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picky mattress spec for gdf


squidge

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afternoons to all

kitting 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

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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.
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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!)

 

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[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.

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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[:@]

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[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....

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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 !
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"...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!

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