Where to stay, what to do in Centre, France

Oy, you picked a difficult time for a late booking...which you may already know...so let's see what we can find.
here is the link to the English site for Gites-de-France Centre-Cher (department where St Amand Montrond is):
http://en.gites-de-france.com/holiday-rentals-Centre.html?liste=liste&region_adm=6&critinit=o&dep=18&loc=o&nbp_min=5

In France, a gite is a holiday rental usually. In this case, Gites-de-France is an organization that oversees such rentals which sign up with the org and agree to its rules and guidelines. The places are independently owned, so often unique but because of G-d-F, you'll have a good idea of what you're getting...they've been checked out and reapply every year.
They're always my first choice and they're usually less expensive than places which are owned by expats...
Each department has its own office overseeing the business so there's always a local contact. Some rent directly, many are rented through the regional office.
The link has been updated to show only gites and for minimum of 5 people. As you look over the site you can see more refinements and you'll better understand how the system works.
Here's an example of one of the gites on offer:
http://en.gites-de-france.com/holiday-rentals-Lapan-Cottage-Gite-De-La-Fontenille-Cb12204,18G12204.html

There is another organization, Clevacances, which has a good reputation...but their website for the area is much too large and they often don't accept credit cards...(I've never used them for that reason).

Here's one site:
http://www.rent-in-france.co.uk/directory/search-all.php?keyword=&location=44&submit=Submit
The company that owns TripAdvisor also owns a house booking site, so you could check TA...you'll get lots of reviews on them...(too many to wade through in my opinion)

Here's the French national site for info on tourism for the Centre region:
http://www.visit-france.com/centre/
I found a site for the tourism site for Cher but it's all in French...if I can find something else, I'll post later.
Hope this helps

http://www.france-voyage.com/travel-guide/cher-departement.htm

In terms of things to do and see, you are just north of the Auvergne region, beginning with the forest of Troncais famous for its old oak trees. Vichy is a pretty spa town that during WWII was the capital of France during the German Occupation. Continue south to Riom, Clermont Ferrand, and the ancient volcanoes like Puy de Dome.

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