LIVE from the Camino Worst gîte in France

[missmaggie]

Had the misfortune of staying at la ferme de Marsan in miramont-sensacq France. Never have I been made to feel like the filthy pilgrim more than here. We were so unwelcome. Had we stayed in the Chambre d'hôtes we would have been treated like royalty & watched on as they were. This has been by far the worst gîte in France.

 

[Anniesantiago]

My friend stayed in a Gite in SJPP last week where the woman screamed obscenities at her, called her a fat cow, and reduced her to tears. It was baptism by fire. Luckily the next night she was taken in by kinder people.

 

[Kanga]

Do either of you know why or what upset the hosts?

 

[missmaggie]

The host acted as though we were a big bother. His priority was those who paid more. Not sure why he has the gîte part if he doesn't want pilgrims here? We didn't do anything wrong, he just didn't want us here

 

[Kanga]

Had the misfortune of staying at la ferme de Marsan in miramont-sensacq France. .

I can't find it in Miam Miam in the Miramont-Sensacq map (71) or the maps on either side. How did you know about it and where exactly was it?

 

[AMDG56]

I can't find it in Miam Miam in the Miramont-Sensacq map (71) or the maps on either side. How did you know about it and where exactly was it?

In plan 72 of my 201 MMDD

 

[mspath]

Here is their web page.

 

[Kanga]

Ah, found it - "Aire de pique-nique". I haven't stayed there.

 

[Metropolly]

The thing is, we ARE a lot of trouble. We use more water than the chambre d'hote guests (all that hand-washing), we eat more, we smell bad and don't look great, either. We stay only one night and disturb other guests in the morning by thumping about at first light. We demand cheap beds and an early breakfast, and often fail to address the hosts in their own language. I'm always amazed when someone DOESN'T treat me in the way you describe! I certainly wouldn't welcome the pilgrim me into my home

 

[jumpingin2014]

The thing is, we ARE a lot of trouble. We use more water than the chambre d'hote guests (all that hand-washing), we eat more, we smell bad and don't look great, either. We stay only one night and disturb other guests in the morning by thumping about at first light. We demand cheap beds and an early breakfast, and often fail to address the hosts in their own language. I'm always amazed when someone DOESN'T treat me in the way you describe! I certainly wouldn't welcome the pilgrim me into my home

 

[jumpingin2014]

It's a service industry - if the people you serve are such a nuisance then why run the business? It's no secret how pilgrims behave (dirty, tired, hungry and up the next day early) - obviously they do it because pilgrims keep coming back regardless.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It's a service industry - if the people you serve are such a nuisance then why run the business?

Habit. Habit is what keeps a lot of pilgrims at jobs they hate when they return home. The lucky pilgrims are those who quit and find something they like. The lucky hospitalero is the one that closes his albergue and finds something he likes. Leaving hated habits can be a benefit of a pilgrimage, host and pilgrim alike.

 

[paulstmalo]

Had the misfortune of staying at la ferme de Marsan in miramont-sensacq France. Never have I been made to feel like the filthy pilgrim more than here. We were so unwelcome. Had we stayed in the Chambre d'hôtes we would have been treated like royalty & watched on as they were. This has been by far the worst gîte in France.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience here, but I was at the ferme de Marsan just 3 weeks ago and we (two couples) were housed in the gite and paid exactly the same price as other people in the gite. There were plenty of other people there and I didn't hear one single complaint that evening or on the trail the next days. When we arrived the owner brought us some beer and even forgot to add it to the bill until I reminded him. I hope this adds another side to the story.

 

[Metropolly]

It's a service industry

Kind of, maybe. But not entirely. So many gites are run more on good will than money. Sometimes the good will runs out. One of the most frequent gripes I hear from other pilgrims en route is the old one about the Camino being 'too commercial these days'. Well, it seems the gite in question is run by human beings rather than a 'have a nice day' corporation

 

[paulstmalo]

Kind of, maybe. But not entirely. So many gites are run more on good will than money. Sometimes the good will runs out. One of the most frequent gripes I hear from other pilgrims en route is the old one about the Camino being 'too commercial these days'. Well, it seems the gite in question is run by human beings rather than a 'have a nice day' corporation

Quite right, it is a working farm run by "normal people".

 

[cecelia]

Had the misfortune of staying at la ferme de Marsan in miramont-sensacq France. ...

Hmm - interesting. I stayed at the municipal gite in that area and it was the only time I had a weird and rather unpleasant experience. There they have volunteers who come and spend a week at a time. The week I stayed it was a wonderful woman who welcomed us, showed us around and cooked a delicious meal.

Then the other volunteer came down. He would speak only to men who's native language was French and, if necessary, women who's native language was French. He wouldn't even greet us as apparently my greeting did not have the right accent. At the dinner table he completely dominated the conversation and when the two Swiss women and a German woman who all spoke French contributed to the conversation he wouldn't even acknowledge their comments. I tried a few times with my less-than-perfect French as well but clearly it was not acceptable. It was a very strange evening because it was evident he was trying to make a point and he definitely wanted center stage but 80% of the people there were not welcome. The female volunteer was terrific - but couldn't even carry on a side conversation without his interruptions. So strange!

I found all other people along the Le Puy Route to be very patient and tolerant of my attempts to speak French. I emphasize that point because so often I've heard the opposite.

So many of the gites were extremely enjoyable. I really enjoyed the experience.
Cecelia

 

[Kitsambler]

Goodness, and all this time I've been thinking the worst gite was the one, a night before Navarrenx, which had an actual pig under the dining room table. Witness the following conversation.
Madame: I live alone.
My friend: Then who was it I heard snoring last night?
Madame: The pig.
!

 

[Kanga]

Goodness, and all this time I've been thinking the worst gite was the one, a night before Navarrenx, which had an actual pig under the dining room table. Witness the following conversation.
Madame: I live alone.
My friend: Then who was it I heard snoring last night?
Madame: The pig.
!

This sounds hilarious - like the opening lines of a Bill Bryson book. I'd love to hear more.
Our weirdest experience was on the route from Tours. We stayed at a chambre d'hotes I'd seen on a website. It looked terrific - interesting antiques and a lovely breakfast table in a glass conservatory overlooking a pretty fish pool and garden. Arrived, was shown to a grand looking bedroom with 4 poster bed, Madam disappeared. Only when I took off my shoes did I discover the floor was inches thick in dirt. The furniture and "antiques" were covered in dust, windows fly specked and filthy. Not being the best housekeeper myself I was not too perturbed, but my husband wasn't very happy that night when we got into bed and discovered the sheets had definitely been slept in before.... Still, no bedbugs. No breakfast in the conservatory either - it was firmly closed off and the fishpond a rather odd bright green. Instead we came out and found a breakfast laid in a room full of stuffed dead animals. Every time I looked across at my husband I'd start to laugh as the glassy dead eyes of a fox stared back.

 

[Healing Pilgrim]

Worst Gite? Or just your most difficult and frustrating auberge experience thus far? I can empathize, because I was so rudely and poorly treated by the so-called hospitalero in El Ganso that I'd easily say that it was my most annoying/hardest experience at any auberge/refugio/git/hostel on the path last fall. But would I call it the worst albergue? Even that would be a stretch... I'm sure that, absent the rude Spanish 'host,' the place itself would have been (was!) nice enough. Just another side to this peso...