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Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside

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Welcome to Pandora’s Cottage!
Exterior
Front of Cottage
This is the back of the cottage, although it looks like the front!
Our Allée - Pandora’s is on the right

Reviews

9.8 out of 10, Loved by Guests
Top 10% of guest reviews in this area
2 bedrooms1 bathroomSleeps 4

Popular amenities

  • Onsite parking available
  • Kitchen
  • Washing machine
  • Deck or patio
  • Internet access
  • Fireplace

Rooms & beds

2 bedrooms (sleeps 4)

Bedroom 1

1 Double Bed

Bedroom 2

1 Double Bed

Common area 1

1 Single Bed

1 bathroom

Bathroom 1

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Spaces

Deck or patio
Kitchen
Separate dining area
Dining area

About this property

Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside

If you’re looking for a holiday away from it all, this is the perfect place! Our cottage “Pandora’s” is situated at the end of a short Allée, edged with flowers, hollyhocks, roses, and lavender, etc. There’s a sun soaked patio, countryside walks, and chickens providing fresh eggs for your breakfast. With thick stone walls, the property is cool in summer, cozy in winter. The cottage has a large lounge, separate dining room, and a well stocked kitchen. Upstairs are two double bedrooms, plus a mezzanine with single bed, and a newly fitted bathroom. We live in a converted barn opposite with our three cats and two parrots, so are on hand if you have any queries. Our African Grey Parrot likes to sit outside in her cage in the summer and talk to our guests! Our chickens are very friendly, a great hit with children-one even lays green eggs! We are in the process of making a special enclosed chicken garden for them, filled with chicken friendly plants. The terrace is a real sun trap, with table, chairs and a BBQ. There is also a cool area under the trees, just across the road, with a swing seat, and bistro table and chairs to relax with a book, or a glass of wine. We have two comfortable sun loungers for use either here or on the patio. If you’re feeling energetic, there are bikes for your use, to cycle to a nearby village for croissants etc and to explore the beautiful countryside. The coast is just a short drive away with sandy beaches, and rocky coves, or visit the picturesque villages of Talmont, or Meschers. The larger towns of Royan with it’s colourful marina and weekly market, and historic Saintes are an easy drive away. Please do feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the property, location etc
Our prices include all fees. No hidden fees.

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House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM

Minimum age to rent: 25

Check out before 10:00 AM

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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17

PLEASE NOTE-upstairs windows aren’t child safe!

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Events

No events allowed

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Pets

No pets allowed

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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Important information

You need to know

Property # 2657526vb
This property is managed by a private host (a party not acting within their trade, business or profession). EU consumer law, including the right of withdrawal, will not apply to your booking. The cancellation policy set by the private host will cover your booking.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property

About the area

Rioux

Located in Rioux, this cottage is in a rural area. Saintes Amphitheatre and Abbaye aux Dames are local landmarks, and the area's natural beauty can be seen at Plage des Nonnes and Conche de Cadet.
View more Cottages in RiouxOpens in a new window
Map
Rioux, Charente Maritime

What's nearby

  • Saint-Eutrope Church - 21 min drive - 18.8 km
  • Saintes Cathedral - 22 min drive - 19.5 km
  • Saintes Golf - 23 min drive - 19.5 km
  • Saint-Georges-de-Didonne Beach - 28 min drive - 31.0 km
  • Royan Beach - 31 min drive - 32.8 km

Getting around

  • Pons Station - 21 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Paul - ‬18 min drive
  • ‪Burger King - ‬16 min drive
  • ‪Le Boeuf Jardinier - ‬16 min drive
  • ‪Le Lion d'Or - ‬11 min drive
  • ‪Drop Zone Café - ‬13 min drive

Frequently asked questions

Is Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much does it cost to stay at Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside?

As of 12 May 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside on 29 Aug 2026 start from £63, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.

How much is parking at Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside?

On-site parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside?

Checkout is at 10:00 AM.

Where is Quiet, Characterful Cottage in Countryside located?

Situated in a rural location, this cottage is within 12 miles (20 km) of Saint-Eutrope Church, Musée de l'Échevinage and Saintes Amphitheatre. Saintes Cathedral and Musée d'Archeologie are also within 12 miles (20 km).

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 19 out of 23 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 4 out of 23 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 23 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 23 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 23 reviews

10/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

9.8/10

Communication

9.4/10

Location

10/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

Verified

10/10 Excellent

Lawrence M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Wonderful away from it all house with fantastic hosts. Great chill out location but only 15 k from the wonderful beaches around Royan.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

alison c.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Delightful stay

Excellent property and very helpful but discreet hosts. Quiet , tranquil environment with lovely small villages nearby and beautiful beaches.
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2024
Verified

8/10 Good

Wilma H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Short stay in a lovely cottage

The welcome of the owners of the cottage is heartwarming. They go the extra length to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The cottage has got everything you need, even appletrees for your fruit, chickens for your eggs and a vegetable garden for your tomatoes and herbs. A wonderful place in the heart of the Charente Maritime.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Victoria D.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Pandora's Cottage

A lovely cottage in the countryside with charming and knowledgeable hosts. Tranquil, immaculate, with well-equipped kitchen and comfortable beds. Deeply rural but close to nearby markets, bakeries and boucheries. A tour of the surrounding 12th-century churches is a must.
Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Véronique V.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Home sweet home !

