The Gîte at Château de Séailles, 32190 Séailles, Gers
These terms apply to bookings made directly with us. If you have booked through Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO or Abritel, that platform’s payment, deposit and cancellation rules apply instead — but the house rules, safety notices and countryside cautions below apply to every stay, however it was booked.
The gîte is let as a holiday home for the enjoyment of you and your party. It may not be used as a main or second residence, nor for any commercial, professional or craft activity.
Maximum occupancy is 8 guests, counting children over one year of age. If that number is exceeded without our prior agreement, we may decline the additional guests, end the rental at the guest’s fault, or charge a proportional increase.
The whole of the gîte’s interior, excluding the unfinished attic space: kitchen and dining room, living room, full bathroom and separate WC, and a double bedroom on the ground floor; a bedroom sleeping up to four, a second double bedroom, a small sitting room and a second full bathroom upstairs. Approximately 140 m² in total.
The walled courtyard with its outdoor seating and barbecue; use of the shared swimming pool and pool area; and the run of six hectares of shared grounds — park, ponds, woodland and orchard, with walking paths.
The South Lawn and Terrace of the château are kept for the private use of our family. The château itself, its garages, workshops, chai and laundry, and anywhere marked private, are not part of the rental and should not be entered without asking.
Parking for up to three cars sits immediately outside the gîte, parallel to the exterior wall. Once in a while we may need to ask you to move a car — for garden machinery, or to let something large past.
During your stay we and anyone working for us keep a right of access to the grounds, woods and pool without notice, and to the gîte and courtyard with reasonable notice, or without notice in an emergency.
Swimming and fishing in the ponds are not permitted.
The gîte is let unserviced, as self-catering accommodation. We do not provide hotel-style services: there is no breakfast, no meal service, no daily or mid-stay cleaning, and no reception. The house is yours for the length of your stay.
The guest binder in the house lists local caterers, producers and markets for fresh local produce. These are independent businesses in the area rather than services we provide, and you arrange and pay them directly.
The gîte is prepared before you arrive — clean, beds made, linen ready, surfaces disinfected and the house aired. Each guest has a set of bath towels on arrival. Linen is not changed during the stay. The final clean is included in the price, though we ask that you leave the house in good order (see section 7).
Prices are in euros, VAT included, and cover only what is named in your reservation. The tourist tax (taxe de séjour) is charged per person, per night, in addition.
Arrival is from 4pm. Departure is at or before 11am.
You are welcome to arrive in person or let yourself in with the key box, whichever suits. On departure we carry out a brief inventory before you leave.
At the time of booking we ask for 50% of the rental in advance, and for a copy of the passport or national identity card of the lead guest.
In the month before you arrive we ask for a security deposit of €600, by bank transfer or cheque, returned within 21 days of your departure provided nothing is owing.
The deposit may be retained in whole or in part where charges are unpaid at departure, where guests not listed on the booking have stayed, or to cover damage, loss or theft of fixtures, finishes, furniture or equipment, or cleaning substantially beyond what a stay normally requires.
You confirm on booking that you hold third-party liability insurance (responsabilité civile), and we may ask to see proof of it on arrival.
If you cancel:
The security deposit is returned in full in every case.
Failure to meet the conditions set out here may be treated as a cancellation by the guest.
If circumstances outside our control force us to cancel, all sums paid are refunded in full. No further compensation is payable.
The swimming pool is unsupervised and is not fenced. It is fitted with an immersion alarm. The deactivation code is in the guest binder. The alarm re-arms itself automatically a few minutes after it stops sensing anyone in the water. Please leave it active whenever the pool is not in use — it is there to protect children.
The pool is available to adult guests and to children in their care, but you are responsible for your own safety and for that of any child with you. Children must not go to the pool without a responsible adult.
No glass at the pool. Breakages or spills must be cleared and reported to us straight away so the area can be made safe. Please take your belongings with you when you leave the pool area.
The pool is closed over winter, generally October to April.
The ponds are there to be enjoyed, but no swimming and no fishing. The same responsibility for your own safety, and for any child with you, applies.
Please treat the place kindly — the buildings, the furniture, the plants, the animals and the people.
Sound. The cheerful noise of people enjoying themselves is welcome, in the gîte, the courtyard and around the pool, between 9.30am and 10pm. Acoustic music is welcome — bring your guitar. But no amplified sound of any kind. This valley carries sound for kilometres, and the quiet is the reason most people come.
