La Locherie

What's Included in the Rental Price?

We stayed in gites and cottages for many years ourselves, before we bought La Locherie. So we had a very good idea at the outset about what worked and what didn't in a holiday property.

We holidayed with three children, which meant we couldn't take our own linen as the car was always full. We always paid a significt extra charge to hire bedding, we never stayed anywhere where it was included in the rental price. Similarly, electricity, water and wood usage were always chargeable extras and, when on a tight budget, we were always worried about how large the bill would be on the last day.

We believe that the rental price should be what you pay, leaving you free to spend your euros on enjoying yourself. So, we include:

• • A comprehensive GUESTS' GUIDE, containing everything you need to know about France, La Locherie and the surrounding area. It gives directions from all the major ports and also has a full sightseeing section, suggesting places to visit and journey times.

• • ALL linen - bedding, towels and kitchen towels.

• • ALL reasonable electricity, water and wood.*

• • A WELCOME pack for your arrival. It won't cover a full shop for you but includes bread, butter, milk, wine, tea, coffee, toilet roll, kitchen roll, a bin bag, dishcloth and pot scourer - just to get you started, if by any chance you arrive late and have missed the supermarkets.

• • WE always ensure there is some soap, washing up liquid, cooking oil and herbs.

• • TWO gas bottles, in case one should run out during your stay, ensuring that an all-important meal will not be ruined before you can find another one.

• • A WELL-EQUIPPED kitchen. As we cook a lot ourselves, we have added additional items such as a garlic press and implements for dealing with shellfish and snails. Small extras which guests appreciate. We are often told how well furnished the kitchen is.

• • A DVD player, together with a CD player and a selection of DVDs, CDs and books - feel free to take a book home if you haven’t finished reading it by the end of your stay. And if you’d like to leave a book you’ve brought and HAVE finished, other guests will appreciate it.

• • A TRAVEL COT, stair gate, dining chair booster seat and cot bedding.

• • A FULL-SIZED table tennis table and a selection of outdoor games, which are kept in the barn.

• • PLENTY of space. Not just outside where we have seven acres you are welcome to use, but room inside too. We recommend up to four people for each of our gites. We’ve stayed in others no bigger that use sofa beds or put-me-ups in the lounges so they can claim they sleep six or even eight.

* We have to include the word reasonable, in case anyone behaves completely irresponsibly, but it is fair to say that in eight years of renting, we have never yet levied a surcharge. We find that if we trust our guests and treat them well, they respond in kind. We are surprised at how many of our male guests really enjoy chopping wood for their woodburner!