Bonne La Vie -
Finding out more/ en savoir plus d'informations
- Chambre d'h๔te or Bed and Breakfast
If you stay with us, you can choose from bed and breakfast or include your evening meal (table d'hote). - What about families and pets?
Children are more than welcome and benefit from a 25% discount of the price for children under 11. Children 2 and under are free.
We also allow pets, (at an additional charge - please see the contract) but they will not sleep inside the house. We have a kennel in our garden big enough for a medium sized dog. We also need to have your assurance that the dog is house trained and will not get aggressive with other guests. We reserve the right to remove the pet from the premises, if it makes a nuisance of itself or another guest lodges a complaint.
Pets coming from other European countries should travel with a pet passport. - What facilities do you have?
Guests have access to TV, wireless internet (we also have a desktop computer available for quick email access), a portable sound system can be made available, a cupboard with snacks, a large, comfortable sitting room with TV/dvd player, a smaller, quiet reading room, and a secluded garden with comfortable chairs and tables, and a shaded patio area. We can also lend out bicycles (adult size only, we have 5 they are well maintained but but none are new and trendy!) to guests and provide guidance on local events and places of interest.
60 metres from the house is the river - great for paddling and picnics - and if you can make it a further 100 metres over the bridge, there is the bistro and the historic abbey, both of which are worth a visit.
- Table d'hote
An evening meal needs to be booked 24 hours in advance, and is usually loosely based on French cuisine unless otherwise agreed. Our meals are 3-course and include wine. The cost per person is Euro 19. Children under 11 are half price.
Catering for vegetarians?
No problem, Mark was vegetarian for 20 years before coming to France and learned to cook vegetarian food first, please remember to let us know you book your stay. For table d'hotes meals we need a minimum of 24 hours notice. - How do we reach Bonne La Vie?<
Bonne La Vie is easily accessible from the airports of Toulouse (2 hours and getting less as the roads improve), Pau (1 hour) and Tarbes-Lourdes (40 mins).
Major carriers including Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Iberia, KLM as well as Easyjet, Iberia and many others fly into Toulouse-Blagnac.
Pau-Pyrenees (50 kms from Bonne La Vie) is served by Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly) and Ryanair (Bristol, Brussels-Charleroi, London-Stansted).
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (nine kms south-west of Tarbes, 30 kms from Bonne La Vie) currently only has two scheduled destinations, Air France to Paris and Ryanair to London Stansted (seasonal)or BMIbaby to Manchester. German Wings are scheduled to start flying from Cologne-Bonn in the near future. This airport has recently re-opened. Check the airport website for the latest developments.
All the airports have a range of car hire facilities available.
The TGV train also goes from Paris to Tarbes. The train journey takes about 6 hours or you can go overnight in the very comfortable couchette. Tickets from SNCF. - What about driving and parking?
Bonne La Vie is also accessible by road. Travelling down from northern Europe, the French roads are mainly autoroute, some payage some free (from Pas de Calais expect to pay approx 25). Google maps says it takes about 12 hour driving, our experience concurs, so we generally break our drive from Calais with an overnight stay, but Bonne La Vie is reachable from St. Malo after a full day's drive.
There is ample parking close to the house. Once you have contacted us, we will send you a map on request. - Can you pick me up from the airport?
Yes, we can. There will be a charge per pick-up not per person. The cost per trip to Tarbes-Lourdes airport is 40, to Pau airport 50
Toulouse Blagnac is just too far, there is a navette connecting the airport to Toulouse gare SNCF where there are regular trains to Tarbes, where we can collect you. - How do we book?
If you have checked availability (spaces are available unless otherwise indicated), drop us a line per email with the kind of accommodation you would like (room or suite)and any special requests. Once we have replied to you, you will need to send a cheque / make a transfer for 50% of the total cost to reserve your space.
Customers with British bank accounts are invited to send a cheque, French customers should send a French cheque and all others will be given our bank account details for a bank transfer.
Inclusive one week packages including painting and sculpture workshops
How much do the workshops cost?
Please check the prices and availability tab to get the exact costings. A 10% discount is available for non-participating partners of painting and sculpting courses. We have priced our holidays to be some of the most competitive ones on the market, and at under 499, our all-inclusive* one week packages represent outstanding value for money.
What facilities do you have?
Guests have access to wireless internet (can even use a computer for quick email access), a portable sound system can be made available, a cupboard with snacks, a large, comfortable sitting room with TV/dvd player, a smaller, quiet reading room, and of course the secluded garden with comfortable chairs and tables, a shaded patio area and, from summer, a swimming pool. We also lend out bicycles (adult size only, we have 5 but none of them are new and trendy!) to guests and provide guidance on local events and places of interest. 100 meters from the house is the river - great for paddling and picnics - and if you can make it a further 100 meters over the bridge, there is the bistro and the historic abbey, both of which are worth a visit.
What's included in a course?
Accommodation, food and drink, including generous amounts of wine with dinner, as well as transport to designated locations are included in both gourmet and painting/sculpting courses. Easels on offer for loan to the painters on our course. it is best that materials, supports (paper, canvases etc.) and equipment are provided by yourself. We may be able to supply some drawing materials, watercolour paper, and make canvases, from Mark's personal stock, but these may not be the same as you are familiar with and we will have to make an additional charge for their replacement. Sculptors are limited to working in wood stone and some metalwork, we have some wood and stone-carving tools, arc-welding, grinders etc. these are all used at your own risk. We have a small stock of metal and wood and sandstone to work with (there may be a charge for materials). If you need specialised equipment, check with us we may be able to find it.
For the Gourmet Break, there may be additional charge if you request additional alcohol not included in the menu.
Refreshments are available during the day.
We pride ourselves on being very flexible and will do our best to tailor make our courses to accommodate your wishes. Just ask!
Can I stay somewhere else and still attend your courses?
Yes, non-residential packages are available and we can even recommend several good places offering different types of accommodation nearby. Guests attending our courses on a non-residential basis will benefit from a 200 Euro discount.
What happens to my deposit if I can't make it?
If you are attending a course or booking a package, the full amount will become due 8 weeks before the course begins. If you cancel your reservation more than 3 months before the scheduled date, you will receive back your deposit. Half of you deposit will be returned in the event of cancellation between 2-3 months before the course/package stay. Should you cancel your reservation less than 2 months before the agreed date of your stay, you will lose your deposit.
Independent holiday makers do not need to pay more than 50% in advance, the rest will become due after arrival at Bonne La Vie. However, you will lose your deposit if you cancel less than 3 months before your booking during peak season (two weeks school school holidays at Easter, mid June onwards,July,August,September, early to mid October, Christmas and New Year school holidays and UK half terms in October and May/June)and less than 10 for the rest of the year.
Do we need insurance?
We strongly recommend that you take out a good holiday insurance that covers you for cancellation, delays and losses whilst travelling, as well as illness, injury and third party damage. We do have two good hospitals nearby in Tarbes, but the EU card will only cover the basic cost and you will asked to pay the additional percentage per service (usually between 10-40%) stipulated under the French national health system.
The fine print ...
We reserve the right to charge you for any damage or breakages to Bonne La Vie property. We reserve the right to withhold alcohol from a guest, if we have reason to believe that he could be a danger to himself or others. We reserve the right to ask Pet owners to clear up fouling in the garden and to tie up their animals if they make a nuisance of themselves. Residential themed holidays do not include flights, transfer charges to and from the airport, and some extra alcohol requests.
How do I get in touch with you if I have any other questions?
Please click here for contact details We would love to hear from you.