Manoir du Suquet at golden hour — the 19th-century estate and grounds, Bardou, Dordogne
Bardou · Dordogne & Périgord

One estate.
Two projects.
Five houses for hire.

A 19th-century stone estate in the Dordogne — the working home of ViviSolari, an investigation into energy sovereignty, and Safe2Great, a practice in organisational leadership. Also five self-catering houses, a pool, a courtyard for weddings, and a long table under the walnut trees.

5Houses
34Sleeps
17Bedrooms
11haGrounds
Check availability → The estate

Bardou, Dordogne · Est. 19th c.

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Heated pool · 12×6m
Full-size tennis court
Private terraces
2ha of shaded gardens
Pétanque & outdoor dining
Solar · coming
The place

An old estate,
still working,
still at ease.

Le Suquet is a 19th-century manoir on the edge of a small Dordogne village — two hectares of gardens within eleven hectares of grounds. Five stone houses, each with its own kitchen and terrace, sharing a heated pool, a full-size tennis court, a pétanque pitch, and long tables under the lime trees.

It is not a hotel. There is no reception. The houses are self-catering, the mornings are quiet, and the children can disappear into the gardens for hours. You come for a week or a fortnight, cook what the village markets provide, and don't think much about the outside world.

It's the kind of place that doesn't have to work hard to be special. It just is.

Hosts Stephanie & Skip Bowman
The grounds at Manoir du Suquet, Dordogne
The houses

Five houses.
Every size of gathering.

From two bedrooms to five. Each house is fully self-contained with its own kitchen and terrace, and each has full access to the shared pool, tennis court, and gardens. Book one for a small family, or take the whole estate and fill it with the people you like best.

All five houses in detail →
Maison des Tournesols — stone façade with antique cart under mimosa tree
Maison des Tournesols
5 bedrooms Sleeps 10

The largest house on the estate. Five bedrooms, a generous lounge around a magnificent fireplace, and a covered terrace for long dinners. The natural anchor for a big family group.

Sleeps 10 Book →
Maison du Seigneur — pergola at blue hour
Maison du Seigneur
4 bedrooms Sleeps 8

An authentic farmhouse with two terraces — a sheltered pergola by the well, and an east-facing terrace for breakfast under the lime trees as the sunflower fields light up.

Sleeps 8 Book →
Maison des Vignes — vine-covered porch and pitched tiled roof cottage
Maison des Vignes
3 bedrooms Sleeps 6

Three bedrooms, one with an especially high ceiling under the tower — the Princess Suite. A lawn of three Himalayan cedars for the long afternoons.

Sleeps 6 Book →
Maison des Artistes — stone façade and private terrace
Maison des Artistes
2 bedrooms Sleeps 4

The most intimate house on the estate. Two bedrooms, completely private, with its own terrace and self-check-in. Six minutes from the Issigeac market.

Sleeps 4 Book →
Le Pigeonnier — converted 19th-century dovecote, carved stone dormer
Le Pigeonnier
3 bedrooms Sleeps 6

The original dovecote tower, converted. French art deco, stone walls, views across the countryside from every room. A favourite.

Sleeps 6 Book →
From above

The estate, seen whole.

Two hectares of gardens within eleven hectares of grounds, five stone houses, a walled courtyard and a swimming pool that sits on the edge of the sunflower fields. Easier shown than described.

Watch · Bardou from the air

Bardou, Dordogne · Est. 19th c.

Whole estate hire

Take all five.
34 people.
One estate.

Family reunions, milestone birthdays, the kind of gathering that needs space, privacy, and a shared kitchen or two. Book all five houses and the estate is yours — pool, tennis, pétanque, gardens, and long tables under the lime trees.

Groups that arrive separately, eat together, and wake up in the same place. That's what it's built for.

The whole estate → Enquire by email
34
Maximum guests
17
Bedrooms total
5
Private terraces
2ha
Shaded gardens
The Dordogne valley — Manoir du Suquet
Where we are

Dordogne
and Périgord.

Le Suquet sits on the boundary of the Dordogne and the Périgord — two of the most visited regions of France and two of the most food-obsessed. Canoes on the river in one direction, prehistoric caves and truffle markets in the other.

  • Dordogne river · canoeing & village markets
  • Périgord Noir · Lascaux · Sarlat
  • Foie gras · truffles · Michelin-listed within 20min
  • Issigeac market · 6 minutes
  • Bergerac airport · 20 minutes
The projects

Le Suquet isn't
just an estate.
It's where the work
gets done.

Two long-running projects are headquartered here. ViviSolari is an investigation into energy sovereignty — why the cheapest electricity in history is being kept expensive, and what happens when the land learns to harvest sunlight instead of just wheat. Safe2Great is a practice in leadership and organisational psychology, led by Skip Bowman, with retreats run on-site for teams that want to think properly and eat well.

The estate is the evidence for one and the setting for the other. Guests staying in the houses are welcome to notice, or not.

ViviSolari → Safe2Great →
The projects Two threads, one estate
ViviSolari & Sky FarmingThe energy-sovereignty investigation and the thesis on land, electrons, and rural capital
Book · In The Dark
Safe2GreatLeadership & organisational psychology · retreats on-site · the book Safe to Great
Practice
The five housesSelf-catering hospitality — how the estate sustains itself
Open
The renovationOil heating out · solar going in · the slow rewire toward what comes next
Underway