Pillows

[Rob Roy]

I need to buy some more pillows and bed linen. At present I have 'English' type pillows in one of our double rooms, but French square pillows and bolsters for the others. Do you find that most UK guests are happy with the French style of pillows/bolsters or conversely do European guests dislike the English style of two rectangular pillows?

[Cerise]

I find English guests universally dislike bolsters, so have opted for one English (rectangular) and one French (square) for each place.  That gives people a choice and have had no complaints.  You can get rectangular pillows and pillowcases in France now.

[Rob Roy]

[quote user="Cerise"]I find English guests universally dislike bolsters, so have opted for one English (rectangular) and one French (square) for each place.  That gives people a choice and have had no complaints.  You can get rectangular pillows and pillowcases in France now.[/quote]

That is something I was wondering about doing - I'm glad to know that it works!

P.S. What is it about French v. British taste that makes the average duvet covers offered in France so dreadful to me?[blink] I don't want to sleep with tigers, wolves, zebras or any of the other animals they want to sell me - nor with lime green/bright purple stripes, or whatever this week's fashion shade is![:-))] (Nor do I want to offer them to my guests either!)

[Cerise]

Saw some tasteful footballing cows today in LeClerc - any good?[;-)]  Go for all white with pretty bedspreads - that is what we have done and it makes laundry much easier - no matching up to do.

[Rob Roy]

"Saw some tasteful footballing cows today in LeClerc - any good? "

I just must have some of those [+o(] - Going to Brive first thing in the morning [;-)]

I agree about the white though, makes it easier - although our twin bedded room has white sheets and pillowcases with french navy and white check covers which looks nice and fresh.

[Kitty]

The trouble with mixing the different sizes for French and English pillows/cases/duvet covers, you get in a pickle about what goes where, especially when you can sleep 14.  I have all English sizes throughout but I go back to the UK often enough to stock up on linen.

[Wendy]

Rob, we put a bolster on the bed and then the english rectangle pillows against it. We do this because people were folding our good pillows over in half and using them to lean against whilst sittingup in bed. This was ruining them. The bolster gives them just that and our pillows are much happier now:)

[Rob Roy]

Funny you should say that Wen, a bolster and an English pillow is the one combination I can never get comfortable with!

Just out of interest can any of you well travelled people tell me what they use in other countries - the subject has just got me wondering, and I ain't never been nowhere [:(]

[Wendy]

Well simply, when in a French establishment we just ditch the bolster and sleep with the square pillows. If there is just a bolster, well, we do without. Otherwise we have a tug-a-war all night with this one long pillow!. Here, I put the bolster on the bed and expect my guests to use it as they wish. Most often when I go in to service the room it is either in the cupboard or on the floor against the wall and the proper pillows are in place. Fine. Thats how I leave it. To me, the bolster is simply a back support for sitting up and reading in bed.

I have only ever encountered bolsters here in France. Elsewhere you get big fluffy pillows.

Now, I dont mean to change the thread, but, how do you encourage guests not to throw the bedspread on the floor in a heap and walk all over it... but to simply put it aside in the cupboard?. We have lost 4 expensive bedspreads since January because of people just taking them off and leaving them on the floor and stepping on them with filthy shoes.  

[Rob Roy]

It is unbelievable what people do isn't it? Would they do it at home - I don't think so! Perhaps you will have to suggest that the cupboard is there if they don't want the bedspread on, when you show them the room - they might take the hint!

[Hoddy]

Looking at it from another angle - is there some way your guests can be persuaded not to wear filthy shoes in bedrooms ?

Hoddy

[Catalpa]

Impeccably clean floors?

 

 

[:-))][:-))]

[Tillac]

Hi we have 3 gites, we ordered our pillows, towels and sheets on line from England, good price and quality.

 

Paul

[Cassis]

[quote user="Hoddy"]Looking at it from another angle - is there some way your guests can be persuaded not to wear filthy shoes in bedrooms ?

Hoddy[/quote]

Do you not find you actually have to stop a lot of French visitors from taking their shoes off when they come in the house?

[Pads]

why do you stop people from taking their shoes off? I always take my shoes off when going in some ones house, I worry about tar or bits of grit scratching they nice wooden floors, or tar or worse un known dog poo on thier carpets, it may have something to do with being brought up for a few years of my young life in asian countries, but i see it as good manners. Although i have noiced that not a lot of over people return  the curtisey[:)]  

[Cassis]

We don't actually stop them, but we tell them it is not necessary.  There's no point in some people taking their shoes off because the great majority don't.   The ground floor is tiled and there are muck-trapper doormats at the front and back doors which most people wipe their feet on.  So it's not a big deal.

[Christine Animal]

Going back to the tigers, wolves, zebras, etc. on the sheets, Descamps do some nice bed linen (I would go for Les Unis Lin [kiss] ) :

http://www.descamps.com/

[Alan]

Most french we find tend to take the shoes off and leave them outside the room, maybe they think we do a shoe cleaning service[:)]

On the subject of bedspreads this year  after showing them the room, I then tend to fold the bed down and put the bedspread in a cupboard

[mascamps.com]

What about the problem of reconciling the British loving a kettle in the room and the French hating it so much that they pile that plus everything else "British" outside?

Came across that 18 months ago so we had to take the kettles out of the rooms but now have had a complaint against us on a website by a Brit that we don't have kettles in the rooms. You can't win [8-)]

 

Arnold

 

[Cassis]

Here's a cliché with truth - you can please some of the people some of the time, not all of the people all of the time.  Sod the awkward beggars.

[Blanche Neige]

"What about the problem of reconciling the British loving a kettle in the room and the French hating it..."

 

How about leaving the room kettle free but putting a notice saying

"if you would like a kettle in your room please ask"

[Cassis]

I already have visions of people spilling tea over the bedclothes and mats .... [:D]

If you would like a kettle in our rooms please don't ask.  We'll serve you some tea and cake on the terrace or in the salon.

[Blanche Neige]

"I already have visions of people spilling tea over the bedclothes and mats "

Cassis

they could just as well do that with other drinks they might bring with them, coke, beer, champagne et al![blink]

[Cassis]

True, true.  But I'm still not giving you a kettle! [:D]

[Miki]

[quote] "I already have visions of people spilling tea over the bedclothes and mats "

Cassis [/quote]

[quote]they could just as well do that with other drinks they might bring with them, coke, beer, champagne et al [/quote]

True but we have no power over that but, we do with not leaving a

kettle in the room, along with the tea,coffee and milk. Too many Brits can't

handle the firewater and spills were a little too common years ago,

accidental or not ...So as I have said before, no kettle in the rooms

but we will serve people in the residents lounge or wherever else but

not in the rooms. We had this a while ago and very few hotels or B&B's in France have that facility in the rooms.