Excellent quiet stay, we are at home among the birds and Mélanie's beautiful garden. Mel and Ray are adorable with lots of intentions that make life sweet. I extended my stay twice!!!
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Paul B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Magic place

What a terrific place - on many levels. We loved the area, Mel and Roy were great. Highly recommended - the reviews are bang on. Looking forward to the model traction engine displays and developments with Mel's hair styling next year....Paul & Elaine
Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2024
Verified

8/10 Good

david l.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

June/July 2024.

The cottage is exactly as described on the website. It was nice to meet the very friendly owners, the outside space is limited, but we knew this would be the case on booking. We choose this cottage for its location, and were not disappointed.
Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 14 Jul 2024
We are glad you enjoyed your holiday and the region was up to your expectations. The patio is large enough for table and chairs, plus a couple of sun loungers. As stated on the property description, there is a large grassy area on our land with swing seat, bistro table and chairs, plus sun loungers if you so wish, where you can relax under the shade of the trees.
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Colette L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

A beautiful authentic French cottage

This cottage is superb! Mel and Roy are wonderful hosts. Everything and more you need is at hand they have thought of everything. The cottage is immaculate and the outside space is a suntrap. We arrived as strangers and left as friends. We recommend Pandora Cottage its a must if you are in the area. We really didn't want to leave and hope to return again. Colette and Steve
Stayed 10 nights in Sep 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 17 Oct 2022
Thank you Colette and Steve for your lovely review of our cottage. You were our perfect guests, and fitted in to the Allée like you lived here! We very much hope you will return, there’s so much more for you to see and explore. Mel and Roy
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Michael A.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Simply wonderful….

Absolutely lovely Cottage, full of charm, beautifully clean and tidy with all mod cons and a well equipped kitchen. Wimbledon was on during my stay and UK tv was set up within minutes of asking if it was available for which another huge thank you!! On which note, Mel and Roy were wonderful hosts, very polite, kind and friendly. No hesitation at all in recommending them and their lovely Cottage to other interested guests. See you both again soon I hope.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 28 Jul 2022
Michael was a great guest, friendly and helpful. Having a gîte of his own, he was able to give us sound advice, which as this is our first year of renting out, was much appreciated. The cottage was left clean and tidy, and we hope to welcome him back here in the future.
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Sophie R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect for us

Arriving at our vacation spot with the flu is not the best way to start the vacation.But that's not a problem when you arrive at Mélanie and Roy's. Melanie immediately offered me cough syrup and honey and lemon to make a throat tea. We felt like we were arriving at a friend's house.The house is charming, tastefully decorated, a bottle of "rosé wine" and fresh eggs from the hens awaited us.Melanie and Roy take great care of their tenants without being intrusive. Georges the parrot wants to be taken care of and is delighted if you talk to him.This place is an oasis of calm and the garden is lovingly maintained. We can only recommend this rental and hope to return soon.
Stayed 14 nights in Jun 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Diana H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Es war wie auch beim ersten Besuch eine sehr schöne Zeit mit sehr hilfsbereiten, freundlichen und liebenswerten Vermieterehepaar.
Stayed 15 nights in Aug 2025
Verified

8/10 Good

Diana H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Auszeit

Wir haben ein paar schöne Tage verlebt. Die Gastgeber waren sehr höflich, zuvorkommend und haben uns sehr gut aufgenommen sowie bei Fragen und Unternehmungen unterstützt.
Stayed 13 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Thorsten P.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Sommerferien mit der Familie

Die Unterkunft war genauso, wie es die Bilder versprachen. Mit Liebe zum Detail eingerichtetes Haus, in wunderschöner Lage. Mit Gastgebern, die sich dezent im Hintergrund hielten und doch da waren, als es aufgrund einer Autopanne nötig war. Absolut empfehlenswert. Wir planen schon ein nächstes Mal. Vielen Dank.
Stayed 13 nights in Jul 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 25 Aug 2024
Many thanks for your lovely review. It was a pleasure to have you and your family stay in our cottage, and we look forward to welcoming you back in the future. Thanks also for leaving the cottage so clean and tidy!
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Pascale H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Vacances en Charente Maritime

Nous avons passé un excellent séjour dans une charmante maison où il y avait tout ce qu'il fallait.On a été très bien accueilli par les propriétaires. Ma petite fille était aux anges car elle nourrissait les poules et elle allait voir les perroquets et en plus elle a pu faire du vélo. On est prêt à y retourner. M. et Mme Huvier M.
Stayed 14 nights in Jul 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 25 Aug 2024
Many thanks for your kind review. It was a pleasure to get to know you and your family. It was also lovely to have your granddaughter to help me with the chickens! We look forward to seeing you all again in the future.
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Olivia N.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Séjour pour Noël

Gîte très convivial et chaleureux ,joliment décoré et assez spacieux. Mélanie et Roy sont des hôtes super gentils, ils ont eu plein de délicates attentions à notre arrivée. Ils sont là si besoin. Je recommande le lieu.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Super semaine

Mon fils et moi même avons passé une très bonne semaine. Le gîte est au calme et très bien équipé. Les propriétaires ont des tas de délicates attentions à notre égard dès notre arrivée. Ils sont très gentils et accueillants. Et pour les activités, elles sont riches et nombreuses pas très très loin. C'était très bien.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Sébastien R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Une superbe semaine !!!

