WALKING AND WELLNESS AT THE HIGHEST OF MASSIF CENTRAL

Stays start on Saturday in the late afternoon and end on the following Saturday after breakfast. Check-in from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm on the day of arrival (with an information meeting at 6.30 pm followed by a welcoming drink).

If you come by train, we’ll welcome you at Le Puy en Velay station for the timetable given at the booking (usually 5.20 pm).

In case of problems or late arrival, contact us on (+33)(0)4 71 08 30 08.

Check-out after breakfast on the last day, between 9.00 am and 10.00 am.

If you come by train, we’ll drive you to Le Puy en Velay station for the timetable given at the booking (usually 10.30 am).

ESTABLISHED BOOKING :

• Contact us by phone or by e-mail to request an option.
• We’ll send you a booking form. To confirm the booking, fill in the form and return to the hotel, together with a deposit of 30 % of the total amount, with the optional insurance amount if chosen (payment by secure credit card by phone).
• The hotel will send you a receipt for the deposit and the confirmation of the booking by post or e-mail.

ONLINE BOOKING :

• On the web page of the stay, a table give you the availabilities and the rates. You can choose the date and book online.
• You will confirm directly your booking online by paying with our secure credit card system.
• If required, you can select the options and the insurance for cancellation and interrupted occupancy.
• When the payment will be done, you will receive your confirmation booking by mail.

PAYMENT OF BALANCE : at the latest 21 days before beginning of stay. 

CANCELLATION INSURANCE :

• Our stays sales are governed by our general conditions of sale. These will be automatically applied in case of cancellation, whatever it is.
• We suggests at the time of booking an insurance contract covering consequences of certain cases of cancellation. Subscription to the contract is optional however really recommended and must intervene at the time of booking.
• Some credit cards include this insurance. Ask for information from your bank.

CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION :

• The customer's signature of the booking form implies acceptance of these general terms of sale.
• The stay registration implies acceptance of the rates, the technical sheet and the general tems of sale.
• Your stay registration means that you heard about the program, you are healthy and you have no medical contraindication to the practice of mountain sport.

The guiding is provided by professional mountain leaders who have a third party liability insurance. However, you are solely liable for any property damage and / or physical injury caused by you inside and outside the hotel during your stay. So you must have an individual and multi-risks third party insurance covering the activities provided for during your stay.

1 or 2 groups, depending on the number of participants :

• Sporty, athletic : 14 to 18 km, differences in height from 400 to 700 metres, 5 to 6 hours' walking.
• Unhurried: 10 to 15 km, differences in height from 300 to 500 metres, 5 to 6 hours' walking.
• Intermediate if only one group.

Stays are not suitable for children under 12.

The stay is for people who have an occasional or regular physical training.

Yours leaders will adapt the routes and their difficulties to the groups.

You will stay at Hotel La Découverte, in a family, double or single room.

A stone's throw from the village, built to blend into the landscape with its wood-faced façades, La Découverte des Estables, a 3-star hotel, offers quality accommodation specially designed for ramblers and hill-walkers. Its 20 rooms all have the save conveniences (bathroom with a roomy shower, separate toilet*, direct phone line) and all face south onto the valley*. An indoor heated swimming pool, a spa, a tennis table room, a billiards table, a lounge with fireplace and free Internet station, a self-service bar, a restaurant with panoramic view, a bowling green, a garden, a terrace and a private car park are among the facilities at your disposal for a quality stay. Near the hotel, 50 metres away there is also a tennis court. Wifi connection in the hotel.

Meals (breakfast and dinners) are served in the hotel at a communal table.

The hotel is a partner of the Regional Natural Park of Ardeche.

* except for the bedroom for PMK (Person Most Knowledgeable) : toilet in the bathroom. Bedroom face east.

Hotel spa

Discover our spa for a relaxing break and a delightful moment, to forget the stresses and strains of daily life ! Thanks to the large windows, you will benefit from the landscape and the view of the high plains. You will find in the spa :

• an indoor heated swimming pool open in summer and in winter : water temperature between 80° and 82°F (27° and 28°C), size 31ft x 12 ft (9m50 x 3m80), depth 4.6 ft (1m40) ; opening hours : from 7.30am to 8.00pm ;
• a sauna with hot stones oven ;
• a multi-jet shower and a bucket shower (of cold water, after the sauna) ;
• a jacuzzi with 5 seats and 1 lounge seat, with jets ;
• a massage room (massage performed for non-therapeutic purposes).

In choosing this WELLNESS stay, you’ll have the freely access all the week to the swimming-pool, the sauna, the Jacuzzi and the multijet shower. You’ll also benefit from a 45 minutes collective relaxation session and a 45 minutes re-energising massage. If there's not enough people for the relaxation session (minimum 3 pers), this session is replaced by 15 mn of massage more.

