hi, Ek,

in my experience, these things vary a lot between lets, and there's not necessarily any correlation between price and what's provided.

in the UK, it's standard to provide tea, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper and many go further than that eg a cream tea when you arrive, a bottle of wine, etc. plus loo rolls, paper towels, rubbish bags.

in Italy we had the whole contents of a fridge and filled cupboards provided in Rome, [we replaced what we used] and absolutely nothing at all in Florence.

in France it tends to be the minimum - as with linens, they are geared up for the french who like to save money by bringing it all themselves. Arriving late on sunday or monday when the shops are often shut can be a real problem.

most owners will shop for you in advance if you want more than the basics and leave you the bill.

as for what happens to what you leave behind, I suspect that most owners would remove perishables, but leave things like oil, etc.

regards, ann

ekscrunchy, when renting a gite I always assume there will not be any kitchen staples so when there is something in the gite like spices, coffee and tea it is always a bonus.

We usually find that some basics have been left behind. We usually make a run to the market for the items we will need for the week. I know others at Fodor's like to do more meal preparation and there is a thread about favorite recipes while at a gite.

When we leave I let the owner know what I am leaving behind as a courtesy to the next renters and let the owners do with them as they wish.

I look forward to going to the markets knowing I can bring items to a house to be enjoyed that week. I dislike going grocery shopping at home but I enjoy doing it in France ;;) Deborah

The Gite we've stayed in multiple times in the Dordogne has practically nothing "stocked" for us - we've stayed there 4 times & it's the same every time. She gives the stuff left by guests to people in the village. Last year a Gite we stayed in in Burgundy had 3 of almost everything. Multiple jams, herbs galore, several sizes of coffee filters, coffee, several olive oils, several types of vinegars, soft drinks, water, etc, etc, etc.

It all depends on the proprietor. The one in the Dordogne is the only one with nothing - except for some coffee filters - maybe.

Every Gite has had at least a 5 day supply of TP, and new soap for the bath. All have had adequate cleaning supplies - but some were light on laundry & automatic dishwasher stuff.

Only 1 of the 27 or so different gites we've stayed in did not have sheets & towels we could rent - and this git was brand new & the proprietors were first-timers. We had to purchase sheets (it had blankets).

We have a Gite Shopping List we print out at home & take with us. When we first arrive at 4pm, my wife does the greetings, security deposit, etc while I dash around and check out what's there & what's not. We even check the pots & pans inventory (always adequate) We also inquire as to whether there are any groceries open on Sundays - usually there are not. We then dash to the grocery to purchase what's needed. The two regions we return to the most are the Dordogne & Provence. Both have groceries open on Sundays and both have excellent "farmers" markets on Sundays.

Stu Dudley

We've rented gîtes throughout the south/southwest of France and, yes,
some kitchens are pretty Spartan.
However, we've arrived to find 'Welcome' baskets w/a round of
cheese, a chicken, fruit, bread and
a bottle of the local wine. The
kitchens have always had S&P, oils,
and vinegar.

If you are thinking of the area around Sarlat you might want to look
at the website for 'Les Charmes de
Carlucet' outside of Salignac. The
owners have just started renting two
gites along with their B&B operation. Really, really classy
place and wonderful hosts in a beautiful part of the Perigord.

We loved La Villate in southern Touraine. Beautiful and spotless, with modern conveniences, lovely hosts, and in striking distance of Loire Valley chateaux. Near La Roche-Posay.

www.lavillate.fr

Hi all:
I've been gone for a few days and haven't been on a computer.

WOW - thanks for all the great information on gites!

Lots of great advice that I know we will use and will be useful for others as well. This board is great!

thanks again,
Carol

bookmarking!

Great info. Thanks.

Favourite gites are usually a matter of personal preference. The best thing to do is check out gites that have their own highly detailed website, run directly by the owners; you can find a lot of these, in English, on http://gitelink.com .

A lot of the owners keep their own guestbooks online, where you can read what people have to say about them; but it's not a bad idea to remember that no one puts up negative comments about their own gite on their own website. Still, that is true anywhere

I've never seen gitelink before, and didn't find that many in my area, the Dordogne, listed.

In fact you'll find that there is often not much distinction between gite, and a house or apartment for rent now. Originally gites were developed and subsized on farms in order to give country people more income. They were pretty basic, and you had to bring your own supplies, linens, etc. Some still are.

Since then the term has spread. As someone who represents several properties, I think of them as real houses, and not gites, but there is less and less distinction as the 'gites' become more sophisticated. If you check www.gite.com you'll find lots of great properties, some more expensive than those listed on gitesdefrance, but probably offering more amenities - high speed internet, linens, good quality appliances, etc.

