FAQs for Mainland France and Corsica
Mainland France
We have personally selected a range of properties from which you can choose to stay in to enjoy the fascinating and delightful regions of the Dordogne, Lot, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon and Pays Basque. Many of our houses are lovingly restored and refurnished by their owners and contain some of their own personal belongings. Some of our properties are grand houses with swimming pools and some are small, simple and cosy - but all are honestly described. Some of our houses are in villages, some on the outskirts, others in the country and a few that are quite isolated. The location of each property is given in each description and we would ask you to read this carefully as well as the individual details.
Villas By The Day
French Affair is delighted to introduce you to our programme of villas on mainland France that can be booked on a daily flexi basis. This is ideal for clients who want their villa rental to fit conveniently into their travel arrangements by flight, train or ferry. During March, April, May, June, September and October many of our villas can be booked for any duration, arriving on any day of the week and departing on any day. There is a minimum rental period of 4 days and a daily rate is shown so that you can easily calculate your final price – you can for example stretch your one week holiday into 10 or 11 days, your two week holiday into 16 or 17 days; or if you only have a short period free from work just go for 4 days. Villas that can be booked “by the day” on this flexi basis have daily rental only prices shown in blue so that you can easily identify them.
Villas By The Week
A number of our properties can only be booked on a weekly basis and the “changeover” day is always a Saturday. French Affair have in the past chosen a Saturday as the most convenient arrival and departure day for clients wishing to stay in a villa for one of two weeks. Many of our villas continue to be booked on this basis and during the periods of Easter (22/03/08-04/04/08), Half Term (24/05/08-31/05/08) and July/August (05/07/08-13/09/08) all our villas are booked on this basis.
Check-in & Check-out
Your check in time on arrival at the property will be between 5:00pm and 7:00pm and your check-out time on departure will be by 9:30am.
Security Deposits
You will normally be asked for a security deposit on arrival of between 
150 - 300 (equivalent to £100-£200). This is payable to the owner/keyholder and serves as a security against any minor breakage or damage to the property or its contents. Any extra local charges that there may be for electricity or gas will be deducted from this deposit on departure. In most cases you will be asked to lodge a further security against breakage or damage of £200-£300 (280 - 420 ) by cheque or credit-card with our London office which will be returned to you after your holiday. There are occasional exceptions to the above particularly on expensive properties which can be advised to you upon enquiry.
Taxe de Sejour
You may be required by the owner of your property to pay a local tourist tax which can vary between
0.15 and 1 per person per day (depending on the area), usually less or none for children. This taxe is imposed by the French governement.
Electricity Costs
Electricity costs are not usually included in the price of your holiday. As a guide you should allow approximate charges of £20-£40 (33 -65 ) per week in July and August or £25-£50 (42 -83 ) per week at all other time. Costs will be higher for houses with swimming pools where filters/pumps run off electricity.
Out of season costs (01 November - 31 March) for electricity will vary depending on prevailing temperatures and the extent that the property needs to be heated during your stay.
Cleaning
Your property is cleaned in between rentals and is prepared for your arrival. You should expect however to spend about one hour with the owner or keyholder prior to your departure so that they can inspect to their satisfaction the state of the property in their presence. Although the property is prepared after your departure for the next clients, you are expected to have tidied the property and left it in good order. A few properties have a charge automatically levied locally to cover the owners cleaning costs between rentals in which instance this will be indicated in the property description.
Insurance
Your holiday price does not include personal holiday insurance cover; it is important that you do purchase this at the same time as you book your holiday, or that you already have a valid annual insurance cover. In particular you should be aware that, whilst you are renting one of our properties, you are responsible for it and may be held liable for any damage either to the property or it's contents. You should therefore ensure whatever insurance cover you organise that it does provide protection against liability from accidental damage to the property; normally this is shown under the personal liability cover of the policy.
Swimming Pools
Swimming pools will be in full use and maintained from 01 May - 15 October. Outside these dates it may be possible to prepare a pool for use; clients should specifically request this at the time of booking and may have to pay additional costs for this service.
Out of Season Rentals: 01 November - 31 March
You will only be offered on our web site properties for out of season rentals that are suitable for renting during this period of the year. You can assume therefore that any property that is offered does have suitable heating facilities.
