La Retraite

| Special Offers: | Late Deal | Sat 14 - Sat 28 Apr 2012 | £700 |
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About the home
Welcome to our beautiful holiday home in Charente Maritime, France. La Retraite is a traditional Charentaise farmhouse renovated to an exceptionally high standard. It has its own private heated pool and is located in the hamlet of Simoussais which is surrounded by fields of sunflowers during the summer months. Simoussais is just north of the picturesque market town of Surgeres with its choice of bars and restaurants offering everything from good local food to gourmet dining.
The outstanding beaches of the Atlantic Coast are only a short drive away as are the beautiful Ile de Re and Ile d’Oleron. The totally unspoilt town of La Rochelle with its medieval streets, harbour side restaurants and bars, marina and aquarium is less than 30 minutes away.
Sandy beaches, fields of sunflowers, historic towns and excellent restaurants, welcome to La Retraite.
| Size: | Sleeps up to 10, 4 bedrooms |
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| Will consider: | Long lets Short breaks |
| Access: | Car advised |
| Family friendly? | Suitable for children of all ages Suitable for people with restricted mobility |
| Notes: | May take pets - please enquire No smoking at this property Self-catering |
Facilities
| Luxuries: | Log fire, Private outdoor pool (heated), Internet access, DVD player |
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| General: | Central heating, TV, CD player, Satellite TV, Wi-fi available |
| Standard: | Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer |
| Utilities: | Clothes dryer, Dishwasher, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine |
| Rooms: | 4 Bedrooms, 3 bathrooms of which 1 family bathroom and 2 shower rooms |
| Furniture: | Single beds (6), Double beds (2), Cots (2), Dining seating for 10, Lounge seating for 12 |
| Other: | Linen and towels provided Highchair available |
| Outdoors: | Balcony / Terrace, Private outdoor pool (heated), Private garden, BBQ, Bicycles available |
| Access: | Secure parking |
Further details indoors:
La Retraite is a traditional Charentaise farmhouse sympathetically renovated to an exceptionally high standard. It retains original features and stonework and has been beautifully decorated and furnished in a contemporary manner. The house can be cosy for two but can easily sleep up to ten plus two infants. The house has full central heating making it ideal for winter breaks.
La Retraite has a large lounge with leather sofas and chairs arranged around an original working fireplace (logs provided for winter lets). This room has a quality CD Stereo system and numerous board games.
Next door, the separate TV room has a DVD player and Playstation 2 (with a good choice of DVDs and games). English HD TV and radio are available through the Satellite system on the 42inch flatscreen TV.
The kitchen/breakfast room incorporates a fully fitted fridge and separate freezer, a glass induction hob, sizeable oven and dishwasher. The kitchen can seat up to seven people if desired.
The independent dining room contains a bespoke table which seats ten, there is also an additional sofa here overlooking the garden.
Upstairs La Retraite has four large bedrooms, two of which contain king size beds. There is a twin bedded room and a room containing a set of bunks and two single beds. All the bedrooms have shutters and blinds and due to the thick walls are cool even in the height of summer. There are also two cots and two highchairs at the property free for your use.
Also upstairs is a large bathroom incorporating a freestanding bath with separate walk in shower. Two sinks are set into the tiled unit opposite. There are two further shower rooms/WCs, one upstairs and another situated downstairs next to the laundry room which contains a washing machine, separate tumble dryer and ironing board/iron for your use.
Further details outdoors:
The front and rear gardens are laid to lawn and fully enclosed, and are therefore extremely safe for young children.
Outdoor tables and chairs are available in both gardens.
We now have a 10m x 5m private heated swimming pool. The pool is in its own walled garden area with lockable gated access for safety reasons. The pool has a large terrace with sunloungers and a decked area with pergola for shade.
Behind the garden gates there is secure parking for two or three cars. In the barn there is a large barbecue and a number of bicycles for guests use.
If additional bicycles are needed these can be hired in Surgeres
Further details
La Retraite is available on the basis of a Saturday to Saturday changeover with a 4pm arrival time and 10am departure time. This allows the house to be fully cleaned and tidied before your arrival.
A welcome pack of provisions will await you offering:
bread
butter
cheese
tea
coffee
milk
water
beer
bottle of wine
Local supermarkets in Mauze and Surgeres are open until 7pm Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9am to 1pm. There are a number of shops including boulangeries, charcuterie and a newsagent selling English newspapers in Mauze just a few minutes drive away.
All pillows, duvets, bed linen, bath towels, hand towels and tea towels are provided and there are hairdryers available.
The laundry room contains a washing machine, separate tumble dryer and ironing board/iron for your use.
There are two cots and two highchairs at the property.
Cool bags, ice packs and plastic picnic ware are available for your use.
A barbecue and a number of bicycles are located in the barn.
There are guide books/tourist information and restaurant recommendations in the bottom of the upstairs bookcase.
All utility bills are included in the rental price.
A babysitting/child minding service is available, please contact the owners for details
Conditions
Once a reservation has been made by telephone or email, you will be sent a booking form that details our terms and conditions. This should be completed and returned with a deposit of £200/€300 per week booked. The balance is payable 8 weeks prior to the start of your holiday. In the case of reservations made less than 8 weeks before the arrival date, full payment is required with the returned booking form. A returnable security deposit of £250/€400 is required 2 weeks prior to arrival. Discounts are available for bookings of more than one week.
Shorter lets (long weekends) and flexible changeover dates may be possible out of peak and high seasons. Longer term lets during the winter may be available. Please contact the owners to discuss your requirements.
The Poitou-Charentes / Vendee / Charente Maritime region


