Our family - 14 of us - aged 5 to 76 years, have again spent a wonderful week in this lovely villa with superb facilities for all the family. Serenita is ideal for a large family group with more than ample space for everyone to spread out and do their own thing or, alternatively, with plenty of space for family games not to mention the pool and tennis court. An ideal holiday rental! The Clarks 13/08/11

Three generations of our family had a wonderful Week's holiday, with lots of swimming and tennis, and some use of the games' room, but not even a request to use TV. The house and grounds are spacious and well-equipped, and fully met our needs
Virginia and Paul Kennedy

Dear louisa & Chris
Candy and I have got as far as the Ilse de Rė and of course the weather is sunny and oodles warmer!! Off to the Ferry tomorrow and will look forward to your cheque on my return to the real world.
We all had a great time in your lovely house. Your help before my arrival made it so much easier and all the bookings you made were excellent. We had a superb meal at the Tour de Vents Restaurant just below the Bergerac Airport after we left you.
Every good wish, Wendy.
Sent on my iPad.
On 13 Jun 2011, at 13:06, "louisa taylor" Sent on my iPad.

Our second family stay at the Manoir and as good as the last, family tennis tournament, cycle rides and even a canoe on the canal du Midi. Caterers for a birthday party were great and the property with its garden and facilities made for a wonderful holiday.

Thanks,
The Roberts Family

We would highly recommend Manoir Serenitas to anyone.
The attention to detail by Chris & Louisa made for a perfect week stay which was enjoyed by everyone.
Apart from a few visits out, most of us stayed around the house, gardens and the pool, which, when the sun was out was our own little bit of paradise.
The four children (9yrs to 13yrs) had so much to do it allowed the grown- ups to relax, which was just what we all needed.

Our 2010 Gardiner Family holiday will be fondly remembered for a very long time!.

We had a wonderful time staying at Manoir Serinita this summer. The house is beautifully decorated and very well equipped. The grounds are very impressive and daily tennis tournaments were great fun. We enjoyed spending most days discovering the Aquitaine region or soaking up the sun by the pool. A big thank you to Chris and Louisa.

Dear Chris & Louisa
Have been trying to lodge a (VERY!) favourable few words about Serenita on the XOMreviews site but, despite registering with password etc., I regret I seem not to have succeeded - despite a few tries! Please feel free, therefore, to use the following words.
"We are a group of 14 friends - most now retired! - who have been socialising/holidaying together for over 25 years, usually once every couple of years or so, renting large or adjoining properties in various parts of Europe and the UK. We have just spent our BEST group holiday ever in Serentia - Chris & Louisa Taylor's fantastic house in the south of France which offers EVERY convenience and is so superbly equipped, maintained and standing in such fantastic grounds that none of us really wanted to go anywhere else during the week, just BBQ, laze by the pool, play tennis, boule, badminton etc. and walk through the neighbouring woods to see the abundance of wildlife. Louisa even arranged for a local Chef/Artisan (Pascale) to come in and cook for us all on a couple of evenings - absolute bliss! A real 5 star holiday holiday rental experience made by Chris & Louisa's attention to detail, warm reception, and upkeep of their property. Thoroughly recommended".
Tom & Felicity
P.S. MANY thanks for the return of our Deposit.

What a great house, facilities and location. We were a group of 15 'mature' microlight fliers, and found that the house suited our needs superbly. We left our aircraft at Marmande and only had one flying trip out during our stay, preferring to enjoy what the house had to offer. We ate outside every day, and only used the excellent dining room as a chart table. For a large group this house is ideal, and Chris could not have been more helpful - highly recommended.

The photos do not do this Villa justice! Serenita allowed 7 couples and 5 babies (6 mths-3 yrs old) to each have their own individual space as well as wonderful together time. The layout of the house & grounds is perfect for family time in the day & boisterous adult noise in the evening without affecting kids. Chris & Louisa have obviously put an immense amount of thought into the practical functioning of the Villa & could not have been more helpful in the build up & during our stay. We will be recommending this place to everyone.

Eighteen of us assembled at Manoir Serenita last month including one pair of grandparents, three sets of parents and eight small people whose ages ranged from 10 years to 10 months. We much appreciated the really excellent facilities for all ages and enjoyed a marvellous week in great comfort. The standard of furnishing and decor is most impressive, while the pool, tennis court and games room are outstanding. As a result we hardly left the premises and consider this to have been the best family holiday so far in a delightful part of France. We certainly hope to return sometime soon. Zoya Vaux

We have stayed at Chris & Louisa's smaller Manoir Coutenson in the past and always had the best holiday ever. Since the arrival of babies & children into our holiday gang we needed somewhere a bit bigger and serenitas fitted the bill perfectly.
Everything was as expected - the house was immaculate and well laid-out, there was loads to do to keep the children and fidgety adults occupied and we can't wait to go back!

