If you have ever stayed in a hotel with your family, you will know only too well how expensive it can be. Even modest hotels can cost $130 per night for a family room which is equivalent to $32.50 per person per night for a family of four. In the high season it can be even more with prices often going up to $50 (and more) per more person per night. And who, after all wants to spend their precious holiday in France in a simple hotel with their children in the same room?

There is an easy solution. Find a gite. A gite is the French word for a holiday cottage. They come in all shapes and sizes but they are usually rural cottages set in peaceful and beautiful countryside. What is more, in France there are two organisations, which guarantee the quality of the accommodation. 'Clevacances' and 'Gites de France' regularly send inspectors out to check the quality of the accommodation and to give it a star rating similar to a hotel. If you have a complaint and can't resolve it with the property owner, they will arbitrate it. And they have well designed web sites, which can help you find a gite in almost any area of France.

How much cheaper is it to stay in a gite rather than a hotel? The quick answer is a lot. In the Tarn area in the South of France it is easy to find a gite, which charges only $12 per person per night in the low season. And even in the high season you can find properties for as little as $21 per night per person.

If you are worried about what you get for your money as compared to a hotel you will be very happily surprised. For a family of 4 you can typically expect to have two bedrooms, a living room with TV and DVD player, a well equipped kitchen, a bathroom and toilet and a large private garden to relax and sunbathe in. Compare that to being cramped into a family room in a hotel, which of course would cost you more!

But what of all the conveniences a hotel offers! Well, you can get it all in a gite. Many gites have swimming pools and often the owners are happy to arrange cooked meals in the gite on request. And you get service with a smile. Many gite owners live nearby and are happy to tell you about the local area, what to see, where to go and where to eat. So you really do get a very personal welcome.

The only question that remains is why anybody would want to stay in a hotel. If you want to be in a city centre, packed into a busy anonymous hotel and paying a lot of money, a gite may not be for you. If you prefer the tranquillity and beauty of the French countryside with a personal welcome, you can easily find accommodation that puts hotels to shame at a price that won't burn a hole in your pocket.