swimming pools in the dordogne
 

Hi. Does anyone know if it would be best to hire a gite with a heated pool or not in July in south dordogne? Our kids are 3 and 6 and so can get cold quite easily. We've narrowed down our search to 2 places - we prefer the one without the heated pool but as we plan to spend most of the holiday swimming in it, it would be a shame to have a lovely house but a pool thats too cold to swim in! Thanks.

temps in the Dordogne in summer are hot - no need for a heated pool - I camped with my son there once and the camp pools were not heated and the water was nice and warm.

I was there in August and it was hot and I think that is usual. Hopefully some Dordogne expert like St-Cirq who lives there part of the year will confirm or correct this.

It's hard for me to believe that anyone in the Dordogne is paying to heat a pool in July, unless it's in some totally shaded corner of forestland. Did they actually tell you it would be heated in July? At any rate, under normal circumstances, no one would ever need a heated pool at that time of year. It can be beastly hot in July - a heated pool wouldn't be at all pleasant.

I highly recommend Le Chevrefuille in St. Cyprien. We stayed in a family room for 6 nights in July 2011 with our then 4 and 6 year old daughters. They also have gites available, I believe. I am not sure if the pool is heated but it was plenty warm. There is also a nearby lake and pool with slides, rides, and other water features. We spent a fun day there as well. My daughter's picture is even on the pool page on the website! Their pool was new in 2011. They cook wonderful meals as well. http://lechevrefeuille.com/
Message me if you'd like more info about our trip. We traveled for 7 1/2 weeks with our kids in 2011 and kept a blog. Happy travels!

we prefer the one without the heated pool but as we plan to spend most of the holiday swimming in it>

you are going to spend most of your time in the Dordogne swimming in the same pool?

Seems like you could save a lot of money and stay at home and do that!

Yes, odd, as is the comment about the kids getting cold easily because of their ages. We always had to drag ours out of pools, even cold ones.

And there are plenty of beaches along the banks of the Dordogne, too, where it's nice to play with other kids in the warm (in July) river. And some nice lakes, too.

If swimming in the Dordogne as I saw many folks do and my son did beware of the piranhas that allegedly haunt the river - coming in from the bilge of some ship - but thought they have been documented they exist not in dangerous large schools but harmless solitary fish for the most part.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-dordogne.cfm

at least in 2005 there were!

We stayed here in July with 7 and 11 year olds and they loved the pool. I highly recommend this gite.
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p74875

Thanks for your helpful comments (perhaps not the piranha one, mind!)

I never heat my pol in July and can't imagine anyone else doing it. Get out occasionally to see the area.