Welcome Booklet Plaisance

Welcome to Villa Plaisance. For the duration of your stay, the whole house is yours.

This house is over a hundred years old. It has seen countless travellers pass through, for a night or for a season, and it carries the trace of all those lives. Today it also bears the strain of a changing climate, which wears its walls, floors and shutters a little faster. You’ll find in this booklet a few simple ways to help us look after it.

Villa Plaisance is not an empty shell. All year round it welcomes travellers and is home to our family. So it’s possible that something reflects this everyday life: a fork left poorly dried, a cupboard slightly out of order. We count on your understanding, as in any lived-in home.

Enjoy your stay in Provence.

Network (Wi-Fi): Wifi_AirBnb
Password: Psw@2022

The Wi-Fi covers the whole house and the garden. The router is on the ground floor, on top of the two-door cupboard. It’s an Orange router: if anything goes wrong, refer to the Orange instructions. For a simple restart, unplug it for 30 seconds then plug it back in.

Air conditioning
The rooms on the first floor are air-conditioned. Each unit has its own remote control.

The remotes can sometimes feel slow to respond: it’s usually the batteries, so don’t hesitate to change them (spare batteries in the drawer of the living-room coffee table).

A few rules for good use:
- Close the windows and doors of the room when the AC is running.
- No need to set it too low: around 24-26°C, it’s comfortable and uses far less energy. Setting it to full blast doesn’t cool any faster.
- For a short absence (a one to two hour outing): leave it running gently.
- For a long absence (a day out, or at night with the windows open): switch it off.

Keeping the house cool
Anticipate the sun’s path and close up before the rooms heat up:
- In the morning, the sun hits the whole front: living room, sitting area, entrance and blue bedroom.
- In the afternoon, it moves to the side: blue bedroom and green bedroom.
- The kitchen is very exposed in the afternoon and early evening: remember to close its shutters.
- The lower part of the house stays naturally cool: keep it in the dark during the day (shutters and curtains closed) and open it up at night.

As soon as the sun reaches the floor of an exposed room: close the electric shutters, draw the fabric curtains of the front door (outer and inner), close the kitchen shutters, the windows and the doors. In the evening, open everything up again to air out.

Each shutter is operated by a wall switch with three positions: up / stop / down.

- After each use, always return the switch to the “stop” position. This is essential to avoid damaging the motor.
- Handle the shutters gently. Some fittings have been weakened by the strong sun (especially the living-room shutter).
- Never close a shutter completely, and never open it completely. Markers have been placed to show the positions not to go past: please stop at them.

The whole house and garden are open to you. The only exception: rooms and furniture that are locked. If they’re locked, it means they’re reserved for the owners. Please leave them as they are.

Arrival and departure
On arrival as on departure, one of us is always there to welcome you. No key box, no code: we meet in person.

For departure, please agree on a time at least 48h in advance, with Jorge or Alexandre:
- Jorge: +33 7 67 78 37 73
- Alexandre: +33 6 89 71 44 21

Parking
Free private parking is available on the property (up to 3 vehicles inside the grounds).

Turning around by car
Turn around only on the paved area, perpendicular to the lane, just past the pool. Turning around on the gravel area is not allowed, it belongs to the neighbour. Please respect it.

Three ways to open the gate:
1. With the remotes given to you on arrival.
2. By entering the code directly on the gate (communicated on arrival). Please don’t share it with anyone, including delivery drivers.
3. With the switch in the kitchen, next to the intercom.

In all cases, always close the gate after opening it and check that it has latched properly.

Two bins, both labelled “Villa Plaisance”. Please use only these.

- Green bin (general waste): put out on Sunday from 6pm.
- Black bin (recycling): put out on Monday from 6pm.

In short: all packaging and paper goes to recycling (all plastics without exception, metal, cardboard, cartons, paper, newspapers). Glass goes to the glass container. Everything else goes to general waste. The commune’s detailed guide: Sorting guide, Sorgues du Comtat.

Please bring the bins back in once emptied.

