Pau

...

Located in a traditional Béarnais village not far from Pau, Lourdes and Tarbes, this super three-storey maison-de-maître is in immaculate condition and is ready to move into straight away!

Facing south and with delightful views of the Pyrénées, the maison-de-maître and its various outbuildings are set around a courtyard, forming a traditional "Enclos Béarnais". Pretty gardens extend south beyond the courtyard - and there is now a brand-new south-facing pool where you can swim and sunbathe all day long!

To the west of the courtyard is Outbuilding 1, comprising two two-storey barns, some animal stalls, which are used for storage, a covered parking area and an open-sided first-floor gallery, which is currently used as an alfresco salon.

To the south of the courtyard are Outbuildings 2 and 3, which adjoin each other. Outbuilding 2 comprises a pool house with shower room and separate WC and a south-facing sun terrace equipped with a jacuzzi.

Outbuilding 3 comprises four two-storey barns, which form an L shape. The first floor of this outbuilding has been left open-plan to create a vast area of 257m²!

From the gravel courtyard, the front door of the maison-de-maître opens into a wonderful open-plan sitting room/dining room with a wood-burning stove at one end and a cosy bar area at the other end!

Adjoining this room is a sunny kitchen with a new island unit, along with a utility room and a guest WC, which are just behind the kitchen. A door from the kitchen opens out to an outdoor dining terrace overlooking the courtyard.

From the main room, a staircase leads up to the first and second floors, with two bedroom suites on the first floor and two B&B bedrooms on the second floor. The first floor has a master bedroom suite with an en suite bathroom, an adjoining dressing room and a separate WC. The second bedroom suite has a salon area, a bedroom area and an en suite shower room.

Both bedrooms on the second floor have en suite shower rooms. Please note that the rooms on this floor have sloping ceilings.

Outside, the courtyard leads down to walled gardens and the swimming pool. There is also more than enough room to create a barbecue area, a summer kitchen, a children's play area...

This lovely property is located in the beautiful Béarn, between the mountains and the sea. Hugely convenient for people working in and around Pau, Lourdes or Tarbes, the property is perfect for anyone who loves skiing, surfing and water sports.

Pyrénées ski resorts are 45 - 60 minutes away to the south - and Atlantic beaches are just over 90 minutes away to the west. There are also several swimming lakes nearby, some with leisure beaches and water sports. The centre of Pau is about 20 minutes away; Total and the International School of Béarn are 25 minutes away. Lourdes is also 25 minutes away, as is the airport at Tarbes-Lourdes. The closest TGV station is at Coarraze-Nay, which is less than 5 minutes away.

THE MAISON-DE-MAÎTRE

Ground floor:
- a vast sitting room/dining room with a wood-burning stove and a bar area (79m²)
- a fully equipped kitchen (21m²)
- a utility room (6m²)
- a guest WC

First floor:
- a master bedroom (16m²) with en suite bathroom (11m²) and separate WC
- an adjacent loft-style dressing room/nursery (14m²)
- a bedroom suite with a salon area (14m²), a bedroom area (11m²) and an en suite shower room (7m²)

Second floor:
- a bedroom (11m²) with an en suite shower room (3m²)
- a bedroom (12m²) with an en suite shower room (3m²)


THE OUTBUILDINGS

Outbuilding 1
- an open-sided first-floor gallery overlooking the courtyard, currently used as a salon (27m²)
- a two-storey barn with new roof (44m² + 45m²), which had outline planning permission in 2015 (now expired) for the creation of a gîte
- a smaller two-storey barn (13m² + 13m²)
- animal stalls (23m²), currently used for storage
- a covered parking area (25m²)

Outbuilding 2
- a sun terrace equipped with a jacuzzi
- a pool house (72m²) with a shower room (12m²) and separate WC

Outbuilding 3 (four two-storey barns forming an L)
- a ground floor comprising a huge barn (98m²) with access to the first floor + three more barns (55m², 51m² and 49m²)
- a shared open-plan first floor (257m²), which extends in an L-shape above all four barns


THE GROUNDS (2,514m²)

- a gravel courtyard (an "Enclos Béarnais") with a boules piste
- a new saltwater swimming pool (9m x 4.5m) with cover
- walled gardens planted with mature trees and shrubs
- a south-facing sun terrace equipped with a jacuzzi for six people
- outdoor dining terraces
- a well
- an east-facing gallery overlooking the courtyard (currently used as a salon, but perfect as an alfresco dining area)
- plenty of room for creating a barbecue area, a summer kitchen, a children's play area...


