The House
Refusals & Principles
What we hold to, plainly stated.
The House
What we hold to, plainly stated.
Nothing off the shelf.
No brochure itineraries, no fixed departures. Every journey is composed for those who travel it: one guest, a family, friends or a whole company.
No photographs where they are not welcome.
The people who open their homes and workshops to our guests do so on the understanding that they will not be turned into content. Photography is always by invitation, and your Custodian will tell you when it is welcome. Put the camera down, and people respond to you rather than to the lens.
No introductions to people we have not met ourselves.
The warmth of a welcome depends on the friendship that comes before it. Someone our Custodian has not spent real time with, whatever their reputation, cannot offer the same welcome. When we say we know someone, we mean years, not a reference check.
No stage sets.
Only the living rhythm of a place: its tables, ateliers, celebrations and streets, met as they are, at the hour they happen. Nothing is paused or performed for your benefit. That is what makes it worth the journey.
No prices on the website, and why this serves you.
Every journey is designed from a blank page, so there is no meaningful price until we know who is travelling, for how long, and how you like to travel. A number on a website would only be a guess. Pricing is shared privately and in full, after An Introduction, once the journey has been composed for you.
No published departure dates, and no manufactured scarcity.
You choose when to travel; we tell you honestly where will be at its best then. There are no countdowns, no "last places", and no pressure to decide by a deadline. The only real limit is the time our hosts can give, and we will always tell you plainly what that is.
When a host is unavailable: our contingency principle.
Our hosts have lives of their own: illness, family occasions, commitments of their own. If someone at the heart of your journey becomes unavailable, we tell you at once and give you the choice: a new date, or an equally good introduction we know personally. We never quietly substitute something lesser and hope you will not notice.