Gîte de Poudally can host a small wedding, a family reunion, a birthday weekend or a team day for around 30 guests, who eat together in one dining room and sleep on site in 9 bedrooms. The gîte stands in the countryside at Lalbenque, in the Lot, between Cahors and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, inside the Causses du Quercy regional nature park.
Seminars and company events
The gîte is not a conference center and lists no meeting equipment, but it suits a small team that wants a residential retreat in the countryside. Elsa, who co-runs the gîte, can lead a half day of group games designed to energize a team. The dining room seats the whole group at once, and the grounds offer room for outdoor sessions. Groups can also book hikes, night walks and food outings organized by the owners.
Weddings and receptions
At weekends, and on weekdays too, the gîte can be hired in full and run by the group itself, for a birthday, a wedding or a family gathering. The house then belongs to the group: guests cook, eat and celebrate together and wake up on site the next morning. Self-catered hire runs all year with a minimum of two nights, and by the week only in July and August. Final cleaning is handled by the owners.
Rooms and capacities
The dining room is a modern 90-square-meter space with large bay windows. It seats 30 guests at the same time, at tables and chairs made by the owners, and includes a lounge corner with board games. It opens onto a 70-square-meter terrace with tables and benches. Outside, the grounds cover 1,500 square meters in a dry valley, with a swimming pool, table football, table tennis, mölkky, pétanque, darts, a barbecue and a plancha.
Accommodation
The gîte has 9 bedrooms with 28 beds. In the warm season a lodge tent adds 4 beds, for up to 32 guests. The rooms range from doubles to a six-bed room: La Joyeuse, La Séoune, Le Lemboulas, Le Tréboulou, La Valse, Le Verdanson, La Lupte, La Barguelonette and Le Bartasec. Most have private bathrooms; La Valse is accessible to guests with reduced mobility. Wi-Fi works in the common areas and parking on the property is free. Pets are not accepted.
Catering
For self-catered groups, the semi-professional kitchen is equipped to cook for 30: two gas ranges, a wide electric oven, two dishwashers, several large fridges, a one-meter plancha and tableware for 30. Groups can arrive to a fridge stocked with local produce, or choose from a list of caterers. From Monday to Thursday, when rooms are let individually, Elsa cooks dinners from local produce.
History and setting
Elsa and Manu, the owners, left city life to settle here; Manu built much of the gîte and its furniture himself. The house lies on the GR65, the Way of St. James, 21.5 km from Limogne-en-Quercy, and many hiking, riding and mountain-bike trails start from the door. Lalbenque is known for its black truffle, and the owners organize truffle outings in season.
Getting there
By car, take exit 58 (Cahors centre) on the A20, which runs 10 km away, then the D19 to Lalbenque and the D26 toward Cremps. Cahors station is 20 km away, and TER trains on the Cahors to Toulouse line stop at Lalbenque; the owners can collect guests on request. Toulouse-Blagnac airport is 1 hour 15 minutes by road.
