Successful gite/B&B business. Stunning mountain views, close to Med and skiing!

Property Description

Summary
14 bedroom, 13 bathroom, beautifully presented gite complex in excellent condition throughout. The property includes:
• A substantial principal house with 5 en-suite B&B / chambres d’hotes rooms
• An independent 2-bedroom apartment (first floor of main building)
• An independent 5-bedroom apartment (top floor of main building)
• A detached, character 1-bedroom stone gite
• A detached, larger 1-bedroom gite (currently owner’s accommodation)
The property has an overall 3* rating with the Office de Tourisme and will be sold furnished and equipped to this level. The website and social media listings will also be included if required. Retirement due to health issues forces sale.
Location:
Set in the foothills of Mount Canigou in the Parc Naturel Régionel des Pyrénées Catalanes - the beautiful Languedoc region of the South of France. It is within easy reach of both the Mediterranean coast and the ski resorts. A 10 – 15 minute riverside walk takes you into the village with its charming, friendly bistrot and handful of small shops. It is just 3 km to the nearest town with all amenities including a supermarket, petrol station, thermal spa and sports facilities. There are many miles of beautiful walks and cycle rides directly from the house.

Outside:
The property is set in 2 acres of secluded grounds on the outskirts of the village. There are 4 lawned terraces with gorgeous views. A flood-lit swimming pool (11m x 4m), a flood-lit boule court, several different terraces and patios offering a choice of flexible seating areas, all with mountain views. The tile-roofed poolside gazebo has a blue-tooth sound-system and can seat around 30 people. There is child-proof fencing between the pool and the main seating areas and the pool is also equipped with a safety alarm. With almost an acre of woodland the property is self-sufficient in wood for the log-burners. An arrosage runs the length of the property which is mostly surrounded by farmland giving a peaceful and relaxing environment with abundant bird-song and tinkling cow-bells. There is a parking area for 10 – 12 cars. A 2-minute walk from the garden takes you down to the river – a beautiful and tranquil spot for fishing and boulder climbing.

Inside:
The four gites/apartments are all fully independent, each has a kitchen with microwave, fridge-freezer and dish-washer. In addition to this, the large central kitchen is fully equipped to cater for up to 30 people. It includes 2 hobs, 2 ovens, 2 fridges and 2 dish-washers.

The “grand salon” is a versatile reception room of approx. 36m². It has a log-burner, lounge area, solid-wood monastery table and pool table. It also has a 5m film screen and projector with surround-sound system (all included in sale). The main house ground-floor also includes a games room with table football, a dining room, an ironing/linen storage room, cloakroom with shower and a gym with multi-gym, cross-trainer, running machine and exercise bike.
There is a stylish oak staircase to the first floor where you will find:

- 5 x B&B rooms / chambres d’hotes: 4 rooms with double beds, 1 with twin beds, each room with private shower room with basin and WC.

- 2-bedroom apartment: One double bedroom, one twin bedded room, lounge with king-size sofa-bed and dining area, fully equipped kitchen, large, fully-tiled shower room with double basins and WC. Newly re-furbished throughout, with solid oak flooring to lounge and bedroom.

- Top-floor apartment: Completely independent 5-bedroom apartment with separate front-door and panoramic views throughout. Master bedroom with private bathroom including corner bath, separate shower cubicle basin and WC. Second double bedroom with private shower-room, basin, WC. 2 bedrooms with twin beds. 1 bedroom with bunk-beds. Family bathroom with bath (inc. shower), basin, WC and a further cloakroom with basin and WC.

- Gite 1: A detached, character stone-built gite, opening onto a private terrace giving superb views across the swimming pool and gardens to mountains beyond. Downstairs is a lounge with a corner kitchen and spiral staircase. First floor is a double bedroom with en-suite shower and WC.

- Gite 2: Recently refurbished to a high standard with oak flooring throughout, this detached bungalow has a private car-port and magnificent views. It includes a fully-tiled bathroom with basin, bath, WC and walk-in shower cubicle. Double bedroom, large living room with open-plan fully-equipped kitchen. (Could easily accommodate a large sofa-bed.) It has views on 3 sides and large picture windows opening on to an extensive paved terrace with superb views across the valley to the mountains beyond.

