Design for Accessibilty

The gites at Montargen have been awarded the highest accreditation in France, Tourisme & Handicap, from the Association Tourisme & Handicaps, 43 rue Marx Donnoy, 75018 Paris. The award is for all 4 categories available, being handicap moteur, mental, auditif & visuel (physical, mental, hearing & visual impairments).

The gites have been designed from the realisation that it is often not possible for families with disabled and severely disabled members to find suitable self-catering holiday accommodation with facilities for all the family to take a holiday together. Able-bodied and disabled visitors can holiday together at Montargen without differentiation. Disabled people can holiday alone (independent wheelchair user), with family, or with professional carers living in the gite to provide the necessary support. The less mobile and the elderly will also enjoy many of the features provided.

The accommodation has been designed to incorporate the necessary equipment for the disabled in a non-clinical and unobtrusive way. There are two gites, both on a single floor with accessible living space including bedrooms, accessible wheel-in shower rooms and specially designed kitchens.

Access to the gites, and easy manoeuvrability within them, is ideal for wheelchair users. Each gite has its own car parking spaces immediately outside the door. There are no steps or ramps throughout. Both gites have wide doorways and passages, accessible plugs and switches at wheelchair height and full height safety glass doors. All taps (faucets) are lever taps and there are grab rails in the wheel-in shower rooms. There are no low cupboard doors or wardrobe doors (we use curtains).

A two level system has been used in the gites kitchens, with sinks, cookers and hob units at wheelchair level. Oven and hob controls are at the front.

A portable hoist, electric profiling bed and electric pressure mattress is available for use in both gites. See our Equipment List for a full list of accessible and other equipment that can be hired.

We can provide all linen and towels, and duvets on the beds (see pricing). There is a fuel efficient under-floor central heating system. Electricity is separately metered and charged in excess of a daily allowance. No gas is used.

We welcome registered assistance dogs and their owners. We can provide bed, blankets and bowl for your companion on request.

We also provide other special equipment for disabled guests, as well as cots and high chairs for infants (see Equipment List).

We are members of Gites de France with their highest grading of 4 épis (ears of corn) pending completion of formal classification.

We have a Tourisme et Handicap grading from the Association Tourisme et Handicaps, 43 rue Marx Donnoy, 75018 Paris. The grading is for all categories including motor, visual, hearing and mental impairments.

• All on one ground floor level.
• Accessible bedroom with wheel-in shower room.
• Grab rails in bath and shower rooms and let-down rails beside WCs.
• Ample side-loading to WCs.
• All doorways at least 780mm wide, most over 800mm.
• Low-level switches.
• Low windows.
• There is one high-level armchair in each cottage, 22 inches from the ground.
• Level throughout. No ramps or steps.
• Accessible kitchens with low level worktops.
• Accessible sinks hobs and ovens. No low-level cupboards.
• All accessible bedrooms have the minimum required wheelchair turning space.
• No wardrobe doors (curtains used).
• Electrically adjustable profiling bed & electric pressure mattress and other limited equipment is available for hire. See Equipment List.
• Other accessible equipment to suit your individual requirements can be ordered, delivered and collected directly from our business partner, Medical Ortho in Agen, Tel: 05 53 48 65 65 http://www.medical-ortho.com/ .

Gites de France: 4 épis

Gites de France use épis de maïs, meaning ‘ears of corn’ (their equivalent of stars), as their symbol of quality. In the Aquitaine region, this is the highest grading permissable, with 5 épis reserved for chateaux with vineyards.

Tourisme & Handicap: Handicap moteur, mental, auditif & visuel (physical, mental, hearing & visual impairments).

The best awards we can get are comments from our Guests.

Both gites are non-smoking, with no feathers or aerosols used. No pets allowed.