Description
WHAT’S SPECIAL
What do the clients like about staying here? Repeatedly we are told the feeling of elegance, of space, of grandeur,‘living in a château’ rarely found in more recent houses; the spacious bedrooms and public areas and, best of all, sitting on the terrace overlooking the canal, watching the world go by, a glass of rosé in the hand. That could be you.
This is an elegant town-house, built in 1880 by a wine merchant is situated on the Canal de Jonction in the popular village of Sallèles d’Aude, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Canal du Midi, in the sunny Languedoc wine region.
Access to the house is up a sweeping stone staircase to a small terrace, perfect for morning coffee in the sunshine; the solid original doors open to an amazing hallway, beautifully proportioned; throughout the house are high ceilings and feature mouldings, giving a lovely feeling of space and tradition.
Overall, there is 575m2 of living space over 2 floors; there is an attic, untouched but usable, access via the first-floor suite. Generally in excellent decorative condition, there is double-glazing throughout, and partial programmable electric storage heating. Renovation and redecoration have been constant since we purchased in 2000, now the ongoing task is just keeping everything in good order.
The ground floor comprises a pretty sitting room with working fireplace; a well-appointed dining-room leading to a fully-equipped kitchen with larder; an open-plan suite with free-standing bath, walk-in shower, separate wc, access via 2 sets of French windows to a private terrace; a family bathroom, a guest bedroom with ensuite shower room, another guest bedroom with shower/wc; and one more bedroom which could be used as another reception room.
On the ground floor, there are the original patterned floor tiles (all renovated), and the soft-furnishings have been carefully coordinated (not an easy task!); the first floor original terracotta floorings have also been renovated in all the public rooms.
Up the swooshy staircase with fantastic marble-effect paint job to the first floor. There are 2 bedrooms with a canal view – one palatial guest room with walk-in wardrobe, large bathroom (freestanding bath, walk-in shower, separate wc, double sink), and a second large front bedroom with bath/shower/bidet/wc. There is one more guest bedroom (bath/shower/bidet/wc) on this floor plus another living suite (45m2) with large shower room/wc; also 2 rooms currently used as laundry and storage, and finally an office.
For the DIY/artist/car enthusiast, there is usable cellar space of 275m2, with direct access from the road at the back of the house. The wiring here has been completely renewed; and 3 hot-water tanks provide an endless supply of hot water.
There is a mature pocket-handkerchief of a garden to the front, and a collection of very solid tubs to the rear, where sun-loving herbs thrive.
The house is being sold as a going concern with the successful Bed and Breakfast business dating back to 2000, including many fixtures and fittings, and a full client listing - so you could literally walk in the door and start trading tomorrow. See our website ************ for full details of the Bed & Breakfast and much more information.
AMENETIES/TRANSPORT/CONNECTIONS
The village of 2500 inhabitants has pretty much all services – boulangeries, supermarket, ATM, petrol station, newsagent, bar, restaurants, hairdressers and La Poste, there are good tennis courts, many clubs & activies. The nearest main town is Narbonne with its fabulous food market (Les Halles) plus the full range of shops/hypermarkets/DIY, 15mn drive - then 15mn more to get to the Mediterranean beaches.
The area is very well served for airports – Beziers, Carcassonne, Perpignan and within 1hr, then Montpellier, Girona and Toulouse are all less than 2 hours’ drive. Narbonne is rightly called the ‘carrefour du sud; the A9 and A61 autoroutes meet here, and the station is on the mainline for Barcelona-Paris-Lille Europe, and trains to Carcassonne,Toulouse or Bordeaux.