The business: The current owners have lived here since 2012 and in that time established a thriving business with an excellent reputation: 5* on TripAdvisor and 9.6 on Booking.com. They offer a specialised service to large groups of 3-generation families, groups of friends or sports/mountaineering clubs. The accommodation is extremely flexible and can cater for groups of any size from individuals or couples up to 28+ people (total: 28 in beds, 2 on sofa-beds plus an assortment of cots and folding beds if required.) In between large “Exclusive Use” bookings, the gites are let as individual units combined with B&B / chambres d’hotes. Further financial information would be available to serious buyers.

Future Potential: The current owners have chosen to run the property simply as a husband and wife team with only very occasional help for whole-house changeovers. Whilst there is proven demand throughout the year, the business has been mostly closed through the winter months. There is enormous potential for further expansion for anyone who wants to develop organised group holidays such as retreats and special interest breaks (painting, cycling, walking, boot-camps, yoga etc.)

The property has huge potential to tap into the extremely lucrative wedding market. Without any advertising, there have been a number of very successful low-key weddings here in recent years. With a small amount of investment this could be a wonderful opportunity. The corporate marketplace (team-building / management away-days etc) was also showing great promise before everything ground to a halt due to Covid!

The building was originally operated as a hotel and restaurant which could presumably be re-instated if desired.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking for a complete lifestyle change in a beautiful part of the world. The current owners are reluctantly retiring due to age and health issues.

Tourism and places of interest: The area is a paradise for hikers, mountaineers, cyclists, bird-watchers and all lovers of nature. There are several of France’s “Plus Beaux Villages” located nearby. The UNESCO world-heritage site of Villefranche de Conflent is 5km away. This pretty, medieval walled village attracts many visitors as the starting point of the famous Petit Train Jaune mountain railway. Nearby Eus is reputed to be the sunniest village in France. Castlenou, Mosset, Evol and many other picturesque villages are close by.

In 2021 the Tour de France passed by the bottom of the valley en route from Prades to Andorra.
Other attractions include the abbeys of St Martin du Canigou, St Michel de Cuxa and the Serrabonne. There are animal parks, caves, rivers, lakes and a vast array of canyonning, watersports and Via Ferrata opportunities. A spectacular mountain drive takes you up to the ski resorts of Font Romeu, Les Angles and Pyrenees 2000 – beautiful all year round! Less than an hour in the other direction are the stunning Mediterranean beaches of the Cote Vermeille: Lively beach resorts of Argeles sur Mer, Canet Plage and Leucate; the historical, fortified artist’s haven of Collioure; the world-famous wind-surfing beach of La Franqui….to name but a few!

This is a renowned fruit-growing region and as you head towards the coast along the “Route des Vins” you will see vineyards growing many well-known grape varieties. There really is something here for all the family.

Transport links: The nearest airport is about 45 minutes away at Perpignan, well-served by Ryanair and Aer Lingus. Beziers and Girona are both about 1 ½ hours, Carcassonne and Montpellier 2 hours and international airports of Barcelona and Toulouse are both around 3 hours away. The TGV train goes from Paris to Perpignan. The local rail network comes from Perpignan to Vernet/Villefranche and there is a regular, though infrequent euro-bus service.

Outbuildings / cellars:
Detached garage, wooden shed (housing ride-on mower), car-port, laundry, extensive ground-floor level cellars/workshops, poolside gazebo, upper terrace gazebo.
Water and heating:
There is central heating throughout, except the smallest stone gite which has electric radiators and wall heaters. The main building has gas central heating throughout (with large gas cylinder) and partial double glazing. Gite 2 is fully double-glazed with electric under-floor central heating and a log-burner. There are 2 further log-burners, one in the grand-salon and another in the 5-bed apartment – both with hot-air circulation systems. The property has mains water and is attached to the mains sewage system with a sewage pump.


Location
Secluded location on the outskirts of the village.