The Charente Maritime boasts the second longest hours of sunshine in France after the Cote D’Azur and summer here seems to stretch from April to October. With over 70 beaches to enjoy you will rarely feel crowded and you can almost have the place to yourself out of high season. The local seafood (oysters, mussels, crab and fish) is always fresh and plentiful and there are many good local wines, pineau and cognac to accompany your meal.
The La Rochelle / Surgeres area
Surgeres is a picturesque market town just to the south of La Retraite. It has a wide choice of restaurants, supermarkets, shops and banks. It has a beautifully restored and preserved old walled town rich in architectural heritage and boasts a manor house and XV1c chateau.
The colourful covered market (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) offers a plentiful supply of local produce including the butter for which Surgeres is famous.
The town has a cinema, sports centre with tennis courts, and open air swimming pool.
La Rochelle is a beautiful old town less than half hour away. It is an excellent place to visit, either for a day, an afternoon, or just an evening at any time of the year. It has hundreds of restaurants to choose from ranging from quayside bistros offering moules and frites to the Michelin** restaurant Coutanceau recognised as one of the best restaurants on the Atlantic Coast.
La Rochelle comes in two equally alluring halves. The old port is full with yachts and guarded by medieval defensive towers, while the town centre has delicatessens and classy boutiques under the covered arcades of Renaissance houses and a colourful morning fish market.
During the summer months there is street theatre every day and a craft market alongside the port most evenings, when the roads are closed to traffic to make space for performers, craftspeople and artists.
La Rochelle houses Europe's largest marina on the Atlantic Coast and a fabulous aquarium. Its beautiful parks are worth a visit and the famous yellow cycles can be hired free of charge for the first 2 hours all year round. Boat trips are available from the Old Harbour, lasting a few hours, half a day or a full day to the islands of Re, Aix and Oleron.
Please see owner's website for full details of local information and activities.
How to get there
Click map icons for more information
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| Nearest Travel Links | |
| Airport: | La Rochelle: 40 km |
| Railway: | Surgeres: 10 km |
| Ferry: | St Malo: 350 km |
Fly to La Rochelle airport, La Retraite is an easy 25 minute drive from the airport. Cheap flights are available from various uk airports through
www.ryanair.com
www.easyjet.com
www.flybe.com
Many car hire firms operate at La Rochelle airport, including
www.hertz.co.uk
www.europcar.com
www.budget.co.uk
www.auto-europe.co.uk
Driving times from ferry ports/eurotunnel:
St Malo 3 1/2 hours
Caen 4 hours
Roscoff 4 1/2 hours
Cherbourg 5 hours
Calais 6 1/2 hours
Activities near La Rochelle
Tennis in town
Watersports
Waterpark
Horse Riding
Golf within 30 mins drive
Fishing
Walking holidays
Rural / countryside retreats
Beach or lakeside relaxation
Cycling holidays
Guestbook for La Retraite
We had the most amazing time at your very beautiful home. My husband and I were totally blown away when we opened the gates and went in.
The house is wonderful, it was a surprise for the family and they were delighted.
The facilities and decor were fantastic.
We had a lovely time and thought your house was beautiful.
The house could not be improved upon. You have everything at the disposal of the guests and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Excellent accommodation in a beautiful area of France.
House is great !
Rental prices
| Rental prices originally quoted in: British £ | Convert to: |
| Prices for group size 10 | ||||||
| Period | From![]() | To![]() | Weekly![]() | Nightly rate | Minimum stay | |
| Weekday | Weekend | |||||
| Low | 7 Jan 12 | 31 Mar 12 | £ 600 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Mid | 31 Mar 12 | 2 Jun 12 | £ 850 | - | - | 1 Week |
| High | 2 Jun 12 | 30 Jun 12 | £ 1075 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Peak | 30 Jun 12 | 1 Sep 12 | £ 1995 | - | - | 1 Week |
| High | 1 Sep 12 | 29 Sep 12 | £ 1075 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Low | 29 Sep 12 | 22 Dec 12 | £ 600 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Special Offers: | Late Deal | Sat 14 - Sat 28 Apr 2012 | £700 |
|---|
NB: Prices may be subject to change at the advertiser's discretion.
Availability
See below for next 9 months' availability - to see the next 24 months click here
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Contact the owner
* Required fields Please check the following errors: | 4 years listed You are contacting Alan Thornton
Languages spoken ![]() The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2007. This house has so far received 0 reviews. ![]() |

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