It was big enough to have your own space - even among 14 adults and 4 children - but after just one day we all felt really at home.

We wouldn't have changed a thing about the house or the location - it was just perfect!!!

Don't bother looking at any other reviews - this is the only one that matters!
Our family, 18 of us, (plus or minus a few each year due to natural events) enjoy renting large houses for our holidays. We enjoy exploring different parts of France so we rarely visit the same place twice. This time we will make an exception.
If you are not happy with your visit, I want to meet you - I thought that I was the most critical person on the planet.
Christopher and Louisa - Thank you very much!

-- Original Message --
From: Grania Thornton
To: Christopher Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 10:04 AM
Subject: Re: Thornton Booking 04/07/0 to 18/07/09

Hi Chris & Louisa,

Just wanted to send you a quick message to say thanks for a fantastic holiday. The house had something for every age group & we saw so much wild life,seeing the deer run across the road at the bottom of the drive was brilliant. Garry left his car window slighlty open and got a visitor who left a terrible smell. We also enjoyed the couple of stroms we had although it did knock the electric off. We would definiteley book the house again,the area is also lovely and the restaurant in town Le Posterne I think it was called, was lovely and staff so friendly.We left a message in the visitors book but obviously we couldn't mention everything or it would have taken too many pages of your book up.

Once again thank you and hope to see you again in the future. Maybe we could even try one of your other properties. I also meant to add that the downstairs bedroom was a godsend for my mum

Kind Regards
Grania

Had a fabulouse time at Serenitas, all 16 of us between 9months and 81yrs of sge, something for everyone. Very well equiped, we didnt want for anything, everywhere very well mantained. We had great weather so did not use the dining room at all,Bbq was very well used!!.Thank you Chris & Louisa for renting us your beautiful home. Maybe we will come again soon.
All the best Mark&Sheila Cunningham& Families.

-- Original Message --
From: Philippa Symington
To: Louisa Taylor
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 7:20 PM
Subject: Thank you
Dear Chris and Louisa

Thank you for the deposit cheque which arrived recently.
We had a wonderful holiday at Serenitas with all the family to celebrate Granny and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary.

The house was perfect for us, and we all felt the photos on your website didn't do it full justice - much prettier than we had imagined! The children spent much of the time in the pool or in the games room, adults stayed up late in the arbri or playing table football, and trying to make a hole in the wine cellar! The weather was lovely apart from one day, so we all came home with a nice colour.

The three meals we had from the charcuterie were very good, otherwise we bought meats, pates and cheese from the markets and BBQed in the evenings. And ate masses of cherries! We only had one meal in the dining room; we used the arbri the whole time.


Several of my friends have said they would be interested in looking at Serenitas for their big family celebration, so I'll pass on the details. My commission rates are very reasonable!

Regards,

Philippa

Hi Chris

Sincere apologies for not replying sooner, I very rarely check my hotmail account if I am not expecting mail but thought I would drop you a line to say thank for the cheque you have sent us and appreciate you not charging for the bin.
Finally a big thanks to you & Louisa for letting us spend 2 weeks in your very special home, we had a fantastic time there and we were all extremely sad to leave- it will be an unforgettable holiday.

Thanks you once again and all the best to you both

Tracey (& Lee!)

What a fabulous holiday! The manoir was an ideal setting for the joint celebration of 2 much loved grandparents who are 70 years young! So much space, we lost the children. The pool was great, the right depth and temperature. Many hours were spent submerged in water. I think some of the children grew fins and flippers. We didn't venture far from the manoir, although we nearly had to send out a search party for some intrepid walkers in the family who got lost in the woods. Everyone was happy spending time together, playing tennis, badminton, table-tennis, basketball, rounders, cards, reading and drinking the excellent wine. The covered patio area was much loved by maturing adults who prefer the shade. We used the BBQ regularly. The outstanding facilities made this a memorable holiday for us all.Casteljaloux is a beautiful place to visit especially on Tuesday Market Day. Thank-you Chris & Louisa

We have just returned from a 70th Birthday celebration with all 18 members of our family. It is a beautiful house well maintained in a lovely part of France and a splendid venue for such an event which has provided us with so many indelible memories. We were unlucky with the weather in a summer which seems to have been widespread in its lack of sunshine but we were still able to make much use of the great outdoor dining area and the 10 children amongst us were in the pool almost every day. It was Festival time and the Spanish evening in Casteljaloux with its dancers and fireworks was enjoyed by us all. A few small points: with members of the party traveling from America and England, provision of pool towels would have been welcome as would some Melamine plates and bowls for the children so avoiding worries about the good stuff!. Cheap tennis racquets (9 Euros from Decathlon) would have been appreciated. The web site gives you a pretty accurate description - what you see is what you get and jolly good it is too!
A great spot!
David Noble and family

We have just returned from a wonderful week at Serenita. The house was perfect for a holiday with children. The setting and facilities were all first rate. Chris and Louisa were very attentive (and patient!) with our questions and requests. I would certainly hope to return for another holiday at Serenita.

