La Rochelle / Chatelaillon Plage 10 mins drive

La Desirade - 2 person, 1 bed, self-contained garden flat

Country location, edge of village with basic shopping, 10 mins historic city centre/harbour (3rd most visited city in France), 10 mins "Victorian" resort with 2 mile sandy beach, 5 mins large out of town shopping centre. Holidays are Carbon Zero via Co2balance at no cost to guests.
Chatelaillon Beach - 10 minutes drive
Chatelaillon Beach - 10 minutes drive
Click image above to enlarge
La Rochelle Old Harbour - 10 minutes drive
La Rochelle Old Harbour - 10 minutes drive
Click image above to enlarge
Accommodation
Alan and Tove an Anglo/Danish couple live in La Jarne a village 10 minutes drive south east of La Rochelle and offer a modern self-contained flat adjoining their own accommodation.
Entrance
Entrance and Garden
Click image above to enlarge
Living Room
Living Room
Click image above to enlarge
Bedroom
Bedroom
Click image above to enlarge

The flat is fully equipped, has electric heating and bed linen and towels are supplied. Separate bedroom with double bed, en suite wc, hand basin and shower. Settee in living room converts to bed if two separate beds are required. Living room includes IKEA mini kitchen comprising sink, fridge, ceramic hob and microwave. UK TV / Freeview and DVD player, selection DVD's, books, games, maps, brochures.

Garden
Garden
Click image above to enlarge
La Desirade
La Desirade
Click image above to enlarge
La Desirade Garden
La Desirade Garden
Click image above to enlarge

Each room has double patio doors, the bedroom has access to a small but (usually) sunny sitting out area which has table and chairs, sunlounger and electric grill. The flat has an area of approximately 29 m2 (310 sq ft). There is a parking space/turning area at the front of the property.

Guests are very welcome to wander round the quarter acre La Desirade garden where table tennis is available.

We can now offer free access to the internet via a high speed wireless network provided you have a WIFI enabled computer.

The Area

This area really is different from the UK:

Hot summers (2nd sunniest area in France after the Riviera)
Sunflowers and vines in the fields
Tiny lizards darting around
Crickets in the evening
Strange sounding frogs
The brightly coloured hoopoe, a bird that looks like its escaped from the local zoo.
Gardens with bougainvillea, hibiscus, oleander and campsis.

The property has farmland to front and rear and is a few minutes walk from facilities in La Jarne (eg. boulangerie, tabac, pharmacie and supermarche) Nearest restaurants within walking distance are Moulin a Poivre at Belle Aire 15mins (lunch time only) and Cafe du Parc at Aytre 25 mins. The village also has a small golf course/driving range/ indoor tennis arena and an extensive horse riding centre. A large Carrefour supermarket is 10 minutes drive away. 

Chatelaillon Main Street
Chatelaillon Main Street
Click image above to enlarge
Chateau de Buzay - few minutes walk
Chateau de Buzay - few minutes walk
Click image above to enlarge
St Martin de Re
St Martin de Re
Click image above to enlarge
Coulon - 40 minutes drive
Coulon - 40 minutes drive
Click image above to enlarge
Forest de Mervent
Forest de Mervent
Click image above to enlarge
Oyster Shacks, Marennes
Oyster Shacks, Marennes
Click image above to enlarge
Traditional Shoreline Fishing
Traditional Shoreline Fishing
Click image above to enlarge

Climate

Average max temperature July / August = 25 Co.
Average summer sea temperature = 20 Co.
Annual average hours sun = 2300 (England 1436).

Travel to La Rochelle

  From St Malo ferryport 3 hours 45 mins.
  La Rochelle has its own airport 15 mins drive from La Desirade.
  Ryanair - From Stansted and Dublin.
 Flybe - From Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
  Easyjet - From Bristol and Gatwick.
  Jet2.com - From Leeds/Bradford and Edinburgh.
  AerArann - From Cork.
  Eurostar.
  TGV services via Lille or Paris to La Rochelle station.
  Free pick up from airport (15mins) or station (10mins) by arrangement.
  During the holiday, pickups and / or guided tours (including walking tours) can be negotiated.
  Bus service from near flat to La Rochelle centre.

For directions to the holiday flat click here

Booking Conditions

WHY WORRY ABOUT EXCHANGE RATES - PAY IN POUNDS!

Bookings are normally on a weekly basis, Saturday to Saturday. Arrival 3:00pm, departure 10:00am.
Other periods can be negotiated.

June - September  £400 per week (including electric)
April, May, October  £300 per week (including electric)
Rest of year £210 (excluding electric)

Deposit of 50% payable at time of booking.
Balance payable six weeks before the start of the holiday.
Payment by UK cheque, bank draft or Paypal.

Visitors are expected to leave the flat in a clean and tidy condition.
Sorry no smoking or pets.