Gatherings. Any gathering or celebration at the gîte is limited to the guests staying in it and named on your booking. The property is not a venue: no visitors from outside your party attending as guests of an event, and no one beyond the maximum occupancy above.
Smoking. Not in the gîte, and not in the woodshed by the courtyard. The courtyard is fine. Cigarette ends must be put out fully and disposed of properly. Please be careful with fire at all times.
The septic system. It treats everything ecologically, and stops working if the wrong things go into it. Nothing but toilet paper down the WC — no wipes, sanitary products, nappies or plastics. Bins are provided in each bathroom; tie the bag and put it in the general waste.
Games. There is a table tennis table by the pool, a foosball table and a croquet set in the woodshed beside the courtyard. Do let us know if something breaks while you are using it, so it can be mended before the next guests.
The fire pit in the courtyard has wood in the woodshed — though in periods of high heat or drought neither will be available, for fire safety.
Rules and notices posted around the property apply alongside these terms.
Anything damaged beyond fair wear must be repaired or replaced at the guest’s expense, from the deposit or, if the deposit does not cover it, in addition to it.
The déchèterie is beside the Mairie in Séailles. Head west along the Route de Séailles to the Mairie, then left into the parking area with the bins. Paper, plastic and tins go right; glass in the middle; general rubbish left.
Compost, if you would like to: the heap is in the alley to the right of the gîte as you face the big red door. Uncooked vegetable matter only — no potato or aubergine, no seeds, no orange or banana peel, no onion, garlic or leek.
The chickens, if you would like to feed them: nothing cooked, and no onion, garlic, aubergine or peppers. Break or cut whatever you give them into small pieces. Please check the gate is properly latched when you leave.
Day to day, we ask that you keep the gîte reasonably clean during your stay. Basic cleaning things are under the kitchen sink and in the cupboard under the stairs. Ask us if you need the vacuum cleaner, batteries or light bulbs.
The château has a large dog and several cats. They are not allowed inside the gîte, but roam the estate freely.
We are not able to accept guests’ pets. With our own animals about the place, chickens on the estate and wildlife all around it, this is not a household that can take visiting animals safely.
Please also read the note on wildlife below.
Please tell us promptly if something is wrong, so it can be put right.
We decline responsibility for loss, theft or damage to persons or personal belongings. Guests are responsible for damage caused within the property and its surroundings during the stay.
The building is medieval, and comes with some unavoidable quirks. Two doorways have very low lintels — a genuine hazard if you are tall. They are signed, but please duck. Guests are responsible for ducking, and for the consequences of not ducking.
There are two old bakery ovens in the living room and two old wood stoves in the living room and kitchen. None of these are to be used. They are in poor condition and unrepaired. Given the state of the oven doors, please do not open them at all.
Country sounds. We are surrounded by the noise of nature and of farming. Sometimes it is completely silent; more often there are chickens, owls, hawks, crows and a great many other birds, crickets, frogs, cows, sheep, dogs, and sometimes tractors, aircraft, and occasionally military jets from the airbase an hour and a half away at Mont-de-Marsan. These are the sounds of life here, and we invite you to enjoy them.
Water. There are unfenced bodies of water on the property — two ponds, a small creek and the pool. Please take care, particularly with children.
Wildlife. Wild boar, hairy caterpillars, snakes, toads, tortoises, newts, spiders, bats, owls and bees, among others. Sightings are rare enough to count as luck — but don’t touch. There are mosquitoes, for which we apologise.
Ground. Not level. We keep the paths and lawns as best we can, but surfaces are uneven, with lumps, bumps and holes. Watch your step.
Plants. Many are beautiful and some unusual, but much of the perimeter hedging is thorned — rose, blackthorn, thistle, hawthorn — and does scratch if you get close. There are nettles, and probably some poisonous plants. A good rule: if you are not certain it is edible, don’t eat it. Please don’t forage for wild mushrooms.
Weather. Sometimes too cold, sometimes too warm, sometimes wet, sometimes — please — raining. This is the flow of our glorious, slightly damaged planet.
Drought and water shortage. Grass and plants become very dry and highly flammable by late summer. Please keep that in mind with the barbecue and the fire pit. No open flames in August and September — no fire pits, no bonfires, no candles, no flame torches — and please take particular care with cigarette ends.
Complaints must reach us by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt no later than 8 days after the end of the stay. Anything concerning the accommodation itself must be raised within 3 days of arrival.
Failing agreement, the parties elect mediation before the competent courts of Auch (32000), France.
Château de Séailles, 32190 Séailles, Gers — September 2026