Welcome to La Cerisaie - Chambres d'hôtes & gîtes

La Cerisaie will be open in 2024 from 1 April - 29 September. Only the last weekend of October (25, 26 & 27 October) we will be open again for the 'fete de chaitaigne' in Saint-Pons. A stay is then possible from 2 nights.
We look forward to welcoming you back in 2025 when we open on May 1st.

Do you fancy a wonderful relaxing holiday in the South of France, and do you want to sleep in one of the five beautiful rooms of a beautiful and stately 'maison de maître' or in one of the two nice gîtes? Then you have come to the right place! In the village of Riols, located in the provincial nature park 'Haut-Languedoc' lies our chambres d'hôtes 'La Cerisaie' (or: the cherry orchard); a mansion from 1869 surrounded by a beautiful garden with many flowers and plants, seats, sun loungers and two hammocks. A nice swimming pool of 10 x 5 meters, surrounded by hardwood chairdecks, to relax, makes it a wonderful place.

La Cerisaie breathes the atmosphere of the past, combined with modern comfort. The house is elegant, has a lot of charm and is full of authentic elements such as old wooden floors, marble fireplaces and doors and windows with cut glass. The house has five comfortable rooms, and a studio, for those who also want a kitchen / kitchenette. In the old coach house behind the maison there are two gîtes: one for two and one for four people. All rooms and gîtes have a private bathroom and the beds are made of wonderfully soft and cooling Egyptian percale cotton.

On the ground floor of the maison we have a common living room with (exchange) library and games, a dining room (with a large oval table) for when the weather is bad and where a maximum of twelve people can eat and the breakfast room, where we can also eat with more guests. In this breakfast room there is also a piano, where you can play to your heart's content.

In general, we cook a three-course meal on Saturday, Monday and Thursday evenings, which we serve at long tables outside on the terrace, or inside if the weather is bad. On other days (except Tuesday) you can order a cheese and/or charcuterie board.

There is plenty to do in the area: you can go hiking, cycling, swimming in the lakes or the river Jaur, visit wine estates or go to nice villages such as Olargues, Minerve or Roquebrun and visit the weekly market there, for example.

La Cerisaie welcomes guests aged sixteen and over in the pre- and post-season. In July & August, families with children aged twelve and over are welcome in the gîtes. Dogs are welcome in the gîtes (only after consultation). Because Teun, our new cat, also lives at La Cerisaie. Teun has been taking French lessons for a while now to make friends with the neighbouring cats :).



On Tuesdays we are free; generally you cannot check in then. If you would like to do so, please discuss it with us to see if there is a possibility for that.

La Cerisaie is a wonderful place to spend a carefree holiday and to discover the beautiful surroundings of the Haut-Languedoc. Are you still in doubt? Sometimes a picture says more than a word. Watch a short film about La Cerisaie here.

PS 1: For the creative types we offer a landscape painting workshop on 21 & 22 September, given by Els Knockaert . There is also a cycling, walking or motor package for guests who want to explore the area. For more information, see our page on theme weeks and packages.

Even voorstellen

We have been the (Dutch) owners of La Cerisaie since 2023. After years in healthcare (Leon Verest as a general practitioner, Stefan Wigger as an advisor), we have changed course to offer guests a wonderful stay in our attractive chambres d'hôtes.

Leon: "I have enjoyed working as a general practitioner for almost 25 years. I will miss that profession enormously, but I also want to fulfill another dream. After all, we only have one life to live. So on to an adventure together with my husband in France. A new start and a new job. With a lot of contact with people, but in a different way than I had as a general practitioner."
Stefan: "I had the idea of starting a B&B for a long time. In 2022, it took shape when we had a two-month sabbatical in France. When we were looking for a suitable property and visited La Cerisaie, we were a block in front of this beautiful building. We saw several houses, but we always compared the houses with La Cerisaie. It was clear: this house chose us."

We both enjoy good food and good wines. In Amsterdam we often stood together in the kitchen of our houseboat to treat friends and family to a delicious dinner. We take that with us to our life in France. In general, we cook a three-course menu on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday and we enjoy it at the table with our guests. When the weather is nice we eat outside at a long table in front of the maison, when the weather is less nice we sit in the dining room.

Hope to see you again!