For booking enquiries click here

Visitor comments

"Thank you both for such a warm welcome and an enjoyable stay. The location was wonderful, a quiet oasis of calm within easy reach of a wide variety of diverse places to visit. We loved the welcome pack, a crusty loaf, a very palatable bottle of wine and milk in the fridge, all quickly enjoyed in the lovely garden, accompanied by the soft rustle of wind through the trees. Great to have cleaning materials provided and an initial stock of tea, coffee, salt and pepper. You have provided a personal service by paying great attention to the little details and providing your guests with a hassle free stay in a peaceful and relaxed location."
Antoinette and Gerry, Brighton - August 2007

"Have enjoyed a really super week's relaxation at your flat in La Rochelle. Situated just 15 minutes from the airport and even less from the city centre yet out in the countryside. Perfect! Flat compact, immaculate, with everything to hand, nice comfortable bed and our own little area in the garden. What more can you want? We really love this area and hope to come back in the not too distant future."
John and Marion Horton, Hampshire - September 2007

Clive and I had a lovely break in your garden flat, we appreciated your patient explanations of where everything was etc on our day of arrival particularly as we were so delayed. We found our holiday very relaxing and great fun. Thanks again.
Sally Small, Bridgnorth - June 2007

Just to say thanks again for a fantastic break at La Desirade. As outdoor types we found the walking and cycling opportunities virtually limitless; combined with the outstanding local fresh food which we enjoyed on our forays, we have returned home happy and content. Your apartment was clean, well equipped and we really appreciated the privacy of our setting.
John and Elaine, Perthshire - June 2008

I would just like to say thank you for sending us the photographs you took of David. May I also thank you for the wonderful hospitality you showed us on our holiday, you made us feel so welcome. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the flat, it was lovely, so well equipped and homely. It was especially nice to have the little garden area for sitting out in and David particularly enjoyed the bird watching in the surrounding countryside. You and Tove certainly made our stay a memorable one.
Brenda and David, Derby - June 2008

This is just a note to say how much we enjoyed our stay with you. I have been back at work for 3 days now and one of my workmates said to me today"you haven't stopped smiling since you got back- it must have been some holiday!" I think that says it all. I think one of the best parts of the holiday was coming back after a day's sight seeing and just relaxing in our lovely garden, listening to the birds and rustling trees. Thank you for taking us under your wing and making our holiday the best ever. We are busy planning our next holiday with you.
Judy and Alan, Sheffield - July 2008

Thank you for a wonderful holiday. We have had an excellent time. We really appreciated the lift from the airport, it was a great stress free way to start our holiday. You have been great, so helpful and welcoming. We couldn't have asked for anything more. The flat is perfect and you provided us with everything we could have asked for, from advice, lifts and even onions! The area is beautiful and we have enjoyed taking in the bars, shops and cafes as well as enjoying walks and trips out. You have a lovely place and we plan to return soon, only with a car so we can explore further still.
V.and A, Sheffield - July 2008

We wanted to say we had a lovely, much-needed relaxing time at La Desirade and to thank you both once again for being such splendid hosts.
Michael, Kerry and Lily, Chislehurst - August 2008 

German and Danish Visitors.
"Ferien wohning mit garten fur zwei personen. Zehn minuten von La Rochelle und der strand."

"Ferie lelighed / appartement til 2 personer. Lille privat have. 10 min til stranden og La Rochelle centrum med bil. Ejerne taler dansk. Linned og electricitet er med i prisen."

Links

We have made your holiday Carbon Zero at no cost to yourselves.
www.co2balance.com - Your holiday will be made CarbonZero at the expense of the proprietors. This is achieved by estimating an average Carbon Footprint for visitors over the year. Funds are then invested by co2balance.com on our behalf in a range of projects including forestry in Brittany and energy efficiency in Africa. Investment in these projects achieves absorption or prevention of an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to your travel and stay in the property.

Newsletter - 2008

Our newly converted flat opened for business in March 2007 since when we have had visitors from England, Wales, Scotland, Channel Islands, France and the USA. Several of our guests have come without a car and have got around pretty well walking, by bike, local bus and with some lifts from us, though to get the best out of the area a car is really needed. We are always in residence when the flat is let so are on hand for advice, information and in the unlikely event of something going wrong. Some guests we rarely see after the initial tour round the accommodation and garden. Others have become personal friends, having a glass of wine, taking trips to the local market. We always say, knock on our door as often as you like or not at all. Its up to you!

We learnt quite a lot from our guests about the area for example David (who came all the way from Derby by motor bike) got very excited about seeing black redstarts in our garden. Another time when I was chatting casually about high vapour trails wondering what routes were being flown a guest said "I can tell you exactly where each plane is going to". Olav and Hua spent a fair time visiting the Cognac distilleries and also local family wineries in the Bordeaux area which we would have thought was a bit too far afield. Geoff also based himself here to look for housing in the Cognac area. Michael and Lily enjoyed playing table tennis in our garden and for 2009 we will have a couple of bikes for the use of guests.

On occasion Alan has acted as a personal Sat Nav for people unhappy about driving around the area. Speaking of SatNavs some people have got lost when trying to find us because our postal address is St Rogatien but La Desirade is actually adjacent to the village of La Jarne on the D111 road linking the two villages, on the La Jarne side of the level crossing. Anyway greetings to everyone who has stayed here and the best of luck for 2009.

New for 2009

Two bikes will be available for the use of guests.

Contact Details

For further information please feel free to contact Alan and Tove using the following details.

La Desirade, Route de St Rogatien, 17220 St Rogatien, France

Telephone: 0033546302104 :: Mobile 07974 819702

Email: bookings@larochelleholidayflats.co.uk

www.larochelleholidayflats.co.uk & www.larochelleholidaycottages.co.uk