Standards and Furnishings | Additional Services | Cleaning |
Garden and Swimming Pool Maintenance | Barbecues | Tennis Courts | Pianos | Pets

Standards and Furnishings
All our properties have been inspected to ensure that all the furnishings and equipment reach a good standard. The furnishings, like the villas, vary from the simple to the luxurious. Photographs of a house are not necessarily indicative of the quality of its furnishings. Holiday properties may not offer the same comforts as your house in the UK as customs in France can be quite different.

Our properties are not official tourist structures, such as hotels or classified accommodation with internationally recognized categories, but private houses which reflect the local traditions and the personal taste of the owner.

In France, less attention tends to be paid to bedrooms than to main living areas. Also, beds can be softer than those in the UK. There may be differences in small items like teapots, kettles, teacups and saucers, egg cups, cereal bowls and other such purely 'English' items, which are sometimes not available.

Pool and garden furniture is available at each property but not always provided for the maximum number of persons shown and can deteriorate as the season progresses.

Additional Services
All of the following services must be reserved at the time of booking. If you fail to do so, we cannot guarantee that they will be available. The relevant section of the Booking Form must be completed in order to ensure that the owner, keyholder or agent is advised of your requirements. These services are payable locally, apart from the use of one cot which is supplied free of charge, when available.
Domestic help: It is usually possible to arrange for cleaning, which ranges from 10 Euros to 25 Euros per hour.
Cooking: Please ask for further details.
Linen: We mention whether linen is included in each property description. If it is not included, it can usually be hired locally. Prices start from 15 Euros per person (per week or per stay) per set of bed linen and bathroom towels. Details and charges will be indicated on our confirmation invoice. Where bed linen is provided free of charge, you will find that beds are not necessarily made up prior to our clients' arrival nor changed weekly. If a weekly change is not included you may, of course, employ the cleaning lady to wash and iron at your cost. Pool or beach towels are sometimes provided as well (this will be specified in the property description); they are never available for hire.
Cots: One cot is usually available free of charge. More than one cot may be available on request, and a charge may be payable in some cases. We cannot guarantee that cots will meet with British safety standards.

Cleaning
We expect our clients to leave the properties clean and in good condition (details will be given in the Travel Pack). On departure only basic cleaning is included by the owner; this consists of a thorough check of the property and approximately 3 to 4 hours cleaning (depending on the size of the house). If the house has been left in a poor state of cleanliness, additional hours will invariably be required. Owners reserve the right to charge our clients for cleaning in addition to the basic 3 to 4 hours described. At some of our properties owners request a fixed end of rental cleaning charge, which allows our clients not to have to clean thoroughly prior to departure. The amount ranges between 50 Euros and 240 Euros per property and is indicated in the property description.

Garden and Swimming Pool Maintenance
Our owners are responsible for the maintenance of gardens, grounds and swimming pools. However, in some cases, there are certain aspects that must be looked after by our clients. Plants and flowers, particularly inside the house, may have to be watered when considered necessary. Keeping pool surfaces free from insects and leaves should be part of our clients' duties. Swimming pools are normally usable between mid-May and the end of September, weather permitting. Availability must be checked for holidays taken in May and October, when water temperatures can be quite low.

Only a few pools have night covers due to difficulties in maintaining them in good condition during the season. Availability of pool covers is subject to change. Problems may arise from breakdowns in pool filtration systems or resultant chemical changes in the water. Should such a problem occur, the local owner, keyholder or agent must be contacted immediately, as they are responsible for taking action in such an event. Certain pools have liners which are very delicate and can easily be punctured. It is very important that care should be taken with them as replacement costs can be as high as £2,500.

Barbecues
Although an outdoor barbecue may be included in a villa description, it may become unavailable because changes in local fire laws could prohibit its use at certain times. Barbecues may be built-in or mobile, and may not be considered large enough for the occupancy of the property.

Tennis Courts
Tennis courts vary in type and quality. It is advisable to check this before booking, particularly if serious play is intended. Rackets and balls are not usually provided.

Pianos
When a piano is listed in a description, the owner has agreed to have it tuned regularly. However, we recommend you check this has been done recently to avoid disappointment. Heat can affect them quickly.

Pets
Some of our property owners are happy to accept pets on the understanding that they are well-behaved and do not use the swimming pools - a pool liner can easily be scratched and torn, and is very expensive to replace. Details of pets will be required prior to booking.