THE POTENTIAL!

In immaculate condition, this superb maison-de-maître comprises 221m² of living space, making it perfect for a fantastic family home or a luxurious holiday home, especially since it is halfway between ski resorts and beach resorts... and with four bedrooms to choose from, you will have plenty of room to accommodate your friends and family when they come to visit you!

If you work from home, there are both small and large barns which may be suitable to transform into an office or consulting rooms (permission required). Alternatively, you could use the dressing room adjoining the master bedroom in the maison-de-maître or one of the other three bedrooms.

The larger barn (44m² + 45m²) in Outbuilding 1 had outline planning permission in 2015 (now expired) for creating a gîte with two bedrooms. The gîte could also be used by you, should you prefer to rent out the main house to larger groups who want to stay together in the same house. It might also be possible to get permission to create several more gîtes in the other outbuildings.

The 760m² of outbuildings could also be perfect for hosting sporting and leisure activity holidays, such as yoga classes and retreats, cookery and wine-tasting courses, theatre workshops, corporate seminars/team-building events... There would also be more than enough room for setting up a beauty salon and spa, a restaurant, a cosy teashop or even an art gallery.

NB: please note that planning permission would be required for conversion of the outbuildings for residential or professional purposes.

With all four bedrooms having en suite bathrooms/shower rooms, it would also be easy to offer wonderful Bed and Breakfast accommodation. As well as providing breakfast, you might like to consider offering evening meals to guests - and even picnic hampers for tasty lunches for their day trips, especially if the hampers are full of local Béarnaise and Basque delicacies!

The property is not far from the GR782 and the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, so you might also like to welcome pilgrims and walkers who follow the routes from Lourdes and Pau. More and more pilgrims are looking for top-quality accommodation to stay in for one or several nights, so you might consider converting one or more of the barns into a gîte d'étape for groups (up to 15 people allowed). With hearty suppers available when pilgrims arrive and delicious breakfasts to enjoy before setting off again, you should be busy all year round!


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Telephone + cable internet
Electric vehicle charger
Heating: gas central heating (Bosch condensing boiler) + underfloor heating (ground floor) + wood-burning stove
Mains gas
Mains water
Mains drainage
Well


THE LOCAL AREA

This lovely property is located in a charming village not far from Pau and Lourdes (20 - 25 minutes), which has local shops (including a boulangerie), a doctor, a pharmacy and several bars and restaurants. The nearby town of Nay also has a great choice of amenities, shops, bars and restaurants - and delicious fresh produce can be bought all year round from local farmers’ markets.

There is a school for younger children in the village - and both Nay and Pau have excellent collège-lycées, which offer a range of study options (some in English), as well as the chance to specialise in theatre, dance, sports… and even horse riding! There is also the International School of Béarn in Pau (25 minutes away), which follows the English national curriculum and awards UK qualifications.

The delightful Vallée d’Ouzom is just minutes away from the property. It extends all the way up to the Spanish border in the Pyrénées, where you can ski at Val d’Azun and Gourette. You can also catch a small open train at Artouste to travel high up into the mountains...

Airports: Tarbes-Lourdes, Pau, Biarritz
Train/TGV: Coarraze-Nay, Pau
Coach: Pau, Lourdes
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

Ski: Gourette, Val-d’Azun, Artouste, Eaux-Bonnes, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Issarbe, Iraty, Candanchú (Spain)...
Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

Attractions: Aqua Béarn, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Grottes de Bétharram, Parc'Ours, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle...