We absolutely loved this house. It is an old house but one that has been updated and renovated to a very high standard, with great attention to detail in the interior design. Luc, our host, has obviously devoted much time and thought to the architectural features, its layout and the furnishings and decor. As explained in the other reviews, it has an interesting floor plan. The ground floor has the kitchen and living area, with a half-bath - and opens onto a cobblestone courtyard with a gated entry onto the street; the 1st floor (2nd floor for us Americans) has two bedrooms and a bathroom, while the top floor has one bedroom with its own bath - and a small area with a washing machine area and mini-fridge. Because the house is built into a hillside though, the top floor also opens onto a rooftop lawn/garden with views of the Loire and the town. The parking area also is up at this level, so we had to adjust to leaving for longer excursions from the top of the house, while we would leave for walks around town from the ground level. Hard to explain actually, but fun to get used to, and the different levels meant each of our family had room to spread out; everyone had their own little places to read and nap. The kitchen is well-equipped - with dishwasher and pots and pans. The wifi worked great - and there is a TV although we did not use it. The dining table fit all of us very comfortably, and there were also tables for sitting outside in the courtyard and up on the roof garden. The only issue we faced during our stay was one very hot day, when the top floor bedroom was very warm and not that comfortable for sleeping at night (this was also the night a bat got into the house on the top floor - but he got out again!) The other bedrooms, insulated because of being located lower down in the house, were cool. As for the location, Monstoreau is lively, despite its small size, and very pretty with many interesting views for walks. There is a small supermarket, a terrific bakery and two butchers - so we did not have trouble getting food supplies. There are several restaurants as well, and a pizza truck sets up on the edge of town on certain days during the summer. The town is near Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, and Saumur. We walked to Candes-Saint-Martin - which itself is very charming, and went for lunch one day to Turquant. We drove to Chenonceau, which took about 1 hour. The other typical Loire sites are longer drives. We could have stayed here forever!
