What's the maximum number of people you can accommodate? We have four large bedrooms with 4 double beds and two single beds, so we can accommodate eight guests comfortably. However, such a situation is rare when we take single occupancy into account. Usually the numbers are between five and seven.
Do you mix painting and photography holidays in the same week? Yes, in fact we get many couples and friends who spend their holiday with us specifically because we offer that mix. What's the maximum number of painters or photographers you take at any one time? We aim never to take more than four painters at any one time and never more than four photographers either. Tutoring more than those numbers means that we have to spread our attention too thinly.
Do all guests stay in the house or are they farmed out to local hotels and B&Bs? A communal holiday spirit is very important to the success of what we do here, therefore all guests stay in our house; we don't use off-site accommodation.
Why is there a "free day" on Sunday? Because, often, our guests have travelled many thousands of miles across many time zones and we have found that they need this day to recover from the journey and get themselves acclimatised. However, we do have an in-depth discussion with guests about their needs and expectations, and about the week ahead.
What happens if you only get one person booking for a particular week? Then that person lives with us as family. They get to meet our friends and have the time of their lives. It's happened only a couple of times but both times the feedback was "that was simply the best holiday I've ever had!"
Can you cope with vegetarians or people with special dietary needs? Yes. Please let us know this when you make you booking. The restaurants we use know us well and are eager to please.
Do you cater for beginners? We certainly do! Beginners are very welcome. Please see our "Beginners" page
I'm not an expert or a professional. Will I feel out of place? Not at all! Every guest receives individual attention based on his or her level of knowledge and experience. And, if you were an experienced professional, you probably wouldn't be coming to us for tuition!
What are the arrival and departure times? The holidays run Saturday to Saturday and your arrival/departure "chez nous" will normally be determined by your flight times. However, if there are several people to be collected from or taken to the same airport at different times on the same day then, for arrivals, the latest pick-up time will apply to everyone and, for departures, the time we have to leave the house to catch the earliest flight will apply to everyone. Unusually early departures that make this impractical may incur an additional charge.
As evening arrivals clash with dinner arrangements for all guests, you should try to ensure that your times are reasonable. Very late arrivals may incur an additional charge. Having said that, we always try to find a way round issues like this if we possibly can. If you feel this may be a problem, please discuss it with us before you book your flights.