We can never understand owners who expect each guest to buy basic supplies like salt and pepper. Sometimes it's because they are used to dealing with Europeans who can drive to the property, and bring their own - much like going to a camp-site with your own supplies. Sometimes they just don't bother. Its actually a fine line to decide what to leave for people'- we leave the basics, including tea, coffee, milk, wine, but when I clean the fridge and cupboards I always ask ''is this something I would have liked to find when I arrived?'' The half eaten sandwich that someone has left in the fridge is pretty obviously not, but open jars of mustard and jam might be useful to some people, disgusting to others (I usually give them to the cleaner)

And of course you do still find people who feel that ''it's just for the renters,'' why bother with glasses that match, good linens, etc. Some of us however feel that if we ask for money from people we owe them good quality in return.

We're about to go off to Cape Town in January, and will probably buy decent wine glasses, a plunger coffee pot, salad servers, etc. for the apartment we've rented there. Its seems to be a universal problem. (Weve upgraded wine glasses at properties aroudn the world!)

The above reply is a bit of a caricature! It is obvious that gite owners in Europe are more used to working with European visitors than non-Europeans. Probably at least 95% of bookings with gites in France come from Europeans - but to suggest that it is because they are used to dealing with Europeans that owners don't provide matching glasses or basics such as salt and pepper is a bit over the top, not to say rather detrimental to Europeans.
Most of the gite owners I know take a lot of care, and do provide these things - and often a lot more too. But they don't charge 5-star hotel prices, as some gites do. The site you mention, gite.com, has a lot of expensive gites, as you indicate. The directory I mentioned, gitelink.com, has gites for all tastes, and for different budgets; but none of those that I know in Brittany match your caricature.

<<The above reply is a bit of a caricature>>

not in my experience. Owners like Carlux are regretably in the minority. French gites in particualr seem to pare down the "extras" unless you pay for them. that is not a problem for their main customer base, ie other french people who are used as Carlux says, to bringing everything with them. it is a problem for those of us who fly in, and don't want to be laden down with salt and pepper.

we have rented an apartment in Venice at easter and I'm looking forward to finding out what is supplied - the one we rented in Rome had everything, including herbal teas and jam; in florence nothing at all!

the owners are english, so it'll be easy to find out in advance, i hope. I'll let you know on our return.

regards, ann

It's also been my experience that when renting a French-owned gîte, I find very few extras, if any, in the gîte. On the other hand, British owners are likely to offer a welcome pack.

I once arrived at a gite on a Saturday to find the beds made but there were no face or bath towels. The French owner had left a note saying he would be back three days later.

IMO, Carlux and annhig's comments are right on.

We stayed in an amazing one bedroom apartment in Dijon. It had fantastic restaurants within walking distance, decent restaurants on the same street, a mini mart on the street and a great bakery. See this site:

http://www.dijon-rentahome.com/index.html

We also took the wine tour with Max--fantastic. I liked Dijon because it is a working city, not totally touristy, and I did not want to be in too much solitude--I want to walk home after eating dinner and drinking a bottle of wine.

I have been looking for something in Brittany for some time. I have looked at a zillion places. The Gites de France site does not seem to have what I am looking for. I really don't need anything larger than a 2 bedroom..I have looked at 3 bedroom, because I didn't see anything that I liked. They seem to be quite "basic" places.

I did find many other sites. It was hard to find something that was really nice...at least in the smaller size, where I was looking.

I have found two places in two different areas. Brittany is large!I will stay two weeks in each place. They are both lovely places.

Very difficult to find, in Brittany!!!

Hi
If you want something nice and a very cocy place too, where you can communicate with the owners, you should go to the castle Hattonchatel Chateau in Lorraine.

Slot

Slot,

That is a long ways from Brittany!!

Gracejoan, I don't have any particular knowledge of Brittany, but have you browsed the Likhom and Alastair Sawday websites? We've stayed at two, maybe more, Sawday B&Bs (though I know you're looking for a gite) and liked them a lot.

I did find an absolutely lovely B & B. It is really more like a small hotel. They do serve meals.

I then decided to go for a month, staying in two locations, to be able to cover more of Brittany. The Gites de France site leaves much to be desired, both as to the lack of pictures and presentation, in general. I don't think I found more than two that I looked at twice!! All seem so "basic".

I kept searching...cannot be much that I have not seen. I did find what I was looking for..it was not easy, and I think they must be the only ones that exist!!

They are in the two locations that I wanted..have the amenities that I was looking for, including WI-FI or internet connections.