself. And then it's just a matter of walking a few meters. But it can also happen that you have to search for a parking space for a while.
The fact that you can arrive 24 hours a day if necessary (the key is in a box with a code) ensures that you can make the outward journey without the stress of being late.
Alba-la-Romaine is quite quiet, both during the day and in the evening. Rue Chabrol is one of the less picturesque streets, but you don't see that when you sit inside. We had 1 time when there was loud music at night and loud screams from drunk men, which ended at 4 a.m. in a noisy altercation right in front of our front door (and under the bedroom window). That night I didn't sleep a wink because of that. Our impression is that this was an exception, a typical case of bad luck. Although it was strange that no gendarme showed up in all those hours. Nothing else bothered us, neighbors greeted politely and the neighbor came to warn us a few times that he was going to do odd jobs and remove a tree (conifer). When we left, the tree was still there and there was no chores, so maybe he was just in need of a chat and the next tenant will hear the same story.
A great plus is that you can get your hands on a fresh baguette or flûte within a few minutes in the morning, that's how close the bakery is. Alba is a picturesque town, from where a number of sights and tourist attractions are easily accessible. We haven't been bored for a second in those 2 weeks and haven't seen everything yet.
The landlord's communication was timely, sufficient and correct.
The sum of all this meant for us a very successful holiday in a house that embraces you. It's easy to take the minor inconveniences for granted (although more comfortable mattresses would make your stay a lot more pleasant), and of course you should also have realistic expectations regarding the price. Taking that into account, we definitely recommend Le Chabrol and we would like to come back again.
