Samantha and John Hunt: Thank you so much! The house was perfect for our family.
Mrs B. J. Hogan: Large splendidly equipped on elevated site overlooking vineyards, yet within easy walking distance of historic sites and restaurants.
Mary Paterson: I would just like to say how much we enjoyed staying in this beautiful house. We loved everything about it, and also found the surrounding countryside and villages to be absolutely charming.
Mr T Scheele: This fabulous house is a wonderful place to spend holidays with my children and grand-children. When I came back this year, it was like I had never gone - just like home.
Mr U. Schroder: With its charm and atmosphere, Roustan is a wonderful destination that allowed us to share the French “savoir-faire” with our friends. We particularly loved cooking, spending time eating, talking, laughing, making music together and spending a comfortable evening in the courtyard at the end of a hot summer’s day. The house, the domaine and the wonderful landscape make it easy to wait around for decisions about where to go and what to see. This was really a “coup de coeur” – we rejoice at the thought of returning.
Mr Roger Speers: Just returned from our sensational holiday in the very impressive Roustan castle, what a place! It's fair to say it exceeded my expectations and will be a lifetime favourite memory for all of us of the perfect holiday. All 3 families had a great time and fell in love with the French lifestyle, the local area and village and the whole experience. So c'est bon and merci beaucoup to you.
The Patersons: Thank you very much for a wonderful stay in your beautiful home. Our three families had such a wonderful time, eating, playing and absorbing the wonderful atmosphere that is Roustan. We could all see and feel that the house is well loved as there is a beautiful warm presence in every room. Thank you for making it so child-friendly as not only the parents, but also our children had a fantastic time. We all hope that one day we can return, maybe next time France holds the World Cup. Since Australia's demise we will all be going for France. Allez Australia. Allez France! Merci beaucoup.
The Speers Family: Thank you very much for a fantastic stay. To say we enjoyed it would be a big understatement, it was superb. Madame Arnaud made a huge difference as well, very friendly and helpful. All the families had a great time and the children loved it as well, we have never stayed in such splendour before and I doubt we will again; it was magnificent. That it was obviously a family home and not a hotel made it even more special. We also enjoyed this region of France very much, it will ever be a special place for us - the vineyards, villages, history, exquisite food and wine and the friendly people. We lost the rugby but gained a fantastic experience, and will be back to enjoy it all some other time.
An article by our client Mr Roger Speers who stayed at Roustan in September 2007
THE PERFECT HOLIDAY
Three families, 7 kids under 7, rugby, wine, fine food, beautiful countryside, grapes, wine, more food, idyllic villages and amazing medieval architecture….sounded too good to be true. Luckily the reality was even better. We hadn’t caught up with each other for over 2 years, and since we were living in Egypt, Tanzania and Bolivia, France seemed a logical choice!
Family Speers had been to France a few times in the last couple of years and fallen in love with the easy pace of life, the richness of the local culture, food and natural beauty of the southern part of France, so the decision was easy. Rugby and the World Cup was a common thread, but really it was just an excuse to get together and sample the local produce.
The search for a suitable shack started over a few bottles of red, the French château had always been a dream for all of us, that air of elegance, style, history, and I dare say, a touch of decadence as well. Such a vivid image we had in our minds, and when we trawled through internet sites, Roustan immediately stood out – big enough for 4 families (one dropped out unfortunately – their loss I’m afraid), great central south location for the rugby and wine, the tiny pictures on the website showed a tantalising glimpse of that imagined castle atmosphere and all the features we were after. Regular cleaning, the chance of babysitting and gourmet home cooked French food of course also appealed!
As the Castle Oz dream became reality, the excitement built and when we all rolled up Monday afternoon, after getting a bit lost it must be said, the château being hidden in a beautiful block of forest and delicately sign-posted, we fell about in amazement at the scale of it. Madame Arnaud, the formidable housekeeper, dragged Sandra off on an exhaustive inventory of the Louis XV, XIV etc collections and the rest of us sank into the chairs in the courtyard and gazed at the view, the vineyards stretching before us, the air clean and crisp and the light beautiful at dusk. It felt like home immediately, even though it was so cavernous, it was obviously used to being lived in and the site of many a family gathering and good times. The piano, amazing portraits, huge ceiling, chairs, immense dining room table, games room, kitchen... it had it all, and in amazing quantity! There was also a serious amount of wine glasses which was extremely promising.
Nearby Grignan village with its towering castle/church, was also a delight, so many great restaurants; we had the best meal of our lives in one small place, I still dream about it here, as I tuck into my falafel and beans... It seems a dream now, but in 3 weeks of glorious relaxation and exploration of the Drôme area of Rhône-Alps, the Côte-du-Rhône and Tricastin wine appellations, we had the time of our lives and it will always be a great memory. We got a great feel for the place and region and we’ll certainly be back some day, though maybe something more humble in terms of lodgings next time...
