Cottages Croix L'abbé, les Mouettes

We had a lovely week here, despite visiting in a heatwave! The cottage is a beautiful old building off a shady courtyard and has been decorated to match its character. It’s in a good location within walking distance of bars, shops and restaurants and it has free parking which is a bonus in St Valery as parking can be expensive. The host was on site and very responsive, we had a problem with the shower and he came to look at it within half an hour and replaced it the next day. Just a few things to mention if you have any kind of physical disability, however minor (my partner has fibromyalgia and so struggles with walking); this is an old property, in an old medieval town. It is beautiful, but it is also tricky in some ways - the stairs are steep, the floors are uneven and there is no handrail in the bath/shower so watch your step getting in and out. The cottage is accessed through a gravelled courtyard which means you can’t use a wheelchair or scooter. The free parking is at the back of the building so you need to park and then walk down to the front of the property - it’s not far but it is a walk. There is paid parking right outside the courtyard however, we resorted to this at times for ease (and it’s free from 7pm to 9am). The bed in the main bedroom is very low, but is an electric adjustable recliner one. There is only one small wardrobe in the twin bedroom which is a bit difficult to access but we used the sturdy hooks behind the doors for hanging clothes. All in all my partner managed and we had a very enjoyable time here, it’s well equipped and as I say the host was very helpful. We did need to buy a couple of fans in the local DIY shop because of the heatwave as the upper floor of the cottage was very hot, we left them there so hopefully future guests can make use of them. We would like to come and visit again, but this time without the heatwave..!

Nothing… it’s beautiful and full of character. We just wish we had been physically more able to cope with the heat and the accessibility issues.