The village of Les Estables

At the boundary of the Haute-Loire and Ardèche départements, at the foot of mount Mézenc (the giant of the Cévennes rising to 1753 m), the village of Les Estables is the highest commune in the Massif Central, 1340 metres above sea level. From May to October, many activities in addition to trekking are on offer : Mountain biking, tree-climbing, cycling tours, electrically assisted cycling, 4-seasons sledge, hang gliding, orienteering, climbing, fishing. Horse-riding, via ferrata and swimming are also on offer nearby…

From December to March, the snow covers the high plains of Mezenc and Les Estables ski station : you can practise snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, nordic skiing, downhill skiing and snowboarding (thanks to the 8 tracks of Les Estables), dog sledding, snowkiting, igloo building, 4-seasons sledge…

The village of Les Estables is in the Regional Nature Park of Ardeche.

Your hosts

Nadine, Gilles and Alexandre will reserve you a warm welcome ; they will help you discover this region and fall under the spell of these immense landscapes.

Restauration

Christophe, cook chef in the hotel since 2000, prepares meals from many local products. Most of the meals are homemade and you will enjoy traditional dishes. Our meals, in form of a unique menu, are diversified, balanced and adapted to the walkers efforts.

A minibus service is available for guests travelling by train, from Le Puy en Velay station, only subject to booking and on a fixed timetable :

• from Le Puy en Velay to Les Estables: departure of the shuttle before 5.25 pm,
• from Les Estables Le Puy en Velay: day 8 for the train departing at 10.30am.

To book this service, please call +33 4 71 08 30 08 at least one week in advance. Limited number of places.

Please enquire for train timetables and numbers.

During your stay, we organize transport by minibus to the starting points of the trekking circuits we offer. We have one 8-seat minibus, one 15-seat minibus and one 19-seat minibus.

No luggage to carry. You only need to carry your personal belongings during the day; you only carry a picnic in your rucksack twice in the week. On other days, one of your hosts will bring the picnic by minibus.

A 30-litre rucksack is adequate in principle.

Wether you are alone, in couple or with friends or with your club, we’ll welcome you and will do 1 or 2 level groups, depending on the number of participants.

During the 5 days of walking, you will be guided by Alexandre and/or Maxime, two local mountain guides.

Each evening, Alexandre will offer you a hiking route, adapted to the forecast and the group level. The routes and landscapes will be varied. The routes will be able do be adapted to the season and the flora.

Trust us to offer you the best hiking routes !

All the material for picnic is provided : plates, cutlery, hermetic containers.

Clothing

Trousers suitable for trekking, mountain jacket (waterproof windbreaker), shorts or Bermuda shorts, T-shirts, warm pullover or fleece, cap or hat (to prevent sunstroke), gloves and cap (in case of bad weather), rambler's socks (several pairs), leggings (in case it rains), comfortable evening wear , swimming costume/trunks and a towel for the hotel's swimming pool (for for trekking if you have a picnic by the water's edge!), a pair of over-ankle or ankle-length hiking boots (firm ankle support is important), pair of shoes for the evening and possibly a pair of sandals for an hypothetical river crossing during a walk.

Miscellaneous

Sunglasses, sun cream, a rucksack (30-litre capacity about), a flask of at least 1.5 litres (above all for the day when you take the picnic with you), personal first aid kit* (double thickness sticking plasters for blisters, disinfectant, dressings, etc.), needle and thread (just in case), camera, binoculars, etc…

* Many products or drugs are only available on prescription (Doliprane, Bétadine, etc.). Your guide will therefore not be able to give you them, unless so instructed by the SAMU (ambulance and emergency service) in an emergency. So you are advised to bring your own.

Each week from May 9th to October 3rd, 2020, from Saturday to following Saturday.

From 795 euros in 2020. The single rate is obligatory for singles, except for people who accept to share their bedroom.

Two-week stay : discount 5% for the two weeks (different program for each week). Not available for the e-booking, contact us directly.

Children over 12 staying in the parents' room: 20% of.

Group prices: please enquire.

Visitor’s tax : € 1/adult/day in 2019.

Options :

• The station to hotel shuttle service : 25 € per people return.
• Optional insurance : the cancellation and interrupted occupancy : 3,9 % of the total amount of the stay.

General Terms of Sale for organised stays

• The full board, from Saturday evening to following Saturday morning (accomodation in double or single room, breakfasts, picnics and dinners) ;
• The wellness package for the week : unlimited access to the indoor pool, the multi-jet shower, the sauna, the jacuzzi (during opening hours), the 45 minutes collective relaxation session and the 45 minutes re-energising massage ;
• guides on the treks,
• our ideas and help to organise the free day,
• the transport during your stay for the organised activities.

• cancellation and interrupted occupancy insurance ;
• the station to hotel shuttle service ;
• any museum visits ;
• drinks at the hotel bar and during meals, extras ;
• visitor's tax (adults only).

• Treks guided by local mountain leaders, adapted to the group ;
• The wellness package for the week with unlimited access to the spa (indoor pool, multi-jet shower, sauna, jacuzzi), a collective relaxation session and a 45 minutes massage ;
• If you have already come, we will do our best to choose new routes ;
• You won’t need your car : we’ll do the transport with our minibus ;
• Picnic brought 3 times with the minibus. In this case, possibility to walk only a half-day ;
• the station to hotel shuttle service, organised by ourselves.