Having rented four villas in France this was undoubtedly the best. It was immaculately clean and extremely well fitted out with an abundance of crockery, cutlery etc - all of which matched! The design of the property was well thought out with the opportunity for families to be together yet space for those who want to be on their own. Highly recommended without hesitation.

We had a wonderful holiday - there were 3 families in total with 8 children under the age of 8 - the whole villa is very well set up, the pool is great (plenty of sunbeds too!) and the tennis court is in very good condition. The dining and seating area next to the BBQ also work really well and it is not too far from the kitchen to trek with all your food etc. We all thought the bedrooms were a cut above the usual standard found in a rented villa. Games room is also well equipped. Gardens were great too - plenty of space for kids to run around, play cricket etc. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we have already booked a week for next summer!!

Dear Chris and Louisa



Manoir Serenita is a very nice place with high standard. Everything was perfect.

To weeks is too short when one shall sunbathe, play tennis, use the site's games room, go shopping, see the area, visit Bordeaux and the cost, eat and try to kill the house wine cellar.
We are happy for our choice of houses and area. Three of us who like cycling found a landlord in Marmande, who ga us very good service and assistance (Bike & Velo). We'd recommend.



Check has arrived and is to be submitted by the bank tomorrow.

We look forward to the next trip to France and can happen, we come back. We would recommend the place to our Norwegian friends and acquaintances.

I hope this map link and the google.world link (attached) can be of help. ( taken out )



best wishes

Svein and all the others
e.mail sent to owners from three Norwegian families july 2008

What a fantastic place. Our party consisted of 12 adults and 3 children (ranging from 3 months to 91 years!) and despite the number of adults, we didn't feel we were on top of each other - lots of space to go and do your own thing. The grounds were immaculate (as was the house) and all the leisure facilities kept both young and old occupied even when the weather wasn't so great. We would thoroughly recommend it and hope to go back one day. The owners were incredibly helpful too - all in all a gem of a find!

the owners of manoir serenita asked us if we would be kind enough to add a comment about our stay.well what can i say!! having just stayed there for a week, we are more than happy to say that the manoir was way beyond what we had expected. the moment the huge decorative electric gates opened onto the long tree lined drive to the house we knew we had chosen the right place.this is the best house or more like stately home we have ever stayed in.the decor was superb, luxury down to the last spoon in the kitchen, and so much to do! games room ,swimming pool tennis court to mention a few.everything was just perfect.even the weather. we have booked for a 65h birthday all 18 of us, will have to wait till dad is 130 before we can go again but am sure we will find another excuse. just truly a wonderful experiance

A beautiful house with everything you could wish for in a holiday home.Very child friendly and the outdoor dinnig area makes long leisurely lunches a must!!We will be back.

WOW! a wonderful house and grounds- the pictures and even virtual tour dont do it justice- immaculately clean - reasonable amount to do and see in the area if you feel the need to go out, but majority of the youngsters and a number of the adults were happy to stay for most of the time at the manoir and enjoy the huge range of activities-swimming/table tennis/tennis/darts/pool/boules/basketball/volleyball/table football/exercise equipment/dvd and cd players/piano/jigsaws etc that were available - grounds were very spacious and lent themselves to hiding and chasing games /cricket etc- plenty of space /rooms to also be alone/private if you wanted - we also used a chef who came and cooked one evening for all 19 of us who was very good value - we're already recommending it to friends...A brilliant place to enjoy with a large extended family (ours ranged from 5-80yrs old)

This really is a superb Manoir with all the facilities that you would want for a holiday with friends or family. On arrival, you will be impressed by the drive up to the house and once inside you can relax in comfortable and clean surroundings. Everything works ! We had a very enjoyable week and would not hesitate to recommend this manoir.

Stunning house which was immaculately presented, with beautiful gardens, tennis court and swimming pool. All was to the highest standard, and made our holiday such a pleasure. There was also lots to do in the local villages. Thanks to the owners for making our holiday so very enjoyable.

Wonderfully relaxing. A great place to keep eleven children and six adults happy for hours. After six years of going from chateaux to chateaux this was the best yet. Thoroughly recommended.

we saw this site some while ago , and decided to have a look at this manoir for a large family gathering next year it happened that this years holiday house was not that far away ,the owners very kindly showed us over on a changeover day , well , the photos do not do the house justice , have to say its the best place we have ever seen and have booked it for 2008