HOLIDAY SEASON IN AUVERGNE / MEZENC BY SNOWSHOE

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.

INTERMEDIATE level : between 300 and 500 m of difference in level every day, that is, 5 to 6 hours' walking.

On the four days when lunch is taken at the hotel, you have the option of walking only half the day. On Tuesday, the walk is on all the day, with the picnic brought. On Thursday, you will have lunch at an inn, and you will need to walk all day long.

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 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).

To use these accommodations, several solutions :

• Free access all the day to the pool and the multi-jet shower.
• Access to the sauna and jacuzzi by session (€ 13 /pers) or unlimited access for the week (€ 58 /pers).
• Massage sessions : several durations (on reservation) : 30 minutes (€ 55 /pers), 45 minutes (€ 65 /pers) or 1 hour (€ 75 /pers).
• Collective relaxation sessions of 45 minutes (€ 17 /pers, minimum 3 persons).
• Spa package for the week at € 120/pers : included the unlimited access to the sauna and jacuzzi, a collective relaxation session of 45 minutes and a 45 minutes re-energising masssage. 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 more than 15 years, prepare 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 half day or the day.

A 30/40-litre rucksack is adequate in principle.

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

Type of snowshoe TSL 225, 205, 206 or 305. Walking poles. No shoes.

Clothing

Warm clothes, comfortable trousers but not too thick (or tights + over-trousers ), polar jacket, mountain jacket (waterproof windbreaker), cap or hood, warm gloves and/or mitts (be prepared for bad weather), scarf, warm socks, leggings (useful in deep snow), a change of clothes for the evening, a swimming costume/trunks for the hotel's swimming pool, a pair of over-ankle hiking boots (mandatory - NOT "snow boots" or low-sided shoes) and a pair of shoes for the evening.

Miscellaneous

Sunglasses, sun cream, a rucksack (30/40-litre capacity about), a flask of at least 1.5 litres (possibly a vacuum one), 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.

• from Saturday 21^st to Saturday 28^th, December 2019
• from Saturday 28^th, December 2019 to Saturday 4^th, January 2020

• The full board, from Saturday evening to following Saturday morning (accomodation in double or single room, breakfasts, lunches and dinners) ;
• the access to the indoor pool and to the multi-jet shower (during opening hours) ;
• the loan of snowshoeing equipment and sticks,
• guides on the snowshoe treks,
• the lunch at the inn,
• the Christmas Eve dinner (included wine),
• the New Year's Eve dinner (aperitif, wine and animation),
• the transport during your stay for the organised activities.

• cancellation and interrupted occupancy insurance ;
• the station to hotel shuttle service ;
• the access to the spa (sauna and jacuzzi) ;
• the massages and relaxation sessions ;
• 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 very open landscapes ;
• The lunch is almost every days warm and taken inside ;
• You won’t need your car : we’ll do the transport with our minibus ;
• The indoor heated pool in free access, the spa in option (sauna, jacuzzi) ;
• the station to hotel shuttle service, organised by ourselves. Don’t be afraid to drive on snow !