Blankets, Pillowcases, Sheets and Towels
Adequate blankets and pillows are provided in each house; but in most houses sheets, pillowcases and towels are not included in the rental price. However in the majority of cases sheets, pillowcases (8 approx per bed) and towels (2 approx each) can be provided - this must be requested at the time of booking and is payable locally.
Welcome Packs
In many of our villas we are able to arrange a food Welcome Pack at £30 each which can be provided on arrival at the property. It will contain essentials such as bread, eggs, coffee, fruit juice, cheese, ham, fruit & wine. Please indicate your requirement.
Telephones
You will find that in our descriptions an increasing number of properties have a telephone. When this is stated you will be given the telephone number of the property with your travel documents. The use of the telephone will allow any incoming calls (either local or international), but will only allow local outgoing calls. No extra charge is made when this facility is provided.
Pets
Clients are kindly asked not to take pets to our properties, even though EEC regulations have recently relaxed quarantine requirements.
Prices
Each property has a weekly rental price shown in both £ sterling and . The actual price that you will be charged will be in £ sterling; the price is shown for your guidance only and has been calculated at £1=1.30.
Booking
In order to reserve your property rental you will be required to pay a deposit of 30% of your rental costs. If you wish to book "on-line" this payment should be made by credit card or switch card. If your holiday starting date is less than 10 weeks away you will be required to pay the full amount.
Cancellation
Any client cancelling a booking must do so in writing (by recorded delivery post) but the following charges apply, the weeks in question being calculated from the date of receipt of the written cancellation in our office:
Over 12 weeks prior to departure: Loss of deposit
12 to 6 weeks prior to departure: 50% of holiday cost
6 to 4 weeks prior to departure: 75% of holiday cost
Less than 4 weeks prior to departure: 100% of holiday cost.
In the rare event of a cancellation by French Affair of a client's booking all monies paid will be refunded immediately and in full whereupon the liability of French Affair ceases. Should a client wish to change his accommodation for any reason French Affair reserve the right to treat such a change as a cancellation and levy the appropriate cancellation charges. It lies within French Affairs' sole discretion to make any refund greater than would result from the application of these conditions, or to forego any claim against a client for any balance due at the time of cancellation. Should a client not pay the balance due by the specified time French Affair reserves the right to cancel the booking and levy the appropriate cancellation charges.
Payments and credit cards
A deposit of 30% of the rental is payable as a deposit in order to make your holiday booking. The balance is due 10 weeks prior to your departure. We accept payment by Visa and Mastercard credit cards. In this instance no charge will be made on the deposit element of your holiday cost; however if the balance is paid by credit card this amount will be subject to a nominal charge of 1.5% as a contribution to the costs incurred.
Tickets
Two to three weeks prior to your holiday you will receive your property details and directions, as well as any travel documents such as ferry tickets, flight tickets, car hire vouchers, overnight hotels etc.
FAQs
Your Holiday Price – Corsica
In order to provide clients with the maximum flexibility when booking their holiday, we now offer to reserve the parts of the “package” separately. Accordingly we will book the accommodation first on a rental only or hotel only basis, then offer to book car hire and flights if clients require this.
Accommodation:
Villa, self-catering or hotels have individual prices shown on a weekly or daily basis.
Car hire:
The freedom of car hire is pretty much a necessity on Corsica to allow you to explore the stunning scenery on the Island. Our car hire prices are unlikely to be beaten by anyone, and are arranged through Avis whose reputation is second to none. See weekly prices shown; flexible durations can be reserved by simply adding the extra day costs for any number of days over a minimum of 7 days.
Flights:
See the flight programme shown. Since prices constantly fluctuate, we shall quote you the best price possible at the time of booking. Alternatively clients are welcome to make their own flight or travel arrangements.
ACCOMMODATION
VILLA & SELF CATERING Prices Include:
i) Rental of villa or self catering unit.
ii) Linen and bedclothes. Small towels are provided but clients should take their own beach towels.
iii) Electricity and gas; except out of season, if heating is required in cool weather an electricity charge is payable locally.
iv) Cleaning is provided in between villa or self catering rentals ie: prior to your arrival and after your departure. Owners do request however that you leave the property in a tidy state.
v) The services of our overseas representative during the main season.
