People return year after year to the Combourieu family's outstanding converted farmhouse hotel. Surprisingly sophisticated yet inexpensive, it is on the edge of a village in the remote Cantal uplands. The dynamic, fourth-generation owners are justifiably proud of their auberge. Madame and her team are always smiling.
Service in the restaurant, usually full of locals, is first class, even under pressure. Both food and wines are rated excellent value. The late André Combourieu's daughter Marie now cooks for hotel guests in one of the two restaurants and the cuisine (Michelin Bib Gourmand) comes in generous portions. Special dishes can be ordered the day before and some prefer this option to half-board. Unless you stay in the annexe, breakfast is a bit of a DIY bun-fight - viz pour-your-own-coffee from an urn and make-your-own-toast - but you can smell the huge croissants baking after 7 am.
In the attractive bar/lounge, a log fire is lit on cooler evenings. The best rooms are obviously in the 3-star annexe, Le Clos des Gentianes which faces a fishing pond 300m from the hotel; here we have the restaurant Au Fourneau de Marie where the late Andre Combouurieu's daughter Marie now cooks.
The 2-star accommodation, with its more rustic appeal, is split between a pine-walled chalet and the neighbouring auberge where Stephane Dubois is the chef in the main restaurant. The outdoor pool has a bucolic setting whereas the heated indoor pool, with sauna, is rather shallow. For the active family, there is a games room, gym and climbing wall. Go cross-country skiing in winter or, when the snow has melted, hire mountain bikes or yomp along the clearly marked trails. Whatever the season, the views are unforgettable.