Ariège Author

Another name to add to my list... Know what you mean about the dictionary in hand too - feel naked when I'm reading English fiction now!

Over the last six years this forum has been a lifeline. Running an auberge/restaurant with gites with my husband, this was where we turned to for advice on anything from fixing toilets to publicity to where to get decent sheets. But the book section in particular has been my solace. After a late night in the restaurant I would come into the office and wind down by reading the latest posts. I bought my first French book as a result of a recommendation on here (Fred Vargas!). I have a list of books in my purse for the rare trips to bookshops, all the titles learned on here. And to come in the other month to a thread 44 pages long on kindle, was just brilliant. So a huge thanks to all of you who contribute - and hopefully from now on out I won't be just a lurker! I'm now writing full time so I no longer need an excuse to spend time on here. I can just call it research! Julia Stagg

We've just completed the sale on our auberge and gites but up to the end of August, we were having our best year ever in 6 years of trading. The area has just been classified as a PNR (National Park) so maybe that helped as the majority of our guests are French. Hopefully 2011 will be a better year for you Quillan.

Hi Hinault The Ariege is worth a look - a mixture of high peaks and rolling valleys and close to both Toulouse and Carcassonne airports. Both Foix and St. Girons have vibrant cycling clubs and the Ariégeoise cyclosportive is very famous. And of course, Le Tour is in the area every single year. It's a cyclist's paradise...but then I'm biased! Good luck with the search

Hi ShropshireLass I've pm-ed you with our details but a good starting place is Ariege.com - lots of info on walking/staying in the Ariege Pyrenees.

This might be of use: http://www.landes.cci.fr/upload/tourisme/pdf/hotel_normes.pdf Below the details of the Arrete is a handy chart simplifying the classification criteria for hotels. It might also be worth while talking to someone at the Departementale de la Concurrence de la Consommation et de la Repression des Fraudes. They are responsible for the classification of hotels. Having been through the process last year, it is very formulaic and there isn't much room to negotiate but it might be worth explaining what you plan to do and see what they say. Hope that helps.

Hi Bastet   We pay 51euros pa for a buisness CB with Credit Agircole. I don't know how people get away with having a personal account for their business affairs but as we also have a credit card machine to accept payments then we had no option but to go the official route. Hope that helps.

Eslier Can you provide another link to the regulations you've cited above as I couldn't get anywhere with that one? I'm interested in the comment about the hygiene regs. As a small hotel owner (6 rooms) it's fantastic news to hear that finally France is coming into line with the rest of Europe with regards to hygiene in B&Bs and I'd love to know how rigorous it's going to be.

Josephine Your tenants probably still have their old address on their cheques because they are in temporary accommodation - I'm presuming they are not on holiday for 12 months??  I still think that the proof of address is adequate for GITE owners which was the point of your original post. If the owner decides to extend the let beyond the 3 months maximum for tourist accommodation then the tenant has far more rights and is incredibly protected and as you say more checks need to be carried out.  

An interesting post but I'm sure that I read in the French version of 'Which' magazine that gite tenants must have a permanent address and that the Winter eviction law therefore does not apply as the law can only be invoked if the tenants have nowhere else to go. This makes me think that a gite contract (amended for any prolonged stays up to a max of 3 months) plus proof of a permanent residence is protection enough. With French tenants, the proof of residence is printed on their deposit cheque. With British tenants, you could always ask for their address details - they have then confirmed that they have another address and so you are then protected. Maybe this will help to abate some of the fear that the scare-stories seem to have provoked.  

Thanks for all the help - it's working as we have already had several messages left and some turned into bookings. Cheers  

Thanks Miki! Now we can go skiing without feeling so guilty.

Help! I run a small auberge and can no longer avoid having an answering machine but I need help with composing an outgoing message. I've tried ringing other businesses in the area that I know are closed for the season but my French is not good enough to catch their message. Anyone got time in this hectic season to help out? Cheers!  

I've already tried FT - no help as they only rent pay phones and the charges over a year are too expensive. But thanks for the suggestion...

Hi I need to buy a pay phone because we can't get mobile reception in our village (in the Pyrenees) and guests need to have access to a phone...preferably not for free! Can anyone advise where I can get hold of a coin operated pay phone in France? I'd rather buy than rent. Cheers Mark

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like an awful lot of money on materials - what exactly needed doing? Were you starting from scratch? We've taken over a small auberge which was already running so hopefully it won't be as big a job...fingers crossed. Cheers Julia

Hi We've been told we have to have a "verification of installation and equipment by a competent technician" at our hotel as part of our security inspection. Has anyone else out there had to have this and if so, can you advise us how much it would cost and who qualifies as a 'competent technician'? Can we use a local electrician or do we have to use a recognised organisation? Thanks in advance for the help... Mark and Julia