school's lodging

At 1700m altitude, the Gîte de l'Ecole is located in the small village of Dormillouse, the only inhabited hamlet in the heart of the Parc des Ecrins. This former communal school, built next to the Temple in the 18th century, was in operation until 1944, the year the school closed. Today, the classroom has been brought back to life with 2 comfortable dormitories and a bathroom, and the vaulted room on the first floor offers a lovely communal table for dinner and breakfast. The outside terrace and small garden offer a quiet place to read or relax in the shade of the hundred-year-old ash trees on the terrace.

Accessible only on foot, less than an hour's walk away (at the bottom of the Freissinières valley), this little refuge is open both summer and winter to welcome you on a half-board basis or for a gourmet stopover.

On the menu, a choice of gourmet dishes and desserts, made by our own hands from organic and mostly local produce. A cuisine enhanced by the daily harvest of produce from our garden, not forgetting the help of our 3 chickens!

In the evening, after a convivial dinner served in the vaulted room, all you have to do is crawl under the comforter for a gentle night's sleep... 2 small, comfortable dormitories for 6 and 10 in the former classroom.

The gîte is also :

• a self-sufficient, renewable-energy gîte-refuge (solar electricity and hot water production), enhanced by a small hydraulic turbine.

• 3 summer tents (comfortable, sleeps 2) and an outdoor solar shower

• a venue for evening festivities (talks, music concerts)/Festive meals

• several themed stays (hiking/yoga; writing workshop; singing course)

• an all-day gourmet stopover (drinks, dishes, desserts)

Several hikes are available from the gîte:

• tour of lakes Faravel and Palluel (3h)

• lac de Fangeas (1h)

• Le Grand Pinier (6h)

• Tour to Prapic (2 days) via Col des Terres Blanches/Col de Freissinières

• Vallon de Chichin (round trip)

We'd be delighted to welcome you to this special place. Just be our guest.