LA MAISON DE LA FONTAINE
Special Events ...
Special Events, Themed Short Breaks, Option Packs & Presents
Our house and grounds provide a wonderful opportunity to celebrate a special occasion in style and we can help you plan and organise that once in a lifetime day. We can for instance: organise the hire of one or more marquees together with all necessary fitting out (flooring, tables, chairs, decorations etc); source outside caterers with chefs, waiters and waitresses and bar staff as required; floral decorations; firework displays; live music (disco or classical concert); vintage car with chauffeur; photographers; hot air balloons. We can also arrange those special presents or special surprises which come in the form of a hot air balloon ride, a day or half day in a vintage car, a day or half day at a grand prix circuit etc etc.
Although we only have four guest rooms, we work closely with five other Chambres d’ Hôtes, all less than 10 minutes’ drive away and, between us, we can offer 30 rooms. In addition, the Hôtel du Commerce in Navarrenx 5 minutes away has an additional 20 rooms and the Hôtel de Navarre at Sauveterre 10 minutes away has a further 5 rooms giving any event organised sufficiently in advance the possibility of accommodating up to 120 people in 55 rooms. Our grounds are large enough to accommodate 200 people comfortably and we can also have access to the large salle de fêtes (large village hall with kitchen facilities etc) and fronton (a large hard standing) opposite our house.
Just some of the events we can help you cater for are:
Weddings
Birthdays
Baptisms
July 14th celebrations
Romantic Escapes
Dinners with guest speakers
Valentine’s Day
Mother’s Day
Bonfire Night
Easter
All Saints
Christmas
New Year
We also organise themed weekends or short breaks (of 3 – 4 days) and these include
Ballooning
Vintage Cars
Horse Riding
City breaks
Sports
Music
We are also more than happy to organise a themed weekend or short break at guests’ requests.
For guests and their friends who are looking for something a little different from the above, we offer a number of “option packs”. We try and tailor these packs for the individual needs of a group of guests and, given adequate notice, we can design an option pack to suit nearly everyone. A flavour of what we offer can be seen from the very titles below. Please contact us for further details and to design your specific pack. All option packs include transport, pre-arranged meals and, if staying away from our house for any reason, accommodation. We can also arrange for professional instruction when needed. Prices range from 40 – 250€ per person per day depending on what is chosen. Please contact us for further details.
Sports……..
Sports Pack:
Hire of canoes, bikes, quad bikes, scooter, surfboards and equipment for canyoning and whiter water rafting.
Sports Pack Professional
Equipment hire for cycling, swimming and running / orienteering, training by professional athletes.
Winter Sports Pack
Equipment hire for skiing, snowboarding or snow walking. Tuition if required.
Golf Pack
Green fees, coaching if required.
River, Lake & Sea Fishing Pack
Equipment hire, boat hire, permits. A guide can accompany all fishing trips.
Ramblers
Briefing before departure, maps and other guides, picnic pre-arranged at halfway point, mule/pony assistance if needed. All walks can be accompanied by a guide if required.
Diving Pack
Training if required, equipment hire, boat hire.
Ballooning/Flying/Microlight pack
Equipment hire, training if necessary.
Horse Riding & Carriage Driving
Equipment hire, training if required. A guide can accompany all expeditions on horse.
Racecourse Pack
Car hire, instruction.
Well being & Fitness…….
Wellbeing & Fitness Pack
Pre-arranged appointments at spas for bathing in thermal waters, massage and saunas, pre-arranged bio and detox meals and dinners, guest lectures.
Life Coaching & Stress Management
Working with experienced coaches develop strategies for life enhancement.
Leadership & Personal Development
Working with experienced coaches develop strategies for improving leadership and management skills.
Herbs
Discover the world of herbs and what they can be used for – eating, drinking and healing.
Arts & Crafts…..
Artists of the region Pack
Talks by local artists, visits to artists’ studios, practical work.
Painting & Drawing
Talks by local artists, practical sessions.
Photography
Talks by local photographers, practical sessions.
Pottery
Talks and demonstrations by local potters, practical sessions.
Sculpture
Working in stone, metal and wood with experienced artisans.
Furniture Restoration
Working with experienced artisans restore a piece of your furniture.
Culture….
Culture of the region Pack
Talks by local historians, guided tours of museums and other places of interest.
Concert Pack
Briefing on concert, tickets, meeting with musicians, pre concert and interval refreshments, dinner after concert with musicians.
City Tour Pack
Briefing before departure, maps and other guides. Cities covered include Pamplona and San Sebastian in Spain; Bayonne, Biarritz, Bordeaux and Pau. All city tours can be accompanied by a guide if required.
Gastronomy…..
Gourmet
Pre-arranged restaurant tours, meetings with chefs, eating at the chef’s table, wine tasting, vineyard visits, visits to specialist food producers and shops.
Wine Tasting
Vineyard tours, visits to cellars, lectures & briefings by Master of Wine, tastings and opportunities for purchase. Vieneyards can usually arrange to ship any purchases you make.
Cuisine
Develop cooking skills with experienced chefs.
Property…..
Property Search & Restoration
For those guests staying with us and are thinking of either buying a house in the area or who have already bought one and are in the process of restoring our house acts as our showroom! We and our colleagues have a wealth of knowledge to help you be it suggesting solutions to particular problems, helping with the sourcing of materials (particularly those ever so difficult to find bits), planning and landscaping your grounds, recommending tried and trusted artisans or just helping you integrate into your local community. So spend some time talking to the several of us who have bought, built or restored houses like ours to hear about our successes and failures, about the highs and lows and about our plans for our future projects. You can also discuss with us ways of making our houses more energy efficient and our gardens more rewarding spaces. And, after you arrive here we can also help you with the language, sorting out local bureaucracy and issues such as re registering your car and, when you are away, we offer a home minding and maintenance service.
Landscaping & Garden Design
Theory and practice of landscaping, visiting local chateaux and houses, talks with landscape and garden designers, practical sessions.
Interior Decoration
Theory and practice of interior decoration visiting local chateaux and houses, talks with interior designers, practical sessions.
Education….
Intensive Languages
English, French & German tuition for all levels.
Creative Writing
Working with writers improve your writing skills.
Presents
Why not offer someone special to you one of our exclusive La Maison de la Fontaine presents? We can tailor make a gift for you to give to someone: perhaps a long weekend with a balloon flight; perhaps a gourmet tour of San Sebastian, Pamplona, Bayonne and Biarritz; perhaps a weekend with a musician or musicians who are staying at La Maison de la Fontaine to give a concert or perhaps a week’s “cure” at the local spas. Just let us know what you would like to give and we can arrange it for you.