We will be traveling through the Loire and Dordogne regions in Oct. Some of the rentals I have checked charge extra for towels and sheets. Does anyone know why? I'm curious why it isn't included in the price. I have never encountered this in Italy or Spain.
Thanks.
I've seen this too in other countries, but not on every listing. We've just chosen places that include bedding and towels into the cost.
Yes I’ve heard of this practice from friends who rent Gites in France. The people who are renting often drive from their own country with the supplies they need or they rent linens and sometime cookware from the owner. It is common with some rentals in France.
And we’ve rented a Gite that required us to wash the bed linens before we moved out, or face an extra charge.
We've encountered all of the above in places we've rented in France, Switzerland, and once in England.
Hell from Wisconsin,
Yes, very common in France, especially when renting from individuals.
The French have a six week vacation work year. And many vacation in France. I mean, who wouldn't with the beauty of the region, the history, and the FOOD. Many of the cottages are to rented Saturday to Saturday not by the night. The French can pack linens and beddings in their car and they are ready to go. For the owners of the cottages this is really nice. They don't have to do laundry after each rental. It keeps the prices down. And if you have visited the Gites de France web site, those prices ARE GREAT.
So far I have rented sheets are rented places that provide price included. I have considered buying sheets in Paris before we go into the countryside. And leave them with the last rental family. They would get a fairly new set for the price of cleaning them.
wayne iNWI
I've rented from Gites de France dozens of times, and most of the times we've had to pay extra for bedding, and often towels. The reason is probably, as others have said, that most renters drive from home and just load the stuff in their car.
However, I've never encountered this: "we’ve rented a Gite that required us to wash the bed linens before we moved out, or face an extra charge." Clean the gite, yes, but wash the bedding, no.
And yet it happened, Robert. We had to plan trips to the drop off, pick back up later laundromat on our checkout day.
I’m sure Bob believed you, Cyn. I’ve never been given that option but could well imagine it. What a pain .
For the OP—It’s so common that I store up old, beat up linens to take on these trips and leave them afterwards. We go to a yearly conference, often held in dormitory settings. Our old towels go there to die.
Bets - R.I.P., faithful terry cloth!
And I have encountered this on Cape Cod (bring your own sheets) and Virginia Beach (wash the linens before leaving). So it’s not just France, just individual owners.
We always carry old wash clothes on European trips as they are virtually never provided in hotels or apartments not owned by Americans. We just toss half a dozen of the rattiest ones we have on top of the suitcase and dump them along the way if they get sour. We also stock up on the shower mittens that are kind of rare in the US but standard in France. My husband likes them for his shower so we buy a few on each trip and then he uses those in the apartment and we take them home with us.
I had a worse experience when traveling in Rome back in the 70’s. My traveling companion got food poisoning and by the time we reached Rome by train from Innsbruck, he was too sick to even carry his backpack. When we got off the train in Rome, there was a guy hawking rooms a local hotel near the train station. He said he had a room at a hotel very near the train station and he would even carrying the backpack of my friend to the hotel. The room was on an upper floor of the hotel and you had to put coins in the elevator to make it work. The room was very nice but it was a little more money than I wanted to spend, but my friend was really sick so I said I would take the room for one night. He said he wouldn’t change the sheets unless I stayed two nights. I took a look at the sheets and decided spending two nights there was better than sleeping on sheets that weren’t changed from the prior guest.
As Joann says, bringing your own linen is common on Cape Cod. We have been going there for 40 years, and have always had to borrow linen from family in the Boston area.
.... Clean the gite, yes, but wash the bedding, no...... We have been asked to strips the beds and place in the washing machine and turn it on prior to leaving. Assume a cleaning staff later dried the sheets and made the bed. Take them at their words.
It has been fun reading all the replies. In reflection, it makes sense. I live in Northern Ca and cabin rentals sometimes have that stipulation. I just hadn't encountered it (until now) in our many rentals in other countries. I have had to strip the bed, take out garbage, etc. but not provide our own bedding. All our rentals on our upcoming journey have sheets and towels. I would have paid the extra if they didn't.
Enjoy your travels, with or without bedding.
I am staying at a gîte in Brittany in September and made sure to choose one that came with linens as I am arriving by train and don’t feel like hauling them with me!
I am staying at a gîte in Brittany in September and made sure to choose one that came with linens
We always do that -- either one where the linens are included, or where we can rent them from the owner. The Gites de France web site is very good about including that info.
