Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Salies-de-Béarn, France

Built in 2005 in the shape of an African "Ashanti" stool, this stylish villa of 220m² is located in a rural hamlet, not far from the riverside towns of Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez. The property is single storey, so ideal for anybody with reduced mobility. For families with young children, the closest primary school is in the local village (5 minutes) - and the nearest boulangerie is a leisurely 10-minute cycle ride away! The motorway is easily accessible, should you need to commute to work. (Please note that distant traffic noise is audible from the garden.)

Although the villa is in a countryside setting, there are close neighbours, so you will not feel isolated. The property is accessible via electric gates, which open into a gravel courtyard. To the left of the courtyard is a double garage of 60m², or you can park directly in front of the villa and its south-facing covered terrace. Should you have shopping to unload from the car, there is a door to the left of the terrace which opens directly into the villa's kitchen and utility room.

The front door of the villa opens into a small entrance hall. Straight ahead is a door into the master bedroom and to the right of the hall is a guest WC. To the left, the hall leads into a vast sitting room. Sliding floor-to-ceiling patio doors open out to a large west-facing dining terrace with lovely views of the garden and the countryside beyond.

To the left of the sitting room is a delightful dining room, which also has sliding patio doors out to the west-facing dining terrace. Adjacent to the dining room is a spacious kitchen with a large utility room, which has a door out to the south-facing terrace at the front of the villa.

The master bedroom is accessible from the entrance hall and has an adjoining dressing room and an en suite bathroom. Sliding patio doors open out to a small north-facing covered terrace, which is also accessible from the independent apartment.

A second bedroom is accessible from the sitting room and has an en suite shower room. Also accessible from the sitting room is a study/office, which could be used as a third bedroom. This room has sliding patio doors which open out to the west-facing terrace.

The villa's independent apartment (73m²) is accessible from the north-facing covered terrace, the south-facing terrace or from the garden. Entering the apartment from the north-facing terrace, a door opens into a storage room, which then leads into a utility room with a WC. Next to the utility room is a light and airy main room with a fitted kitchen area and space for a sitting area and a dining area. From this room, sliding patio doors open out to the garden.

Adjacent to the main room is a shower room, along with two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms has a door opening out to the villa's south-facing covered terrace; the other bedroom has a door out to the garden.

It would, of course, be possible to reintegrate the apartment's rooms back into the main part of the villa to create a five-bedroom property with lots of additional living space.

The villa is set in an acre of grounds (4,230m²) planted with mature trees and shrubs. There is ample space for installing an in-ground swimming pool (subject to permission), along with a summer kitchen, a barbecue area, a children's play area, a boules piste...

The property is located 10 minutes away from the riverside towns of Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez. Salies-de-Béarn is famous for its healing thermal spas, so is very popular with visitors throughout the year, many of whom are looking for upmarket accommodation to stay in during their cures. Both Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez have excellent shops and amenities. The closest boulangeries and local shops are about five minutes away, as is the village primary school. Orthez has a good choice of secondary schools for older children - and the International School of Béarn in Pau (40 minutes away), which follows the English National Curriculum, accepts children of all ages.

THE VILLA (147m²)

- a south-facing covered terrace adjacent to the front door with additional access to the utility room in the villa and the apartment
- a west-facing dining terrace accessible from the sitting room, dining room/kitchen and office/third bedroom via sliding patio doors
- a north-facing covered terrace accessible from the master bedroom in the villa and the independent apartment
- an entrance hall
- a huge sitting room with sliding patio doors out to the west-facing dining terrace
- a dining room/kitchen with sliding patio doors out to the west-facing dining terrace
- a utility room adjacent to the kitchen and with access to the south-facing terrace
- a master bedroom with a dressing room, an en suite bathroom and sliding patio doors out to the north-facing terrace
- a second bedroom with an en suite shower room
- a study/office/third bedroom with sliding patio doors out to the west-facing dining terrace
- a WC adjacent to the entrance hall


THE GUEST APARTMENT/GÎTE (73m²)

- a small north-facing covered terrace with a door leading into the apartment
- a sunny main room with a sitting area, a dining area, a kitchen area and sliding patio doors out to the garden
- two bedrooms, one with a door opening out to the south-facing terrace
- a shower room
- a utility room with a WC
- a storage room with a door out to the north-facing terrace


THE GROUNDS

- a large garden of 4,230m² (1 acre) planted with mature trees and shrubs
- ample space for the installation of a swimming pool, summer kitchen children's play area...
- a south-facing covered terrace
- a west-facing dining terrace overlooking the garden
- a north-facing covered terrace
- an electric entrance gate
- a gravel courtyard
- a double garage of 60m²


THE POTENTIAL!

If you are hoping to find a contemporary, luxurious family home or holiday home which is in excellent condition, look no further! As well as being close to both Atlantic beach resorts and Pyrenean ski resorts, this super property has five bedrooms (two of which are in the independent apartment), a large garden, which is easy to maintain, and ample space for installing a swimming pool, a summer kitchen, a children's play area... The villa is also perfectly located for anyone who works in Pau, Orthez, Peyrehorade, Salies-de-Béarn...

If you work from home or you need an office/consulting rooms, the apartment would be ideal to use, as would the study/office/third bedroom in the villa. The apartment could also be used for hosting classes and workshops should you wish to run courses in yoga, painting, photography, music, theatre, gastronomy, wine-tasting...

The two-bedroom apartment is an ideal size to rent out either to long-term tenants or to holidaymakers. It would also be suitable for accommodating Bed & Breakfast guests for short breaks, especially for people en route to and from Pau, Bordeaux, the mountains, the coast...

The apartment would also be ideal for a family with teenagers - or grandparents - who could use it as a private annexe/granny flat... or perhaps you could use one or more of the rooms for a gym, a home cinema, a games room... or just reintegrate the rooms back into the villa to provide more living space and bedrooms.


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Telephone & cable internet connection
Double glazing throughout
Air-conditioning
Underfloor heating throughout (heat pump)
Mains water
Septic tank


THE LOCAL AREA

This lovely villa is about five minutes away from the local village and 10 minutes away from the towns of Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez. The property is 50 minutes away from Atlantic beaches and 90 minutes away from ski resorts in the Pyrénées. In addition, the nearby TGV train stations and motorway are easily accessible from the villa, should you need to commute to Pau, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Paris...

The Béarn is very popular with tourists all year round who come to fish or go hiking, mountain climbing, mountain-biking, white-water rafting... During the winter months, the numerous ski resorts in the Pyrénées offer downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow-shoeing - and during the summer months you can head for the Atlantic coast where you can picnic, swim and surf at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

If your interests are gastronomic, visit the daily markets throughout the Béarn, the Landes and the Basque Country to sample the locally produced Jurançon wines, tasty Bayonne ham and fabulous Brebis, which is a cheese made using milk from sheep and eaten with black cherry jam from Itxassou!

Airports: Biarritz, Pau, Tarbes-Lourdes
Train: Orthez, Puyoô, Bayonne, Pau
Coach: Bayonne, Pau
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

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

Attractions: Aqua Béarn, Parc’Ours, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Le Train de la Rhune, Les Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya, Grottes de Bétharram, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte…