Practical information
For any booking: demand a rental contract from the owner
Whatever the type of accommodation booked
Pets
The presence of pets must be mentioned the first time the owner is contacted and must be included in the contract, as the agreement of the owner is necessary. A supplement may be charged (this will be mentioned in the description of the accommodation).
Holiday Risk Insurance
Liability insurance: please check with your insurance company that your contract does cover damage caused under your responsibility.
Holiday certificate
At your request, the office can provide a certificate proving that you stayed in a rated accommodation. All requests must be made in writing and must include a copy of the Gîtes de France rental contract and a stamped addressed envelope.
Vouchers
The departmental booking service and a number of partners accept Chèques Vacances.
Holiday vouchers can be granted by Family Allowance Centres for holidays in rural gites.
Ask these organisations for further information.
Disputes and litigation
Claims can only be processed if they are made to the Relais Départemental des Gîtes de France within 3 days of your arrival. The Relais Départemental can only help if the rental was covered by a Gîtes de France contract.
Tourist Tax
Some towns have introduced a tourist tax – ask at booking. The amount, fixed by the municipality, must be paid to the owner at the end of the holiday, unless it is included in the price.
Renting a gîte
Arrival
You will be welcomed by the gîte owner or his representative:
- Make sure that you check the list of contents on arrival and on departure with the owner. Check also any electricity and heating consumption.
- We recommend that you contact the owner by telephone in order to agree on an arrival time; he/she could also give you advice on access to the gîte.
- In the event of an early departure, you must inform the owner.
Capacity
The contract is established for a specific number of persons. If that number is exceeded, either on arrival or during the stay, the owner can refuse the extra persons, terminate the contract or charge a supplement.
Extra charges
Cold water, gas for the cooker and up to 8 KW/h of electricity per day is included. If these amounts are exceeded, extra charges will be added, calculated on the meter consumption.
Heating
Heating is rarely included in the rental price. Any mention of this must be included in the rental contract or the technical specifications. We recommend that you ask the owner to estimate the daily heating cost of the accommodation.
Damages deposit, inventory
At your arrival, and after a specific inspection of the inventory and state of repair, you may be asked to pay a deposit for damages the exact amount will have been included in the contract or the technical specifications). This will be returned to you after an inspection on departure (or within 8 days, depending on the departure time), with a deduction made for any necessary repairs or replacement.
Gîte maintenance
Cleaning is the responsibility of the guest for the duration of the rental period until departure. The gîte must be left perfectly clean. Some owners offer a fixed cleaning charge.
Price
Prices are indicated in each description and represent the total rental charge. They will be per week (from Saturday afternoon 4.00pm to Saturday morning 10.00am), per weekend or sometimes for a midweek stay (generally from Monday 2.00pm to Friday 12 noon, excluding school holiday periods). Depending on the rating, supply of sheets, linen and cleaning services can be offered on request. Icons enable you to recognise these gites easily.
Telephone
An icon in the description indicates the possibility of making phone calls from the gîte. If you have a France Télécom card, remember to bring it with you. You will be able to call from where you want to: the cost of the calls will be deducted directly from your France Télécom invoice.
Extra services
At the end of your stay, certain supplements may be charged such as: heating, tourist tax, linen rental, cleaning services, pet supplement, and wood for heating. We remind you that the cost of these services do not appear in the descriptions and are not included in the price displayed. Only the owner or the booking service are able to give you the price of these services.
Renting a Chambre d’hôte, Stopover gîte or holiday gîte
Arrival
You will be welcomed by the owner or his representative. We recommend that you contact the owner by telephone in order to agree on an arrival time; he could also give you advice on access to the gîte.
Prices
They are indicated in each description and normally represent the total price of:
- One night in a chambre d'hôtes
- One night in a holiday gîte or stopover gîte (price for one person only)
In the case of chambre d'hôtes, breakfast is included in the rental price. For a stopover gîte, please refer to the description. Table d’hôte meals are charged extra.
Water, electricity and heating charges
Water, electricity and heating charges are included in the rental price for chambres d'hôtes. For stopover gites and holiday gites, please refer to the description.
