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Les Platanes, Troubadour and Neptune in detail |
Comfortable, homely and typically French
 The apartments are in a listed building, overlooking the historic Place Carnot in the very centre of Carcassonne, and are accessed up a short traditional French tiled flight of stairs with a beautiful curved iron balustrade. - LES PLATANES - The entrance hall has a hall cupboard and mirror. Inside the cupboard you will find a bag with tapestry and wools for making a tapestry cushion that will eventually go in the sitting room and guests are invited to do some stitching if they wish. There is also a hair drier and small first aid kit. 
Bedroom one has an en suite bathroom also containing a washing machine; co-ordinating blue and cream toile de Jouy curtains and bed-linen; Louis Philippe bed and French style furniture; alarm clock beside bed. There is a small utility room off the bathroom where the water-heater is housed. There is hanging and shelf space there. Both bedroom and bathroom are double glazed with traditional shutters outside and have heaters for use in the winter.
Bedroom two has an en suite shower room. Co-ordinating rose curtains and bed-linen; bateau-lit and matching furniture; alarm clock beside bed. The bedroom is double glazed with traditional shutters outside.  Heater for use in the winter.
Both bedrooms are equipped with fluffy white towels, bath sheet size. WC: There is a separate WC with a wooden seat. The sitting room overlooks the Place Carnot with traditional windows and shutters and French-style ceiling to floor voile curtains; two smart and very comfortable sofa beds (which do not look like sofa beds and which can be used as one double, for a couple, or two singles) and two Versailles chairs,  central chandelier and pretty enamelled wall lights, a standard lamp, nest of marble top tables plus additional occasional table, coffee table with selection of hard-back books and folder with sightseeing information, elegant corner cabinet, large mirror on back wall and smaller mirror between windows, bookcase with large selection of books and games, CD/tape player/radio and large selection of CDs, Turkish rug, well-equipped sewing box. Heater for use in winter. There is a large French buffet that can be used for storage when there is guest using the lounge for sleeping. Les Platanes is amply supplied with local guide books, maps and print-outs from useful web sites; also small French dictionary and phrase book.
 The kitchen/dining room also overlooks the place Carnot with traditional windows and shutters and French style ceiling to floor voile curtains. There is a French-style limed oak dresser with interior lighting, a smart table with a leaf, and matching chairs to seat six. The table is attractive rubberwood with painted legs in a distressed finish to match the chairs, which have comfortable upholstered seats in colours that co-ordinate with the provencal colours of the tiles and paint of the "coin cuisine". Even the table mats echo the colour scheme.
 The kitchenette is new, and has a sink, hob with three gas burners and one electric, conventional oven/microwave, toaster, electric kettle, iron, electric plate warmer, and all the equipment you need for a short or long stay. One or two basic "store cupboard" items are supplied already in the kitchen, and if guests finish any of these it would be appreciated if they would replace them as a courtesy to the next visitor; these are salt, pepper, sugar, mixed herbs and olive oil. There is a small selection of cookery books including an Elizabeth David compendium.
Miscellaneous The two bedrooms, the bathroom and the two living rooms all have very efficient convector heaters for use in the winter (no extra charge is made for the use of these). Les Platanes's floors are wood that has been sanded and polished to a warm finish, apart from bedroom 2 which has a carpet. There are attractive mirrors and prints hanging all around the apartment, including an old photograph of the place Carnot taken on market day around a hundred years ago, in which you can see the apartment! There are several good quality artificial plants and vases of flowers, but guests will no doubt want to buy fresh flowers from the market (or the florist a minute's walk away if you don't arrive on market day) and so there are several vases of different sizes in the corner cabinet in the sitting room. There is a mobile air-conditioning unit for use in the summer if required, and several electric fans. There is even a traditional French shopping bag so that you can make your purchases in the market just like a real French woman! - TROUBADOUR - There is a small entrance hall with a built-in cupboard and small reproduction cupboard.  The living room is beautifully and luxuriously furnished. At one end there is a polished wooden oval table with inlay and four tapestry chairs, and a chandelier above. White tablecloth and napkins with napkin rings are provided, and all the cutlery and crockery are high quality. At the other end there is a comfortable and elegant damask cream sofa with tapestry cushions and an ornate gilded mirror above.  There is also a beautiful tapestry Versailles chair. There is a stunning cabinet with glass doors on top and cupboards and drawers underneath. The glass-topped coffee table allows you to appreciate the lovely rug underneath. There is a magnificent nine-light chandelier above. The reproduction bookcase has a good collection of books and a CD player with a selection of CDs.  The windows all overlook the Place Carnot and have cream silk curtains and typical French fabric blinds that come half way down and end in a point. There are traditional French shutters on all the windows.
