House / Villa - Trélou sur Marne

Lovely hosts, house, champagne and area.

Highly recommended property, with all you need for a great vacation. It could do with another toilet to get that fifth star. The local town of Dormans however is a bit of a ghost town so be prepared to drive out and explore.

We booked a week in Trelou Sur Marne, an idyllic working village slap bang in the middle of the Champagne region, close to a small town and within close proximity of Epernay, Chateau Thiery and Reims and within both driving and train distance of Paris.

Welcomed by the owner, whe left us a surprise bottle of her own Champagne, home-made jam and scrummy biscuits. She showed us around the house, with its three large bedrooms, well equipped kitchen and a superb bathroom with huge walk in shower. Despite the high temperatures outside, the house was comfortably cool during the day, with plenty of lounge space, a well-equipped utility room and a kitchen with everything you could possibly need. There is an open fire and I am sure it makes the house cosy and very toasty in winter.

Within the vicinity, there are plenty of 'tourist' opportunities, but we fully recommend the owner's own winery and, of course, her Champagne. If you're from the UK, the Champagne is about 50% cheaper than the UK, and a refreshing and fruity change from our 'big' brands.

The local boulangerie is very good, as are those in Dormans, some 2km away. Lidl and Leclerc can be found in Dormans too, as can the train station. Pizza van comes to the village square on a Monday night, and again, we tested it out and can report that it is fabulous.

There is parking directly opposite the Gite and the village is well worth a walk around.

Would we visit again? In a nutshell, yes. The area is lovely, the hostess is lovely, the gite is fantastic - what's not to like! More than highly recommended! If you're choosing somewhere in the Marne valley you will not do much better than book this Gite in Trelou sur Marne.

We stayed for just a couple of nights but we appreciate the owner’s hospitality and the well appointed property. We would love to come back hopefully when the grape vines are heavy with fruit.

We were so happy to have this gîte to return to every evening after our forays into the Champagne region of France. We happened to choose a week that was cool and rainy for our visit, so the working wood fireplace was especially valued. Located in a small village teeming with Champagne producers (including our hosts), the cottage was ideal as a home-base to for our exploration of Reims, Épernay, and the surrounding countryside. We spent the week enjoying many fine Champagnes beginning with the welcome-gift bottle of Champagne crafted by Sylviane and her husband. The 3- bedroom cottage was spacious and well-equipped and we frequently made our evening meals in the kitchen which was outfitted with everything needed for meal preparation. Nearby, in the village of Dormans, we shopped for groceries, bread and pastries, and enjoyed a fine lunch at the restaurant recommended in the guest guide provided Sylviane. All the amenities we look for when we rent a home away were available and worked well: the shower was great, the internet connection was reliable, and the washer and dryer allowed us to start the next leg of our journey with clean laundry. There was always room for us to park our car across the street from the gîte, no matter what time of day or night we returned from our wandering. We only regret that the weather kept us from being able to explore the Marne Valley using the bicycles made available for guests. Before leaving at the end of the week, we visited our host’s C-L Champagne cellars and purchased a bottle to bring home with us. Thank you for an excellent experience!