HOTEL Prices Include
i) Price per room per night based on two people sharing a room. Bed and breakfast or half board is included as indicated. Hotels will be reserved based upon a total minimum holiday stay 7 nights, with a minimum stay per hotel of 3 nights.
ii) The services of our overseas representative during the main season.
Prices do not include:
i)Taxe de sejour – a tourist tax levied locally throughout France. This amounts to 0.5 euros to 1.5 euros per person per day.
Payments and credit cards
A deposit of 30% of the property rental price and/or 30% of ther hotel price(s) plus the price of any flights booked is payable to make your holiday booking. The balance is due 10 weeks prior to your departure. We accept payment by Visa and Mastercard credit cards. In this instance no charge will be made on the deposit element of your holiday cost; however if the balance is paid by credit card this amount will be subject to a nominal charge of 1.5% as a contribution to the costs incurred.
Holiday Dates and Overlapping Seasons
Prices are based on the season in which your holiday takes place. Should your holiday be spread over more than one season, a pro-rata pricing applies. Most villas are only available for two week durations during July and August.
Security Deposits
You will normally be asked to lodge a security deposit of £250 approx for self catering and £500-£1,000 for a private villa. The deposit is payable by cheque or credit card to our London office prior to your departure and is refundable after your holiday. In a few instances the deposit is payable locally on arrival in Corsica and will be in Euros. Please ask if you require specific details otherwise the exact amount will be advised to you when you receive your travel tickets.
Cancellation
Any client cancelling a booking must do so in writing (by recorded delivery post) but the following charges apply in respect of property or hotel costs, the weeks in question being calculated from the date of receipt of the written cancellation in our office:
Over 12 weeks prior to departure: loss of deposit
12 to 6 weeks prior to departure: 50% of holiday price
6 to 4 weeks prior to departure: 75% of holiday price
Less than 4 weeks prior to departure: 100% of holiday price
Any cancellations in respect of flight bookings will incur cancellation charges as levied by the operator. It should be noted that normally any flights that are cancelled are subject to 100% charges irrespective of the notice given.
In the rare event of a cancellation by French Affair of a client's booking all monies paid will be refunded immediately and in full whereupon the liability of French Affair ceases. Should a client wish to change his accommodation for any reason French Affair reserve the right to treat such a change as a cancellation and levy the appropriate cancellation charges. It lies within French Affairs' sole discretion to make any refund greater than would result from the application of these conditions, or to forego any claim against a client for any balance due at the time of cancellation. Should a client not pay the balance due by the specified time French Affair reserves the right to cancel the booking and levy the appropriate cancellation charges.
Cleaning
Your villa or apartment is cleaned between rentals and is prepared for your arrival on Sunday afternoon. You should expect however to spend a short time with the owner or keyholder prior to your departure on a Sunday morning, so that the state of the accommodation and its contents can be checked. Although the accommodation is prepared after your departure for the next clients, you are expected to have tidied it and left it in good order.
Durations
Private villa and self catering holidays are based on 1 or 2 week durations. Most private villas and some apartments are restricted to a minimum 2 week duration between 13th July – 30th August. Your villa or apartment is normally available for your use from 3:00pm on the day of your arrival until 10:00am on the day of your departure. Hotels will be reserved based upon a total minimum holiday stay of 7 nights, with a minimum stay per hotel of 3 nights.
Insurance
Your holiday price does not include personal holiday insurance cover; it is important that you do purchase this at the same time as you book your holiday, or that you already have a valid annual insurance cover. In particular you should be aware that, whilst you are renting one of our properties, you are responsible for it and may be held liable for any damage either to the property or it's contents. You should therefore ensure whatever insurance cover you organise that it does provide protection against liability from accidental damage to the property; normally this is shown under the personal liability cover of the policy.
Welcome Packs
In most of our self-catering units of villas we are pleased to be able to supply you with a welcome food pack on request. This contains such essentials as bread, eggs, coffee, milk, sugar, wine, cheese, ham, and fruit. Should you wish, this welcome pack can be placed in your property awaiting your arrival. A charge of £30 per apartment or villa will be made.
Please indicate on your booking form if you require this service.
Swimming Pool Security Systems
