Group gîtes with a pool

Looking for a venue that can take dozens of people and has a swimming pool? Here are the guide's group gîtes with a pool, and further down, three reasons to book one for your next stay.

What is a group gîte with a pool?

You may never have come across the term "group gîte". To be fair, hardly anyone uses it outside the accommodation trade.

A group gîte is "large-capacity furnished accommodation reserved for hikers, groups of friends and families who wish to stay for a night, a weekend or a holiday".

Put more simply, it's a place you rent as a group, designed for 12 to 100 people in a friendly atmosphere.

Three reasons to choose a group gîte with a pool

You may still be in two minds about booking a weekend in a group gîte.

That's understandable: breaking out of your routine always takes a bit of effort. Still, group gîtes have a lot going for them, even for the more cautious among you.

Surrounded by nature

Very often, group gîtes with a pool are restored manor houses or well-preserved old châteaux. That means they usually sit in the middle of wide open countryside.

Depending on the gîte, that could be a forest where the only sounds are bellowing stags and birdsong, a big private beach with plenty of wind and sun, or the mountains, somewhere between open plains and rocky peaks. These houses are made for groups who want to get together away from the noise of the city.

Buildings with character

It isn't just the setting: the buildings themselves are often very handsome.

Many of these gîtes date back to the Middle Ages. You might sleep between stone walls several centuries old, or walk across hundred-year-old parquet floors.

You get modern comforts, but the materials and the layout of the rooms have kept their period character. You soon find yourself daydreaming.

Not all of them are old, mind you.

Some group gîtes with a pool are in recent buildings with contemporary, sometimes avant-garde architecture. In that case the architect designed them around the natural surroundings, so expect large picture windows, skylights or indoor gardens.