The Good House

NUMBER OF ROOMS: 8 rooms
ANNUAL CLOSURE: Open all year round

THE STORY: In the Painvin family (the former innkeepers of the Comptoir d’Aubrac who now run The Good House), ask for mama Catherine, who is in charge of decor, her son Guillaume, who cooks up the savory food, and her daughter-in-law Ana, who takes care of the desserts. The whole gang settled into the outskirts of the Perche department in 2015, in two 16th- and 19th-century manors and their outbuildings. The results? Eight warm bedrooms (blonde wood, soft carpeting, dim lighting and fireplaces) spread out over the two gîtes, English-cottage-style lounges where you can laze about, as well as a plant-heavy dining room that feels like an indoor, candlelit forest. At the dinner table, you’ll nibble on dishes stewed up using local, seasonal ingredients, fresh herbs from the garden and eggs laid by the family’s hens. Plenty of good things to help you get your strength back before surveying the 38-hectare estate, dotted with forests and ponds. A taste of life in a castle that’s good for the soul. Double rooms starting at €120 a night.

TOILETRIES: Small soaps and shampoo.
INTERNET: Wifi.
BREAKFAST: A set €15 menu, with coffee or tea, bread, viennoiseries, butter, yogurt and seasonal fruit included, or a more copious €35 menu with, in addition to all that, brioche, cheese, charcuterie, salmon, scrambled eggs and bacon…
LITTLE LUXURY: Relax in good company in the double bath in the large gîte.