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CHÂTEAU LES CARRASSES q WELCOME We hope you have a really great stay at Château Les Carrasses. To help make sure you do, we’ve prepared this guestbook. In the following pages you will find useful information about the Château and your accommodation, the surrounding villages, recommended restaurants, our favourite beaches, suggested days out, wine tasting and all sorts of other information to help you make the most of your stay with us. If you’d like any advice on anything that isn’t covered in these pages, just ask. Our concierges have a lot of local knowledge, and will be more than happy to help. If there is anything about your accommodation or your stay that needs attention, or you feel can be improved, please do not hesitate to let us know and we will do our very best to help. Have a wonderful stay! All the team at Château Les Carrasses CHÂTEAU LES CARRASSES q GUESTBOOK INTRODUCTION Our philosophy .................................................4 History of the Château .......................................5 Château les Carrasses & the environment ..........6 1. INFORMATION ..........................................................................9 About Château Les Carrasses ...........................10 Emergency numbers & assistance ....................11 Essential information .......................................12 Making the most of your stay ...........................14 Getting around ................................................15 2. YOUR ACCOMMODATION ....................................................................... 17 Housekeeping & general information ............. 18 Air-conditioning & heating ............................. 20 Plumbing ........................................................ 22 The kitchen & barbecue .................................. 23 Swimming pools ............................................. 24 Sound & vision ............................................... 25 Roaming charges ............................................ 26 TV channels ................................................... 27 3. CHÂTEAU & GROUNDS ....................................................................... 29 The salon ........................................................ 30 The restaurant ................................................. 31 Eating in ......................................................... 32 The main pool & terrace ................................. 33 The barbecue area .......................................... 34 Children ......................................................... 35 Sports facilities ............................................... 37 Massages, beauty treatments & fitness ............ 38 Office facilities ............................................... 39 Safety, security & neighbourliness .................. 40 Booking your event ........................................ 41 CHÂTEAU LES CARRASSES q GUESTBOOK 4. WINE & WINE TOURISM ....................................................................... 43 Château Les Carrasses wines ......................... 44 Tasting notes .................................................. 45 Our philosophy .................................................4 Wine tourism at Château Les Carrasses ........... 46 History of the Château .......................................5 Visiting other Bonfils estates .......................... 47 Château les Carrasses & the environment ..........6 Languedoc wine regions ................................ 48 Bespoke & group itineraries ............................ 49 ..........................................................................9 Wineries near the Château ..............................50 About Château Les Carrasses ...........................10 Corbières & Limoux .........................................51 Emergency numbers & assistance ....................11 La Clape ..........................................................52 Essential information .......................................12 St.Chinian ........................................................53 Making the most of your stay ...........................14 Faugères, Pézenas, Côtes-de-Thongue .............54 Getting around ................................................15 ....................................................................... 55 ....................................................................... 17 5. LOCAL AREA Local villages ...................................................56 Housekeeping & general information ............. 18 Restaurants ......................................................58 Air-conditioning & heating ............................. 20 Fun for children ...............................................65 Plumbing ........................................................ 22 Rainy days .......................................................67 The kitchen & barbecue .................................. 23 Markets ..........................................................68 Swimming pools ............................................. 24 Sound & vision ............................................... 25 ....................................................................... 69 Roaming charges ............................................ 26 6. BEACH LIFE Mediterranean beaches ...................................70 TV channels ................................................... 27 Lagoon beaches ...............................................73 River & lake beaches .......................................74 ....................................................................... 29 The salon ........................................................ 30 ........................................................................77 The restaurant ................................................. 31 7. DAYS OUT A day on the canal ..........................................78 Eating in ......................................................... 32 St Chinian & Roquebrun ..................................79 The main pool & terrace ................................. 33 Narbonne, La Clape & Gruissan ......................80 The barbecue area .......................................... 34 Beach chic Cap d’Agde & Marseillan Port .......81 Children ......................................................... 35 Olargues & the Gorges d’Heric ........................82 Sports facilities ............................................... 37 Carcassonne & Bize-Minervois ........................83 Massages, beauty treatments & fitness ............ 38 Lagrasse & the Cathar castles ...........................84 Office facilities ............................................... 39 Sète, Bouzigues & Marseillan ..........................85 Safety, security & neighbourliness .................. 40 Montpellier ......................................................86 Booking your event ........................................ 41 Collioure & Perpignan .....................................87 St Guilhem & the Pont du Diable.....................88 The foothills of the Pyrénées ............................89 Millau Viaduct & Roquefort .............................90 CHÂTEAU LES CARRASSES q OUR PHILOSOPHY “The restoration and operation of châteaux and wine estates and other character buildings as exceptional destinations, retaining and enhancing their essential purpose and character, wholly integrated with and respectful of the local environment – natural, social, cultural and economic.” hen we bought Château Les Carrasses in 2008 / Château St Pierre de Serjac in 2012, the Estate had been largely abandoned for 20 years. Our idea was to turn it into an ‘a la carte’ Wholiday destination: to provide holidays and breaks that did not demand a compromise from guests, who could choose to have the holiday that suited them rather than have it imposed in a package. Like the best French wines, the aim was to create an assemblage of the best elements of traditional accommodation options: The facilities and style of a quality hotel, the privacy and practicality of renting a villa, the charm and authenticity of a working wine estate and the laid back ambience and service of a private club. While we don’t necessarily have every aspect of each element, we’ve tried to ensure that we have all the best bits and that the estate comes together as a cohesive whole. We hope you find this to be the case. It was also really important to us that the estate be an integral part of and positive contributor to the local community. There are a number of ways we do this. Most importantly we prioritize the employment of local people, including on occasion people from challenging or disadvantaged backgrounds. While this will sometimes create some challenges – language skills may not be perfect for example – we think this is a price worth paying. Not only do we tap into a wealth of local knowledge about the estates, their history and their surrounding environment, but good full time jobs enrich the local economy, enabling young locals to live and raise families in their home villages. Beyond employment, we are very careful to ensure that the estate feels open and welcoming to both locals as well as residential guests. We are convinced that having a great mix of locals, out-of-area French and international guests is the key to creating a great experience for everyone who visits us. Employing local people and ensuring the estate is accessible also creates a lot of local goodwill and ‘anchors’ the Château into the community, something we believe will be felt by our guests as they