Beautiful, accessible gîte
4.5
4.5
Date of visit: August 2018
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: moving around
Overall Rating
Excellent
La Fresnaie is a beautiful cottage with lots of accessibility features and a lot of thought has gone into the design, such as having a covered area for parking, so you are sheltered whatever the weather. The thresholds are low, doorways wide and in the kitchen, the hob is at a lower height. There is a good variety of types of chair both inside and out and plenty of cushions so you can choose what is comfiest for you. The only problem for me was that the dining table was not the sort you can sit at in a wheelchair - at first I used an ordinary chair then we put a book under each table leg to raise it! Outside, you can sit under cover or not as you wish and enjoy the peace and quiet and watch the red squirrels and the buzzards. The local villages are quaint but not necessarily that accessible but there are plenty of supermarkets nearby, many of which do delicious home-made style meals to take away and reheat. The countryside thereabouts is lovely and there is a charming rose garden (La Roseraie) at Lassay-les-Chateaux for a modest and very easily accessible visit - tarmac carpark and fine gravel paths.
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
Low thresholds and wide doorways, plenty of space to get around. There is a double and twin and bathroom downstairs plus two further bedrooms and a bathroom and toilet upstairs. The double room can also be configured as a twin. We had it as a double and there was plenty of space to access it from either side. A commode/shower chair can be borrowed if required. There is more information about accessibility features on the owners' website.
Parking & Transport
Excellent
Hard standing immediately outside the door with cover.
Accessible Toilets
Excellent
There were grabrails on the left as you sat on the loo plus a dropdown rail on the right - I would have liked an additional vertical one. The shower is wheelchair accessible and had grabrails to the left of the drop-down seat and a drop-down rail to the right -- see photos.
Staff
Excellent
Paula and Nigel, the owners, were very welcoming and explained how everything worked and were happy to recommend places to go. They made sure we had their mobile number if we needed to contact them.
Additional Information
This is a really beautifully decorated cottage and in such lovely surroundings. If the accessibility features suit you, I thoroughly recommend it.
