House in Salies-de-Béarn, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

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If your dream is to find a fabulous home under an hour from Biarritz and chic Atlantic beaches, this beautifully restored country house will be perfect for you!

Set in grounds of 1.5 hectares (3.8 acres), there is a gorgeous swimming pool enclosed by a Mediterranean-style courtyard, ensuring complete privacy. In addition, this lovely property also has two large barns, which could be transformed into additional living space, business premises or rental accommodation (permission required). A TGV train station, the motorway and two airports are all easily accessible, making this an ideal property for anybody needing to commute to Pau, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Paris...

Built at the end of the 18th-century, the house has 296m² of habitable space and can be moved into immediately - and with five spacious bedrooms, you will be able to accommodate your friends and family in comfort and style when they come to visit!

The property is located on a country lane about 1km from the local village. From a parking area in front of the house, stone steps lead up to an east-facing terrace, where you can enjoy breakfast in the morning sun! From the terrace, the front door opens into a small entrance hall with a sitting room to the left and a kitchen/dining room to the right. The cosy sitting room has an open fireplace and French doors opening out to a south-facing terrace with countryside views.

Adjoining the sitting room is a luxurious bathroom, which has been recently re-styled with a bath, a superb Italian-style shower and a separate WC. From the bathroom, a door opens into a large office with an adjoining room, which is currently used as a ground-floor bedroom. The bedroom, office and bathroom could all be used to create a fabulous master-bedroom suite... or as a two-bedroom B&B suite for families who would be able to have direct access to the accommodation via French doors from the office out to the swimming pool area.

The open-plan kitchen/dining room, to the right of the entrance hall, is spacious and beautifully equipped. Two huge carved stone fireplaces have been incorporated into the décor and curved French doors open out to the east-facing terrace. Adjoining the kitchen area is an arrière-kitchen, which has a door into an adjoining two-storey barn. There is also a utility room, along with a shower room and WC behind the kitchen.

The first and second floors of the property are accessible via an elegant bespoke wooden staircase, which is at the back of the sitting room, where you will also find a walk-in wine cellar. The first-floor rooms are set around a gallery, which is decorated with unique brickwork columns. The first floor comprises four light and airy bedrooms, a delightful family bathroom (bath and shower) and a separate WC. The bedrooms also have wooden internal shutters.

The second floor of the house comprises unconverted loft space.

With permission, additional accommodation could be created in one or both of the property's two barns, one of which adjoins the house. The barns might also be suitable for converting into office space, gîtes, B&B suites, a gym, a yoga studio, a function room for hosting seminars and events... If you have horses or other animals, the barns could be used for stables or as garages, if you prefer to have covered parking.

This super country house 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 spa treatments (cures). Both Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez have excellent shops and amenities.

The closest boulangeries and local shops are just a few 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) follows the English National Curriculum and accepts children of all ages.

THE COUNTRY HOUSE (296m²)

Ground floor:
- south and east-facing terraces with countryside views
- a Mediterranean-style courtyard with covered terraces and a swimming pool
- a small entrance hall
- a large sitting room (approx. 35m²) with an open fireplace and French doors out to the south-facing terrace
- a huge open-plan kitchen/dining room (approx. 40m²) with two decorative stone fireplaces and arched doors out to the east-facing dining terrace
- an arrière-kitchen, with access to an adjoining two-storey barn
- a utility room with an adjoining shower room and WC
- a walk-in wine cellar (approx. 9m²)
- a ground-floor bedroom (approx. 19m²)
- an adjoining sitting room/office/guest bedroom/nursery... (approx. 22m²) with French doors out to the swimming pool and interior courtyard
- an adjoining bathroom with a bath, an Italian-style shower and a WC (approx. 15m²)
- a bespoke wooden staircase to the upper floors

First floor:
- four spacious bedrooms (approx. 22m², 19m², 18m², 18m²)
- a luxurious family bathroom with a bath and a shower (approx. 12m²)
- a separate WC

Second floor:
- unconverted loft space (approx. 40m²)


THE GROUNDS AND THE OUTBUILDINGS

- meadow and woodland of 15,470m² (3.8 acres)
- south and east-facing terraces with countryside views
- an enclosed Mediterranean-style courtyard with covered terraces
- a swimming pool (10m x 5m)
- a two-storey barn adjoining the house (approx. 80m² x 2), with internal access via the arrière-kitchen
- a detached two-storey barn (approx. 70m² x 2)


THE POTENTIAL!

Perfect for a wonderful family home, a chic holiday home or for holiday rentals/B&B, this splendid country house is ready to move into straight away. Permission would be required for converting the barns into more living space - and this property's business potential is huge!

If you work in the Béarn, the Basque Country or the Landes, the major towns in the area, such as Pau, Bayonne, Biarritz, Mont-de-Marsan and Dax are all easily accessible from the property. If you work from home, there is already a large office on the ground floor and the adjoining room would be ideal for a consulting room, if needed.

The region is very popular with tourists all year round, so if you are hoping to generate an income from the property, it might be possible to transform one or both of the barns into gîtes. Alternatively, you could rent out the main house as a gîte for large groups, especially during the summer months, the skiing season and for Christmas and New Year.

There is also a huge demand for Bed & Breakfast accommodation throughout the area, along with groups needing accommodation so that they can enjoy sporting and leisure activity holidays together, such art and photography, cycling and motorcycling, trekking, horse riding, yoga...

In addition, one of the barns might be suitable for the creation of a function room, where you could host fairytale weddings and celebrations, cookery and wine-tasting workshops, corporate seminars and events...

NB: all changes of use and building works will require permission


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Air-conditioning
Double glazing throughout
Telephone + cable internet connection
Heating: air-air heat pump + fireplace
Mains water
Septic tank
Well


THE LOCAL AREA

This lovely country house is two minutes away from the local village and just over 10 minutes away from the towns of Salies-de-Béarn and Orthez. The property is 45 - 50 minutes away from Atlantic beaches and 90 minutes away from ski resorts in the Pyrénées. Should you need to commute to Bayonne, Biarritz, Pau, Bordeaux, Toulouse or Paris there is a TGV train station 2km away and access to the motorway 5km away.

The Béarn and Basque Country are very popular with tourists all year round for hiking, mountain climbing, mountain-biking, white-water rafting, canoeing, fishing... 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 to the Atlantic coast, where you can picnic, swim and surf at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

If your interests are gastronomic, you'll love exploring the many farmers' markets throughout the Béarn and Basque Country, where you can sample locally produced Jurançon and Irouléguy wines, tasty Bayonne ham cured using salt from Salies-de-Béarn and fabulous Brebis, (a cheese made from ewes' milk), which is normally eaten with delicious black cherry jam from Itxassou!

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

Ski: Issarbe, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Iraty, Eaux-Bonnes, Gourette, Somport, Candanchú (Spain), Formigal (Spain)...
Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

Attractions: Parc'Ours, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Le Train de La Rhune, Aqua Béarn, Base de Loisirs d’Orthez-Biron, Golf de Salies-de-Béarn, Thermal Spas, Casino, Grottes de Sare, Grotte de la Verna, Grottes de Bétharram, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte...
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Information about risks to which this property is exposed is available on the Géorisques website : https://www.georisques.gouv.fr