Le logement est très mignon et surtout il fait frais ! Il y a tous ce qu'il faut a l'intérieur comme a l'extérieur. C'est confortable et très pratique. La maison a 20 30 minute des plages, de Saintes et Royan. Il y a énormément de chose a faire. C'est très calme, Mel et Roy sont des gens incroyablement gentils, chaleureux, discret et vraiment très sympathique, c'était un réel plaisir de les rencontrer et de pouvoir discuter avec eux. Nous étions avec notre fille de 5 ans, elle était aux anges de pouvoir voir les poules et autres animaux. C'était difficile de partir car, on était vraiment bien !
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Céline B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beau cottage !

Très beau cottage , bien équipé et très propre. Mel et Roy sont très sympathiques , serviables et toujours soucieux du bien-être des hôtes.
Stayed 14 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Valerie C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Charmant cottage à la campagne

Très bon accueil, maison charmante et propre à l'arrivée. Nous avons passé un très bon séjour. Seul petit bémol: la télévision ne fonctionnait pas correctement. Mais nous n'avons signalé le problème qu'à notre départ Fenêtres à l'étage potentiellement dangereuses pour de jeunes enfants. A sécuriser si possible.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2023
Response from VrboOwner on 30 Jul 2023
Suite à notre récent examen, nos fenêtres sont désormais à l'épreuve des enfants. Le téléviseur a maintenant été entièrement réaccordé et dispose de toutes les chaînes. Nous pensons que le problème a été causé par des vents violents.
Verified

8/10 Good

bernadette et jean-pierre M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location, listing accuracy

très bien,

cottage de charme, environnement calme et au cœur de la campagne
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022
Verified

10/10 Excellent

MICKAEL V.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excellent

Un grand merci à Mel et Roy pour leur disponibilité, leur gentillesse, leurs nombreuses attentions en tant qu'hôtes Je recommande vivement cette location ou tout est fait pour le confort des vacanciers : lits faits, linge de toilette à l'arrivée... Maison très fonctionnelle
Stayed 11 nights in Jul 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 9 Aug 2022
Merci de nous avoir donné un bon commentaire, et aussi d’avoir quitté la maison si magnifiquement propre et bien rangée. J’aimerais également vous remercier de m’avoir transmis vos condoléances, cela a été très apprécié. J’étais désolé de ne pas être là pour votre départ. Nous espérons vous accueillir à nouveau dans notre chalet à l’avenir.
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Céline J.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Gîte coquet

Nos hôtes étaient aussi discrets qu'agréables. Ils se sont montrés très prévenants et attentionnés. Le gîte pour un réel dépaysement.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022
Verified

10/10 Excellent

francois l.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Un endroit vraiment très agreable

Nous avons séjourné dans ce cottage très agréable équipé très propre et calme à 30mn des plages. Mel et Roy se sont mis en quatre pour rendre ce séjour encore plus appréciable. Tout est à disposition et mérite réellement de s attarder dans cet endroit de la Charente maritime peu connu et ressourçant. Merci encore à Mel et Roy pour votre accueil.
Stayed 4 nights in May 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 4 Jun 2022
Thank you so much for reviewing our cottage. We were very happy to have you as our very first guests, and would be delighted to welcome you back in the future.

About the host

Hosted by Mel & Roy Dickson

Host profile image

We first came to this beautiful part of France for our honeymoon in 2000. Although we travelled to many regions, it was always to here that we returned. The area seemed to have everything we were looking for, an especially good climate, beautiful beaches, the estuary with all its bird life, historic towns, and quaint villages. In 2006 I came into an inheritance from my father, and it seemed a perfect way to remember him, and an opportunity to buy our own holiday home.

Why they chose this property

“Pandora’s “ was the first cottage we viewed, and we both fell instantly in love with it. The purchase went through smoothly, and we came over as often as we could, for holidays, and to improve the property and garden. A few years later, we decided to take the plunge and move over here full time - and we have never regretted it. Since then, we have been able to purchase the barn opposite, and over the years, with the help of a builder/friend it has been renovated, and we have now moved in.

What makes this property unique

With the cottage standing empty, it seems the perfect time to share our little piece of heaven with others, and hope that they can enjoy the peace and tranquility of this beautiful area, and make some great holiday memories. “Pandora’s” was very much our first love, and still has a homely feel, rather than just a holiday cottage - we hope others can enjoy it as much as we have. Happy Holidays!

Languages:

English, French

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