L'Orangerie - 7 Bedroom 8 Bathroom Magnificent Suisse Normande Large House and Gardens, Normandy

L'Orangerie is a large 7 bedroom rental gite, with 8 bathrooms (6 en suite). It is a perfect location from which a large family or group of friends can explore everything Normandy has to offer, or just to relax and take in the extraordinarily beautiful surroundings of the Suisse Normande. 
 
The house is over 300 years old, and was part of the historically important Chateau de La Foret Auvray, from which it was separated over 100 years ago.  It has 2 private gardens for use by guests, one within the walled garden of the house - for entertainment and leisure, and one outside with full sized goals for ball games. Young visitors adore the separate 300 year old gate house, now set up specially as a gamesroom for them at the bottom of the garden. Complimentary bikes are available for all ages.
 
Inside you will find the property to be very spacious, clean, and extremely well equipped. We understand that large groups need plenty of room to fully enjoy their stay. We have used top quality furnishings and linen, with some unusual items to make your stay interesting. For the cooler months, the logburner provides a great focal point for everyone to get together all in the same place. 
 
The dining room will comfortably seat 18 people, and the kitchen is very well equipped to meet all your catering needs, with 2 fridge-freezers and many cooking facilities, plus ample crockery and cutlery.
 
Six of the bedrooms have en suite bathrooms/shower rooms. The 7th has its own separate dedicated shower room adjacent to the room. Two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor, making access easier for those preferring not to use the stairs.

The property comprises:

The kitchen has everything a large group will need-ample sized saucepans, serving dishes, crockery and cutlery. There are 2 fridge-freezers, a dishwasher, washing machine, tumbledryer, coffee-makers, 5 ring gas oven (large), separate grill and microwave, toasters and lots of work space to serve. The breakfast table seats 12 - most people use the adjacent large main dining room.

L'Orangerie has 2 sitting rooms. The main room is more than 80sq metres with a 5 metre high ceiling. The focal point is the huge fireplace housing the log burning stove. Plenty of good quality comfortable seating for all.

The separate sitting room has the 2 dvd players, book collection and 2 further sofas, making it another great place for people to find some private space, share a special moment together, or watch a video/dvd. This room houses a large collection of games and books for all ages.

Bedrooms
All bedrooms in L'Orangerie are very spacious. The furniture is good quality, and the bed linen is all by Dorma or Sanderson. The bedroom layout is as follows:

Downstairs: One double bed bedroom and en suite bathroom 

One double bed bedroom and en suite shower room

Upstairs there are :

One double bed bedroom and en suite 

Two x 2 double bed bedrooms and en suite shower rooms

One bedroom with double and single bed and en suite shower room

One bedroom with 3 single beds and separate shower room

An additional 4 quality z-beds are available for flexible sleeping

One wooden cot and one travel cot is also available

All of the bedrooms have heating available, either from the main oil heating downstairs, or by separate electric heaters upstairs.

L'Orangerie has 7 bathrooms plus one cloakroom, giving guests access to 8 toilets. Six of the bedrooms have en suite facilties and the 7th bedroom has a dedicated shower room, separate to the bedroom - this is mainly used by children. 

All the bathrooms have an electric heated towel rail. Handwash is provided in all the bathrooms, together with a supply of shower towels included in the price.
L'Orangerie is heated by 3 separate sources. For the colder months between October and April, the oil central heating radiators are operational as necessary -included in the price. Outside of these months it is £25 pd extra to run. The electric radiators and wood burning stove are available for use throughout the year, as necessary.

Entertainment
L'Orangerie has a well stocked library and games area, with dvd and video players available. The wi-fi is complimentary for use by guests. The large supply of complimentary bikes is popular. We recommend you bring your own bike safety helmets, but there is a large supply at the house (particularly for children). 

Younger children love to play in L'Orangerie's dedicated 'Clubhouse' at the bottom of the garden (safely within the walled garden so parents know where they are).

Garden and outside
There are 2 gardens at L'Orangerie. The main garden looks down from the house - you can just about see the neighbouring chateau and the River Orne. There are plenty of outside chairs and tables, and there are 2 bbqs (an open one and a Webber kettle one). The garden is a haven for seeing wildlife. Look up and you will always see kestrels, kites and buzzards in the skies. Of a night, the owls hoot away like crazy (particularly in Spring). The feeders are a magnet for blue tits, great tits, woodpeckers, nuthatches, redstarts, robins, chaffinches, goldfinches and so many more. Red squirrels, hares, badgers, and the occasional pine marten can also be seen by most groups. The main garden is always planted to give a display of colour. We have boule, skittles, croquet and badminton sets for use in this area.

Outside the main garden, you will find a separate field, with a large set of goals. This is perfect for football, rounders, cricket and any other energetic games.

Parking and Garages
There is plenty of space within the main walled garden to park many cars, or for those who prefer not to look at vehicles, they can park next to the owner's car just outside the main garden (still within the private Orangerie property).

Visitor Suitability
The property is suitable for large groups of multi-generation families (we often have special birthday or anniversary family gatherings), it is also popular with friends who wish to explore Normandy, walking groups, cyclists, specialist car groups, motorcycle groups and fishing groups. 

The 2 downstairs en suite bedrooms are suitable for those with reduced mobility.

Things to do and places to visit: 

Of major significance to this area are the close ties with William the Conquerer, plus the D-Day Normandy Landings during WW2.

There are a number of tourist routes to follow - the DD Landings routes; the cheese routes; the cidre routes; the granite routes. All of these pick up themes pertinent to the history and traditions in this area. Visit important Chateaux, Cathedrals and Historic Ports.

Closeby is the Roches d'Oetre - a geological site that has been developed to include a tourist centre and starting point for many fabulous walking and cycling routes (we are close to the GR 36); mountain biking; horse riding, fishing and kayaking. The region was declared a 'site-naturel' by the French Government in 2011. This exclusive status recognises that the surrounding countryside contains an important and rare mix of wildlife and plantlife, which is now protected by law from any development that may threaten its character.

We have a mixture of great local restaurants and bistros. Local markets are definitely worth a visit. After more than 25 years in the area, we still find something new to do and explore all the time. The house has a wealth of tourist information and brochures about the various activities available in the region, and we are always happy to work with you before or during your stay, to help you maximise your time in Normandy.

Further afield is Paris and Disneyland, Honfleur, Versailles, Monet's Gardens at Giverney, the Mont St. Michel and the Loire Valley.