Le Biau is a chambres d'hote situated in the Gers, southwest France. It's slightly less than an hour's drive from the airport at Pau; slightly more from the one at Toulouse. The easy-going market town of Eauze is only a few kilometres away.
Literally "a room in the host's house", chambres d'hote accommodation is best described as part B&B, part boutique hotel. Le Biau is at the elegant end of the spectrum and fine dining is a highlight of any stay.
Ray and Fran Atkinson are attentive hosts and great company. The former ESF teachers (Quarry Bay and Bradbury schools) reserve a special welcome for anyone visiting from Hong Kong. If you feel the need for your own space, however, there's plenty of room in the renovated 16th-century farmhouse and the three hectares of private gardens.
Far from it. Ray studied art and design at university and it shows. The restoration project took 12 years to complete and Le Biau is a tasteful fusion of Asian and European furnishings and objets d'art. There are wooden chests from Macau and curtains stitched in Shenzhen. Watercolours from Vietnam and Middle Eastern artefacts give each of the four bedrooms a unique flavour. The room they call The Chai was virtually derelict when the Atkinsons bought the house but it now houses a pool table and has huge glass folding doors that open onto the main terrace.
Thursday is market day in Eauze. Watch farmers unload their trucks and join locals who press, prod and sample at tables groaning under the weight of fresh produce. Pause for lunch at the 500-year-old Cafe de France then hit the road. The beautiful fortified villages of Fources and Larressingle are a 30-minute drive away and the snowcapped Pyrenees shimmer invitingly in the distance.