Auberge du Chiroulet

My OH and I love the beautiful Vallée Lesponne in the Pyrenées, and wanted to explore it further with a view one day to purchasing a holiday home there. The Auberge Chiroulet is situated right at the end of the valley, and perfect for walkers. In telephone conversations ahead of our stay, Madame, Dani, was very friendly and accommodating, and so she was when we arrived. We were shown to our room, a good size with views out onto the beginning of the walk up to Le Lac Bleu. Lovely comfortable bed, and a compact but well-equipped bathroom. After we settled in, dinner was served in the dining room in front of a massive roaring log fire which made us sigh with pleasure! Meals are cooked by Xavier. There is a small menu of dishes made with locally sourced ingredients. Particularly to be recommended is the Garbure, a soupy stew made with meat and vegetables, and served as a main course with duck confit. But there were also good omelettes and lamb cutlets. A divine blueberry tart or selection of ice creams for pudding. We ate the whole menu over the week we were there. Breakfast is served in the bar and features a whole range of jams made by Dani's maman. It was rather nice that over the course of the week Xavier got to know that we liked two cups of coffee each in the morning and quietly delivered our second one when we needed it! We also took lovely sandwiches made at the auberge when we did our big walks up to the Lac Bleu, and the Lac Peyrelade. Big, generously filled and exactly what was needed! We enjoyed the peace and quiet at the Auberge. While there is wifi in the sitting and dining rooms and in the bar, there is no mobile reception, and there are no TVs in the rooms. I read a lot of books and we talked a lot. Just the rest and recuperation which we wanted, and made us realise that yes, we do want to become regular residents of this beautiful valley.