LOUSTALBEAU:
Loustal Beau is the prettiest house on the Domaine, with the most spectacular views. It’s perfectly sized for four, with a huge private lawned garden – and it’s just steps away from the pool area. Before the renovation, it was a disused barn with the tall archway on the south façade which is so typical of the region. This arch has been preserved and double-glazed, to show off the spectacular views of the Pyrenees from both the galleried bedroom floor and the double height ground floor. The ground floor has a separate wc off the airy 11x6m open-plan sitting, dining and kitchen area with a woodburning stove for winter evenings. This has french doors to a shaded BBQ and outside dining area, which in turn leads to nearly a half acre of secluded lawns and gardens – with, as always on the Domaine, spectacular views of the mountains. The first floor has two bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom. One bedroom has a king size bed, and the other has twin beds.
LOUSTALNEUF:
LoustalNeuf is our most spacious house. The walled garden is a suntrap; it faces South with wonderful views from the shaded barbecue and dining area over green foothills towards the Pyrenees. Inside, some of the original stonework has been exposed, so that you can look at, touch, and feel a century and a half of history – the ceilings have been raised to reveal the massive roof beams and to provide spacious, airy comfort for 4 to 6 people. There’s a double bedroom and a bedroom with 4 single beds, both very spacious, and both with en-suite facilities. The ground floor has a separate downstairs wc off the large (5x11m) open-plan sitting, dining and kitchen area. There’s a woodburning stove for the winter, and bags of room to relax (and have some friends round without having to sit on the floor!).
L’OSTALET
L’Ostalet is a new conversion undergoing complete renovation this winter, and available from 2012. It retains its old bread oven at the back, and has an old stone basin in the living area. It has a downstairs en suite double bedroom and an upstairs en suite twin bedroom. There is a comfortable living area (22sqm), well fitted kitchen and separate dining area. Outside, there is a patio and a large private garden with barbecue area. There is easy access to the heated pool and extensive gardens of the Domaine.
LE DOMAINE
Apart from the large heated pool (with safety fence), there are many hidden corners of calm around Loustalviel. And, for the more energetic, there’s a ‘football pitch’, basket ball, a piste de boules and kit for a game of cricket. The Domaine is surrounded by ancient towns and churches, vineyards and prehistoric caves; it’s within easy reach of golf, sailing, windsurfing, cycling, and horse riding, 20 minutes from the Canal du Midi and just over an hour from the Mediterranean beaches or some spectacular walking (and skiing) in the Pyrenees.