A range of massages to become available at La Croix Spa

Guests are now able to enjoy a range of massages during their stay at La Croix Spa.

Linda Gardner, who is a qualified masseuse, is now able to offer our guests Swedish essential oil, hot stones and indian head massage.

This is in addition to the existing beauty treatments available to guests here, offered by Jennie.  These include waxes, facials, manicure, pedicure, hand/foot massages, acrylic nails, fills, replacements, French manicure and others (contact us for a full list).

Linda is also qualified to offer Spray-Tanning and we are wondering if that would also appeal to guests who are wanting to kick-start a tan?

What are your thoughts?

La Croix Spa gets Green Heating!

In advance of Christmas / New Year clients, we have now installed Infrared Heating in or largest cottage "Corneille".

We always had electric heaters in Corneille, but there were many reasons we switched to infrared. 



The existing heating was expensive to run, never did a thorough enough job and were always a bit in the way.

We've now been able to reduce the load in Corneille from 8.5 Kilowatts to 3.5kW !!!  And it now feels warmer!

So we're being green, reducing our electrical load (always high in Winter) and keeping our costs down.


Infrared Heating can be anything up to 75% more energy-efficient than standard electric heating, gas or oil. This is because it doesn't heat the air, like these other types of heaters, but heats up the room and objects within it, so they start to radiate heat as well.

Because of this, Infrared also eliminates the chances of having Mould and Mildew which form on cold surfaces (like windows) with older forms of heating which just heat up the air. (Warm air = moist air).



In addition, the heaters are of thoroughly modern design and can be as discrete or out-in-the-open as you want.  In these pictures here you can see how attractive the examples are and we've now reclaimed our floorspace as well - because they're all wall or ceiling-mounted.

One of them is even a blackboard which we have placed in the kitchen / dining room.  The company that supplies these (see their Infrared Heating showsite here), Green Energy (eu) Ltd, can also do panels with picture motifs to order.

They are also very easy to install, the whole lot went in over a weekend.

Huge, exciting aquisition for La Croix Spa!

Big news!!! 
We have just signed the Stage 1 contracts to purchase our old neighbour Sylvain's property.

Very exciting news.  I am currently having to restrain Paula (heavily), from executing all the plans she has for the place before the property formally becomes ours in January.

 Sylvain's relatives have, however, agreed we can start at least tidying up the grounds in advance of the Final contract, as these have quite over-grown since the poor old boy passed away suddenly in February and next January leaves us very little time to get started before other pre-season work also starts to compete.
 

This purchase doubles the terrain available to guests from 8 to 16 acres and now adds some very pretty woodland, meadow and woodland walks.  There is a small plantation of about 2 acres of Red Pine, which will be fun for the kids to play in and around the lines of trees.

The acquisition also adds one of the two lakes you drive between as you reach La Croix Spa (the one on the left as you arrive). We will put up shaded spots and sitting areas on the far bank and we will allow guests to fish-for-fun from here (pending clarification of the exact permissions, which we'll get at Stage 2). Herbert Heron already appears to help himself for free from here and is subject to no rules and regs!

The property comes complete with ints own children's playhouse-in-waiting.  The girls are going to clear it out and we'll tidy it all up, get some paint on the walls, and it will be perfect!

The open grange guests will already be familiar with will become an open-air, but under-cover games area with ping-pong, basket-ball hoop and other facilities, so you can watch your kids from your cottage terrace.  It all obviously needs a good clear-out and tidy right now.

The house and inside barns will all remain private and not available to guests for the time-being.


We do not intend to expand the guest accommodation at any time soon (nor our prices). All the new features will be available within the existing package! :-)

And finally.... what a gorgeous November day - we were all in t-shirts !!!!

La Croix Spa - before and after restoration

I thought these two photos would be of interest.  They are before and after shots of the renovation at La Croix Spa of almost the same perspective. (Second photo is slightly more zoomed-in).

First shot was taken in about 1993 before renovation.

 

This second shot was taken in about 1997 immediately following renovation.

What a huge difference and an amazing job!

SW France holiday activities - now on Google maps

I have just transposed our popular holiday activities onto Google Maps. Have a look!

View Holiday Activities Southwest France in a larger map

I think this is a great combination of technology with our information in a really tourist-friendly presentation. (I need to find better icons for some activities, but these are a great start).



Paula has now just handed me her file of all the other attractions, restaurants, points of note to add!

I now also need to update our  holiday activities website to accommodate this map and also bring the look and feel more up to date.

I'll post major revisions as I go.  Let me know what you think.  Is this useful?

Christmas At La Croix Spa

I dug out some photos of Christmas past.  You can get some sharp frosts overnight and when the sun comes out in the morning it is absolutely beautiful.

Sharp hoare frost lit up in the morning sun.

By 2 p.m though it melts away.

These photos were taken about 10:00 in the morning.

Above is a view over the meadow and to the right, Henri's pond through Sylvain's grange.

Everything is crispy underfoot and the world is utterly silent.

The walks around the lakes are always gorgeous whetever the season, but in the Winter they can be crisp and clear. 

The Jacuzzi really comes into its own at this time of year!  A bracing run down to the enclosure and then 38 degrees centrigrade of hot bubbles!

Our new Jacuzzi!

Our blue jacuzzi had served us well for 7 years, but we decided last year to upgrade.

Our new jacuzzi had arrived in April and was sat in a corner of the lawn while we had a large wedding party here - we simply couldn't decommission the old one.  But then in a gap between spring weekend guests, we bit the bullet.
All the decking had to come up and using a Jemmy, some wood and a car jack Richard got it on an angle where we could slide it over the wall at the back of the pool area.

Paula co-opted 10 willing volunteers with the promise of a barbecue and a relaxing afternoon using the pool (who could refuse?).

We then heaved all 390 kilograms onto the back of a trailer and drove around to where the new one was sat.

We then reversed the procedure on the new jacuzzi:  onto the trailer; brrrm, brrrm, brrrm round to the back of the pool area; "heeeave!" off the trailer, up the little hill and over the wall.

"Phew!"  Time for a Barby!

And here we have the finished article, all in place ready for use.