squidge Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 afternoons to allkitting out a little place down the road at the moment that will (hopefully) be a gite next year to give us a bit of income.need to buy a bed for it. gites de france seem to be mega picky about the type of mattress you have to have.... 35kg minimum density....no foam..... looking at ikea (!) to get this spec you would be looking at rather posh 'sultan hedfors' at a cost of 229 euros for a double. anyone come across this prob before? do i really need to shell out this much on a mattress?! hope not. booooo to gdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 We have a mixture, some latex (French) and some posture sprung (English). The only thing we got caught on was that the mattress protector had to be plastic where we had one of those anti allergenic (think thats right) ones. It probably also depends on who actually carries out the inspection. In our casse we were told just to fit them and nothing was put on the report. They never came back to check. In some areas GDF have done deals with certain shops so you get a discount. You might try asking them if you can buy at a discount on the promise of an inspection, all they can say in no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 When you go on holiday, one of the worst things is having to sleep on a cheap, saggy, uncomfortable mattress.Therefore my advice is, if you splash out on only one luxury for your gite, make sure it is on good quality, comfortable bedding. You will probably have to spend even more than 200 Euros, but it will pay off in the long run - your guests will thank you for it. (And then keep it in good condition by investing in some good-quality waterproof quilted mattress protection covers like the ones sold by www.outofeden.co.uk - they're about £15 for a king size, and very comfortable)(PS: hooooooray to gdf for thinking about the customers!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Unfortunatly with regards to the protectors you need to buy in France for two reasons, firstly the mattress size is different and secondly with regards to the website given....."We regret that we do not send orders outside the United Kingdom." - ( http://www.outofeden.co.uk/delivery.asp ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 [quote user="squidge"]need to buy a bed for it. gites de france seem to be mega picky about the type of mattress you have to have.... 35kg minimum density....no foam..... [/quote]But 90% of mattresses in France ARE FOAM. It's almost impossible (or they think you're an imbecile) to try and buy a sprung mattress here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimportequoi Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I've been replacing mattresses in the gites recently and was told by the people in the shop that foam or latex mattresses are better with the sommiers that most French beds have, that is why there are fewer spring mattresses available. The latex mattresses are quite expensive, similar to the spring, and I went for these. I would not buy really cheap mattresses for any of the beds, I wouldn't provide anything that I wouldn't be happy sleeping on myself. Catherine2, do the outof eden protectors have a little give in them to fit the extra 5cms of a French double mattress? And has anyone found any genuinely impermeable mattress covers in France? I have discovered that the ones I bought from Carrefour are not[:@] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 [quote user="ltf"] Catherine2, do the outof eden protectors have a little give in them to fit the extra 5cms of a French double mattress? And has anyone found any genuinely impermeable mattress covers in France? I have discovered that the ones I bought from Carrefour are not[:@][/quote]They must do, because I bought my mattresses in France from a local bedding shop and the covers fit on them fine. I think that they are genuinely impermeable, because they have a thickish plastic backing, with a quilted top. But they don't squeak, unlike other plastic mattress covers I have come across in some cheap hotels, and they don't make you sweaty. We even have them on our own beds back home in the UK. Before ordering them I called OofE customer services and they were very helpful, apparently that particular model is the one that they supply to upmarket hotels.I thought that the mattresses WERE sprung, but having read the posts above about sprung mattresses not being available in France, I am now starting to question this, and as I am at home in the UK at the moment I can't check. However, whatever it is they are made of, they were NOT cheap, but my goodness they are comfortable, and we have have many comments from guests about how comfy the beds are and how well they have slept.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonraker Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Of course you can get sprung matresses in France! Tréca and Simmons come to mind; look in the Redoute and 3Suisses catalogues for a start or ask for a "matelas à ressorts" in a bedding shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 We bought one from BUT. I don't think they are as popular as latex/foam one over here and the sprung one we bought weighs so much it must be full of lorry springs [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 We bought our sprung mattresses after an IKEA run to Nantes not knowing much about them... having not had an IKEA mattress before ....I am now so glad I bought them they are giving me a great nights sleep ...we also have the toppers on them which gives added protection ...OK you will find cheaper ones ...but ....IKEA give a guarantee of ....I think about 20 years on theirs so I am not expecting to ever buy another one ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimportequoi Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 I have an IKEA sprung mattress and it is soooo comfortable. 229€ is not much to spend on a mattress (assuming it is a double?) compared to some other shops. If you are going into the hospitality business you should at least make sure your guests are comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 We have Ikea mattresses too and we get the same positive comments from all our visitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Taylor Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 "...no foam...."This probably means that you shouldn't just have a sheet of foam rubber (naked yellow bubbly stuff) - latex/foam proper mattresses should be fine. I haven't a copy of the gite standards handy but the CdH ones state: "Sommiers tapissiers ou à lattes ; matelas tapissiers ou mousse épaisse (laine, crin à exclure) : épaisseur 12cm minimum, densité : 27kg/m3 au minimum". So avoid anything stuffed with wool or horsehair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now