Your pets are welcome. A few rules so everything goes smoothly:

- Pool: swimming is not allowed for animals, whatever their size. They may stay in the pool area but must not swim in it.
- Waste: please pick it up and throw it away right away. Small bags are available under the kitchen sink.
- Hair: summer is when animals shed the most. Cleaning is included, but please remove as much as you can of any hair around the house during your stay.
- Nearby: stray cats have taken to hanging around the house, and our neighbour Rémy also has a dog. If your pet doesn’t always get on with others, stay alert.

Your hosts
- Jorge: +33 7 67 78 37 73
- Alexandre: +33 6 89 71 44 21
Also reachable via the form at the bottom of this page.

Emergencies
- Emergency (European): 112 · Ambulance (SAMU): 15 · Fire brigade: 18 · Police: 17
- On-call pharmacies: 3237

Healthcare nearby
- Hospital: Centre Hospitalier d’Avignon (20 min), 305 rue Raoul Follereau, 84000 Avignon
- Bédarrides pharmacy: Place de la Mairie
- Bédarrides doctor: Cabinet médical, rue de la République
- Vet: Clinique de Sorgues (10 min)

Departure is before 10am. Please agree on a time with Jorge or Alexandre at least 48h in advance. One of us is there when you leave: we’ll walk through the house together for the inventory.

Cleaning is included, but please leave the house in a basic state of tidiness:
- Dishes: don’t leave dirty dishes. If you run a final dishwasher cycle, please empty it and put everything back in its place once the cycle is done.
- Fridge: empty it. If you’d like to leave some food, group it together.
- Linen and towels: gather the used ones at the foot of each bed.
- Outdoors: don’t leave anything lying around.

You’ll hand the keys back to us in person. Thank you for your stay, and see you soon in Provence!

- Outdoor lights: their switches are right next to the front door. Please check they are off during the day.
- Plants: if your stay is longer than a week, please water the entrance plants if you can.
- Curtains: the front door is glazed. Keep the curtains drawn as much as possible during the day to avoid overheating.

Mind the step: it can catch you out in the dark. Portable motion sensors (rechargeable) are available throughout the house: place one near the step so it lights up automatically at night.

Window: it can sometimes be a little stiff to open, ease it without forcing.

The library books are there to be read: help yourself freely.

With the droughts, the floor has shifted slightly and one or two laminate boards have lifted. To avoid hurting your bare feet, always place one of the bath mats provided over them.

Be careful when opening the window above the bathtub: don’t pull too hard, it could knock against the shelf.

In case of a long absence, remember to lock the door that opens to the outside.

TV: please always remember to switch it off after use.

- Table extensions: stored next to the cabinet near the French window.
- Extra chairs: available in the study.
- Lights: operated by floor switches.
- Fireplace: no fires in July and August.

American fridge, ice dispenser
The ice dispenser needs a little care. It has a flap that opens to dispense ice and must close again after each use: you’ll hear a “click”.

Sometimes it closes badly. Warm air then gets in and disrupts ice production, which can cause a small leak that damages the fridge’s workings and frame.

Please check each time that the flap has closed properly, and close it by hand if it hasn’t.

You’ll find equipment at your disposal here: vacuum cleaner, steam generator, ironing board, as well as the extra chairs (for the dining room).

As with bedroom 70, remember to lock the door that opens to the outside in case of a long absence.

The pool (12 m × 6 m) is private, reserved exclusively for your group.

Safety
- The pool is fenced: please always close the gate.
- Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
- No diving (maximum depth: 1.80 m).

By the pool
- No glass or fragile tableware by the water: use the tableware provided for this.
- Pool towels are not provided, and the house’s bath towels must not be used by the pool.
- Outdoor shower, sun loungers, parasols and garden furniture around the pool.
- In strong wind, close the parasol and store the loungers under the porch of the house.

Maintenance
- Alex comes to check the pool (water, filtration). His visit is always arranged with you in advance (day and time).

No open fires outdoors: only electric barbecues are allowed.