The other side of the dining table there is a kitchenette, with a 4-burner electric hob and a separate oven. There are ample cupboards for storing the high quality equipment. The walls of the whole room have carefully chosen prints. 
There is a small utility room with a washing machine and drier, and shelves for storing things like the iron and ironing board, not to mention the traditional French shopping bag so that you can make your purchases in the market just like a real French woman! There is a mobile air-conditioning unit for the summer and a couple of electric fans. The bedroom must be one of the most romantic in Carcasonne! It is furnished in a traditional French style, with a painted cane and wood bedhead.  Above there is a half tester with white lace curtains. The bed linen is 230 thread count white jacquard Egyptian cotton. Sink into luxuriously soft goosedown pillows; there is a square continental pillow and a standard pillow for each person (synthetic are available if required). There is a pale blue throw at the end of the bed, that matches the small frieze on the wall.  There is a single cream silk curtain at the window, held back with an enormous ornate tie-back, and similar fabric blinds to those in the living room. There are delicate bedside tables either side of the bed, and a coordinating dressing table with painted mirror and plump stool. On the other side of the room there is a painted chest and a build-in cupboard. At the far end of the bedroom there is a large French-style mirror. There is an attractive cream and gilded bedroom chair with a cane back, Versailles-style. There are many little extras, such as a ballerina-style jewellery hanger, little ornaments, and, as with the living room, many carefully chosen prints.
 The bathroom is brand new, with white bath, basin and WC, and tiles with a slightly marbled finish. There is a two-tone blue and platinum frieze tile around the room. There is a back-lit mirror and a shaver socket. Please note the bath is small but there is a thermostatically controlled shower unit, rather than a shower that is part of the bath tap.
This is the apartment to choose for a really romantic and luxurious holiday! It sleeps two, and there is a cot available. There are convector heaters for the colder weather. - NEPTUNE - The layout of Neptune is similar to that of Troubadour. There is a small entrance hall with a built-in cupboard and a free-standing cupboard. 
In the living area there is a dining table with four chairs. There is a smart leather sofa with cushions, and a comfortable fabric armchair. There is a coffee table and a nest of tables, a bookcase with a good selection of books, and a shelf unit with CD player. There is an attractive mirror above the sofa, and a large rug in front of it. The curtains are very French, with French-style fabric blinds and traditional French shutters. The decor is modern and very stylish, and as with the other apartments there are carefully chosen prints around the room. At the other end there is a kitchenette with 2-burner hob, stand-alone oven and microwave.  The kitchen and dining area are very well equipped: a real home-from-home. The whole apartment is beautifully light and airy, and there is a wonderful bird’s eye view of the Place Carnot.
There is a small utility room with a washing machine, and it provides useful storage for things like the iron and ironing board, not to mention the traditional French shopping bag.  The bedroom has a double bed and a foldaway single bed, which can be used either in the bedroom for instance if two friends are sharing or if there is a couple with a younger child, or in the living room if preferred. The double bed has a half tester with net curtains, and the duvet cover and pillow cases coordinate with the curtains. There are bedside tables and matching dressing table, and an open cupboard with curtain for storage.
Neptune sleeps three and there is a cot available. There is a mattress available as well, which can go on the floor to provide sleeping accommodation for two children if necessary. There is a mobile air-conditioning unit for the hot weather and a couple of electric fans, and convector heaters for the winter. |