SUMMITS AND PLATEAUS OF ARDECHE & AUVERGNE

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.

Only 1 group, intermediate level : 12 to 16 km per day, 400 to 700 meters of elevation gain, 5 to 6 hours of walking.

Stays are not suitable for children under 12.

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

Your leader will adapt the routes and their difficulties to the group.

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).

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).
• 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).

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, 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.

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.

During the 4 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 (list for summer season)

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.

• 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.

• The full board, from first day evening to sixth day (accomodation in double or single room, breakfasts, picnics and dinners) ;
• the access to the indoor pool and to the multi-jet shower (during opening hours) ;
• guides on the treks ;
• 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 ;
• 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 ;
• 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 2 times with the minibus. In this case, possibility to walk only a half-day ;
• The indoor heated pool in free access, the spa in option (sauna, jacuzzi) ;
• the station to hotel shuttle service, organised by ourselves.