Here are the answers to most of the questions people tend to ask us. If there is anything else you would like to know, please email us.

Accessibility:

The Domaine de Loustalviel is not suitable for people in wheelchairs, or who have difficulty with stairs. The ground floors are all wheelchair-accessible, but all bedrooms are upstairs.

Barbecues:

Each house has its own barbecue area, and barbecues are provided. The previous occupants may have left you some charcoal, but don't bank on it. If you run out, the Casino mini-market at Belpech keeps charcoal in stock, but it's not on display, so you have to ask for it ("charbon de bois")

Beaches:

The nearest Mediterranean beaches are at Narbonne Plage, about a 1 hour drive.

Beds and linen:

Beds:

Double beds are 1m50 by 1m90 (approximately 4 ft 6 in by 6 ft 4 in).
Single beds are 90 cm by 1m90 (approximately 3 ft by 6 ft 4 in).

Bedlinen:

We provide mattress protectors (breathable, antibacterial, not plastic), fitted bottom sheets, and light duvets with duvet covers. We do not provide any bedlinen for cots.

Towels:

We provide well sized, good quality hand- and bath-towels for each guest in the ensuite bathrooms, and hand towels in the separate WCs.

We do not provide swimming towels.

Bicycles:

Sorry. We don't provide bicycles (the legal and insurance implications are prohibitive).

Cars &
Car Hire:

A car is absolutely essential if you are staying at Le Domaine de Loustalviel.

Note that the car rental counters at Carcassonne airport can be unbelievably slow. To minimise the delay, you need to be organised and ruthless; get to the airport early (or check-in on-line), so you get an early boarding number; then use all the guile and rugby mauling techniques you can to bag seats right at the front of the plane. On landing, one of you goes at a trot straight through immigration and baggage to get to the head of the car rental queue; the rest wait for the baggage. Once you’ve got your car rental papers, you can “blag” your way back into the baggage hall to help collect the bags.

Children:

Cots:

We can provide cots for youngsters up to about 18 months, but the supply is limited, so it's essential that you check availability with us before you book. Note that we do not provide any bedlinen for cots.

Fun:

Apart from the obvious fun of having 7 acres of garden and meadow to run around in (and the ability to get far enough away to be able to shout and scream at the top of their voices without upsetting the boring adults), kids will also enjoy the football goalposts, table tennis, basketball hoop, swingball, piste de boules, and the big meadow suitable for cricket (or rounders)

High Chair:

We have one high chair available; it's essential that you check with us before you book that someone else hasn't "bagged" it.

Safety:

The pool is fenced to French Government standards (AFNOR NF P90 - 306).

It's nearly a kilometre from the nearest public road, so, except for the guests' and the caretakers' cars, the Domaine is entirely traffic free.

Climate:

The climate in our part of France varies between quite wide extremes; pretty cold in winter to really very hot in summer (but almost always with a cooling breeze). Here are the historic monthly averages for Carcassonne (40 kilometres away) from 1971 to 2000 (excluding the heat-wave of 2003 and the most recent "Global Warming" effects):

Electricity:

French electrical sockets are different from UK sockets; if you're bringing any electrical appliances (such as phone chargers) with UK, US, Australian or other plugs, you'll need an adapter to plug them in to French sockets.

But visitors from North America, and other places where the standard is 117 volts do need to bring step-down transformers to operate any 117-volt-only appliances they might bring with them.

Hairdryers:

We provide hairdryers in each of the houses.

Internet:

There is a landline phone in each house that can be used for a (slow) dial-up internet connection.

Ironing:

There's an iron and an ironing board in each house.

Journey Times:

Carcassonne:

We're about 40 minutes' drive from Carcassonne airport (Salvaza).

Toulouse:

We're just under an hour's drive (depending on traffic) from Toulouse airport (Blagnac).

Channel Ports:

Reckon about 10 hours actual driving time from Calais if you use the autoroutes. You need to add rest times, loo breaks and refuelling to this figure. It has been done, memorably, in 9 hours flat; it's not an experience we'd care to repeat!

Kitchen Equipment:

You will find all the standard pots and pans, dishes, bowls, knives, wooden spoons, spatulas, corkscrews, tin-openers, etc that you would expect. But here are some particular items that people have asked about: 

Coffee Maker:

There's a cafétière jug and a coffee filter holder in every kitchen

Dishwasher:

Provided

Electric Oven:

Full size

Food processor:

Not provided

Gas Hob:

4 burner

Microwave:

Provided

Manual:

If you would like to download a copy of the House Manual, so that you can swot up in advance where to find the gas taps, or the nearest vineyards (also useful if you are suffering from insomnia!), click here.

Nightlife:

The frogs, owls, nightingales, deer and wild boar have a ball; like them human beings have to make their own entertainment. If you think you might want want to go clubbing, the Domaine de Loustalviel is not for you.

Pets:

Sorry, the general rule is "No Pets". In rare circumstances we might make an exception, but please discuss this with us before you book. 

Phones:

There is a landline phone in each house. Before you arrive we'll tell you the phone number friends and family should dial to get through to your house.

Most mobile phones work - just - on the Domaine, although you may find you have to do silly things like standing on your head near the olive tree! Most people prefer to go into Belpech when they want to make mobile phone calls (the perfect excuse for a pre-lunch beer in the café!).

Restaurants:

You can get a lot of information about restaurants in the area by clicking on the "Guide Gastronomique" link on our home page.

Security Deposit:

The Security Deposit is designed to cover us in the event of major damage by our guests, and also to cover the cost of any phone calls or internet charges they may incur.

Officially it can take up to 6 weeks for the Security Deposit be returned; in practice it's usually back  in our guests' bank account within three weeks. 

Shopping:

You can get more detail about shopping in the area by clicking on the "Shopping" link on our home page.

But if you are planning to arrive late on a Saturday, or during Sunday, you do need to note that virtually all major supermarkets in France are closed on Sundays. About 6 weeks before your stay begins, we'll send you directions for finding the Domaine, and this will include suggestions as to where you might shop on a Sunday morning (the butcher, baker and mini-market in Belpech, and a small supermarket on the way from Carcassonne airport).

Swimming Pool:

The swimming pool measures 12 metres by 5 metres. Salah, our caretaker, treats it like a baby, keeping  it clean and crystal clear throughout the season.

Please also note that we don't provide swimming towels, and we do ask you not to take bathroom towels down to the pool.

Satellite TV:

There is UK free-to-air satellite TV and a DVD player in each house.

There is also a fairly varied selection of DVDs in each house; they are all different, so you may want to swap with the other houses - and you may want to bring your own choice of DVDs (but if you are from regions outside Europe be prepared for our players to refuse to play your DVDs)

What to
Bring:

Here are some of the essentials which people can forget: 

• After-sun lotion.

• Anti-histamine or similar in case of insect bites.

• Anti-insect spray.

• Driving License(s) if you're planning to rent a car - and please note that if you have a UK plastic license, you may find local car-rental companies will only accept it if you also provide your paper counterpart license.

• A selection of your preferred DVDs in case our choice isn't to your (or your kids') taste.

• A laptop if you think you might want to surf the internet (slowly!) or pick up your emails.

• Plug adapters (if you're bringing any electrical appliances with UK plugs on, such as phone chargers, you'll need an adapter to plug them in to French sockets).

• Sunscreen (even when it's cloudy, the sun can still be very strong, and you would be wise to use high-protection sunscreen at all times - especially on children's delicate skin).

• Swimming Towels (please note that we don't provide swimming towels, and we do ask you not to take bathroom towels down to the pool).