We have stayed at Artemis en Provence three times so here is an extensive review.
We look for places where we can stay for a week or two as we don’t gallivant and we both work and write while travelling.
Oh that the internet was halfway reasonable in a few more establishments in Europe.
We like the location, nicely treed and about 1 km from Roussillon.
It was started by an American called Suzanne in 2009. She tried to make the two apartments, both downstairs, accessible for wheelchairs. The apartments face a swimming pool and Suzanne also bought a contraption to help wheelies into the pool. To her disappointment we never tried it because we always found it too cold, but others seem to like it. We like the walk up to Roussillon, which has a small supermarket and some OK restaurants.
It is also not far to various hilly towns such as Goult and Gordes, or even to Avignon. Best to have a car though (we get ours from Handynamic in Lyon)|.
The Ochre museum is just down the road 500 metres too.
The price is also pretty reasonable.
This year (2106), we have been the only guests, which has been wonderfully peaceful.
Sadly, Suzanne is having some heath problems and we wonder if the place will continue much longer as a gîte.
There is a lot of choice of accomodation about and if we didn’t need wheelie access we might look elsewhere, although ironically one reason we have doubts is an issue with access, which is not so important for many.
So, some some good points, followed by a litany of complaints:
The lounge table is good for wheelies
Peaceful, pleasant outside, especially when no other guests
Gardens a bit run down but pleasant
The bedroom window has a nice view although it’s not private if other guests are wandering past
Wood heater thing for winter
About 1 km to Roussillon up the hill
About 500 metres to Les Ochres Museum (good, but no cafe)
There’s a tiny TV (we didn’t need it) and an old boom box thing.
The fridge is OK.
There is a round trampoline
The door handles are mostly levers, which is good
Some of the light switches are the large accessible type
The wifi is much improved although weak in the bedroom, (and the password is the longest I have ever seen (about 30 random characters)
However:
The lighting is mostly inadequate, we reckon.
The front door sill is too high for wheelies. It’s concreted to improve it outside but needs a small rubber ramp or such inside.
There is no air conditioning, (we borrowed a fan)
No screens on the doors or windows, so if you open them for cool air lot’s of mozzies come in.
Gravel in driveway difficult
Bed ludicrously low for a wheelie (about the lowest I have seen).
We put books under the 6 legs which helped a bit, then we put other gite’s mattress on as well when the other guests left. Now it’s too high, which is better than too low.
Pool a bit cold even on 34 degree days (heating cover often not put on).
Both showers flood everywhere, common with many “roll-in” showers. A large squeegee is provided to assist.
Shower control too easy to knock, especially in a shower wheelchair
Shower incredibly hot, not safe
Stovetop takes ages to warm up
The front door is very difficult to lock
Overall, it’s hard to find even poor wheelie accommodation with a kitchen so this is OK which is why we have returned. It is also value for money. A few more accessible gîtes are appearing in France, as well as a few BnBs and hotels so shop around if you can be bothered. Many (most) hotels have dodgy accessible rooms and most are the worst room in the hotel (car-park views, anyone?)
