Holiday cottages and the Gites de France rating system

The Gitelink France directory

Gites de France and other organisations

Gites & B&Bs in the Gitelink France directory

Gitelink France is a totally independent directory, offering a selection of gites and B&B accommodation that can be thoroughly checked out before booking, thanks to their full and well illustrated websites. Since each property is presented on its own independent website, there is no limit to the amount of information and photos that can be provided, and most websites in the directory are copiously illustrated.
Gitelink France lists only properties that provide a fully illustrated website, and offer a relaxing and pleasant holiday environment. Most properties have gardens for the enjoyment of visitors, and those that do not make up for it in other ways, such as a historic location, a sunny terrace, a magnificent view, or something similar.
The Gitelink directory does knowingly list holiday cottages or gites that are right beside a main road, or in an otherwise noisy location.
Many of the gites and B&Bs in the Gitelink Directory can be booked with English speaking owners, and can be paid for in sterling or euros. Specific pages of this directory also provide travellers with a selection of chateaux and manors.
For anyone planning holidays in France, gites or self-catering cottages to rent can offer an attractive and economic alternative to hotels.

The Gitelink gites directory pages list gites and holiday cottages in France, that may or may not be listed with the organisation known as "Gites de France".

Gites de France is a large French organisation that lists and classifies gites. There is absolutely no requirement for owners to sign up to Gites de France, and many, particularly foreign residents, British and Dutch owners, for example, do not do so.
The Gites de France association was founded shortly after the second world war, and developed essentially to help French farmers supplement their meagre incomes by providing fairly rudimentary rural accommodation, at the same time offering people from the towns and cities an opportunity to cater for themselves in deepest rural France. Even today, some of the gîtes offered through the Gites de France catalogue are still quite basic, and some are quite small - though this is by no means the norm.

The Gites de France rating system:
Gites de France rate all properties with what they call "épis", meaning litterally "ears of wheat"; The classification goes from one épi to five épis, with two and three épis being the most common rankings. It is important to note that the Gites de France rating system is based on amenities, not on the quality of those amenities; so it is possible for gites to get a three épi ranking as long as they offer the correct amenities, even if they provide cramped accommodation within earshot of a busy main road. Conversely, a gite without a telephone landline or French television or a dishwasher does not have all the amenities required to be classed 3 épis, and could only be ranked with two épis (or just one épi, if it had no TV at all), even if it were otherwise a luxurious "bijou" holiday cottage, catering for people who do not want to spend their evenings watching French television.....

A minority of the properties advertised in the Gitelink directory are listed with Gites de France; the majority are not. However, many of the properties advertised on Gitelink offer most of the qualities required for a four-épi rating with Gites de France, namely buildings of traditional character, attractive and good quality interior furnishings, wood stove or fireplace. Many also correspond to the requirements of a Gites de France 5 épi ranking, offering a private garden, swimming pool, games room and /or other facilities.

Besides Gites de France, there is a second accrediting organisation recognised by the French ministry of tourism, and that is Clévacances. Much smaller than Gites de France, Clévacances is also a much more recent organisation, set up in 1995 by the merger of three smaller associations, Nidvacances, Meublé confiance, and Cléconfort. Clévacance's rating system is based on quality as well as amenities, rather like the ETB's ranking for B&B accommodation in England

Gite or B&B owners:

Add site: add your property to Gitelink France
Gitelink is a successful online travel portal for the promotion of independent gites, country cottages to let, holiday villas or bed & breakfast establishments in France, or even small group of gites to rent.
See our announcers page for further information.
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Propriétaires :

Inscrivez votre site sur Gitelink France:
Si vous avez déjà un site qui présente votre gîte ou vos chambres d'hôtes, qu'il soit ou non inscrit aux Gites de France, cliquez ici pour plus d'informations.
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