Travelling Tips: Château de La Trousse

Another very beautiful place that we have visited is Château de La Trousse, to the east of Paris. It is an old 17th century estate that has been subdivided into the French equivalent of condominiums. The grounds are fantastic with swimming pool, orangerie, dry moat, and all the trappings of elegant living. Mostly owner occupied with the owners seeming to be predominately Dutch. The units are of two types, rooms in the main house, and "townhouses" in the renovated stables and front buildings. We unfortunately got a unit in the main house.   Though it is straightforward to drive to, it was impossible for me to find on a map. So much so that I think the owners actually are trying to hide it! There are rental listings on the Internet, as well as real estate listings, but I could not find a single map that pinpointed where it is. Make sure you know the location and the gate code before departing!   Another caveat regarding our particular accommodation, which we rented through Aileen Gong at www.frenchflatrentals.com. If you rent this unit, be forewarned that its kitchen is tiny (phone booth size, no kidding) and no phone or Internet connectivity is available. The light switches are also of the wireless type occasionally seen in retrofitted architecture...nearly impossible to figure out...sometimes turning off the lights in the other room, and sometimes doing nothing. Keystone Cops stuff.   The worst thing though is being victimized by the game sometimes played by absentee-owners: Aileen does not mention anywhere that there would be a 65 euro non-refundable cleaning fee demanded up front before the caretaker relinquishes the keys (he also demanded a 10 euro late arrival penalty, because we arrived at 8:30 PM instead of 5:00 PM). This kind of squeeze is not a mistake; it is a careful calculation that tries to get a bit more money out of the traveller. After all, what are your options when you arrive with family after a daylong drive? What are you going to do? Disappointing, to say the least.   One more note on this beautiful locale: Know where you are when you are reserving something. Aileen's property is branched off the www.chateau-la-trousse.com website, but the descriptions on that originating site are talking about something completely different from Aileen's unit. It is quite confusing (sort of like the light switches). I cannot say for sure that it is deliberate, but all I can recommend is double and triple check your arrangements, and set your expectations realistically if you choose Aileen's unit.   All in all, a beautiful place, as long as your expectations are set correctly.