Opening today, and located just a short 55-minute train ride from central Paris, the destination-changing Hotel Château in the village of Le Grand-Lucé raises the bar in luxury, bringing sophistication and a cosmopolitan je ne sais quoi to the Loire Valley. A former country home of the Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay, the Château has been returned to its 18th-century splendor after a careful private restoration under the guidance of the French government.
One of the finest remaining examples of French neoclassical architecture to date, serving as a stunning tribute to its noble provenance and rich history, the Château offers elevated French style and elegance throughout. The 45,000-square-foot Hotel Château features 17 rooms and suites, a ballroom, authentic French restaurant Le Lucé, a bar, spa and fitness salon, an outdoor pool and classic French gardens.
HISTORY
In 1760, Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay instructed architect Mathieu de Bayeux to construct a summer palace on the site of the Baron's medieval castle with the most au courant in design to represent the pinnacle of 18th-century extravagance. Numerous statues commissioned by King Louis XV, exact replicas of statues at Versailles, were placed on the Château grounds as a gift to the Baron. In 1764, the Château du Grand-Lucé was completed - a stunning representation of classicism and modernity.
Upon the Baron's death, Château du Grand-Lucé passed to his daughter, Louise Pineau de Viennay. Mademoiselle Pineau de Viennay was an aristocratic supporter of the arts and hosted erudite philosophers and artists during the Age of Enlightenment. During World War I, while still in the Pineau de Viennay family, the Château was used as a hospital for wounded British officers. During the Second World War, shelter and protection were provided to paintings belonging to the Louvre Museum, where they were hidden in a secret cache, which still remains under the stage in the ballroom, formerly the stables.
The Château eventually passed to the French government, which completed an incredible restoration of the gardens and used onsite buildings as government tourism offices. In 2003, the Château was sold by the government to American interior designer Timothy Corrigan. Much of the Château was in its original state and Corrigan masterfully renovated the 45,000-square-foot Château for use as his private residence before transferring the Château to new owner and CEO of Pilot Hotels, Marcy Holthus, in 2017 to reimagine the property as Hotel Château.
DESIGN
The Pilot Hotels design team, spearheaded by Paul and Shannon Wehsener of Paul Allen Design, embraced the opulent chic standard set by Pineau de Viennay in 1764. They reimagined and repurposed the majesty of the interiors, crafting the 17 sumptuous rooms and suites and grand living spaces of the Hotel Château, much as they previously did with Holthus to reimagine and debut her premiere project, the historic Washington School House Hotel in Park City, Utah.
The Château features limestone and French white oak floors throughout and walls, painted in shades of authenticity, adorned with original boiserie. This stunning backdrop is layered with crystal chandeliers, sconces, fine art and furnishings sourced from several centuries; fine Persian rugs; and custom fabrics by traditional and innovative French design masters alike, from Pierre Frey and Nobilis to Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier - all juxtaposed in perfect proportions of scale and symmetry, style and design.
SUITES
Hotel Château features 17 guestrooms, including two apartments complete with private kitchens and living spaces, all designed in homage to the style, luxury and splendor first favored by Pineau de Viennay and each complemented with an abundance of historic French brand Buly 1803 bath and beauty products. The property comfortably sleeps 36-42 adults and nearly all rooms and suites allow ample space for an additional single or child's cot to be added.
Quite possibly the most extravagant suite in Europe, the unrivaled Baron's Suite offers 17-foot-tall ceilings and stunning Versailles-patterned oak floors, massive casement windows providing breathtaking views of the formal gardens, gilded gold antiques and more. The exquisite suite includes the pièce de résistance - the Salon Chinois, aptly named for the canvas-covered walls painted in the Chinoiserie style by renowned French Rococo-era painter Jean-Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808), whose work today can be found at the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's private garden palace at Versailles, as well as the Louvre in Paris and the National Gallery in Washington D.C. The suite features three entrances, including a private entrance directly from the West Garden, king bed layered in fine European linens, marble-clad bathroom with garden views of its own, petite sitting room and a private library with a collection of French literature.
FOOD, BEVERAGE AND AMENITIES
Hotel Château offers exceptional French cuisine in its intimate restaurant, Le Lucé. Helmed by renowned French Chef Maxime Thomas, who previously worked at Michelin-starred restaurants and was most recently Chef de Cuisine at Clarion Hotel Château Belmont in Tours, France, the restaurant's seasonally-changing menu will pull from French gastronomical influences and feature regional produce and a curated wine list.
On property, guests can also enjoy the spa, featuring Loire Valley Maison Caulieres products, massage and body treatments. Among 80 private acres of verdant gardens, guests can explore original working greenhouses, a quintessential orangerie, heated pool, brilliant courtyards, a picturesque lake, bocce ball court, croquet and more. A 24-hour concierge is available to coordinate on- and off-property activities.
Beyond the potager garden, there are acres upon acres to explore — a lake, meadows and a historic white oak forest with a circular clearing in the center (as designed in 1760). In the center of the clearing, a statue of Persephone, daughter of Zeus, is found - one of eight statues placed throughout the grounds by King Louis XV as a housewarming gift to Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay.
WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
From a grand wedding or event of noble proportions to an intimate soirée in the garden, Hotel Château has infinite possibilities. The 80 acres of Loire Valley beauty surrounded by the original medieval wall features a lake, meadows, multiple courtyards, terraces, exquisite gardens and a historic white oak forest. A ballroom of royal proportions designed in the former stables allows events year-round. The original 12-foot-tall windows of the ballroom have been draped in a fabulous custom-colored Pierre Frey velvet inspired by the green of the garden. Gorgeous French oak point de Hongrie flooring and resplendent crystal chandeliers and sconces have been installed, resulting in unequaled grandeur.
LOCATION
Known for its incredible splendor, the Loire Valley was once a region of critical strategic importance to kings, queens, dukes and barons. With easy access from Paris, and perfectly situated between northern and southern France, the valley is sprinkled with hundreds of châteaux, originally built as opulent aristocratic estates, dotting the countryside. The entire area is deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site, with over a thousand years of rich architectural history and artistic creativity. Having a near-perfect climate for a variety of grapes, the Loire Valley produces some of the world's finest reds and rosés in addition to the fabled Sancerre. There are a multitude of tiny wineries throughout the rolling landscape of the valley.
The Château is located in the village of Le Grand-Lucé in the northern Loire Valley. Untouched by tourism, the village is quintessentially French with two boulangeries, a charcuterie, two banks, a florist, a pharmacy, two coiffeurs, historic city hall, an 11th-century church, a Tabac, a pub, cobblestone lanes and centuries-old stone homes. It is the ideal gateway to explore the best of France's countryside gastronomy, vineyards and castles, with easy entrée to the elegant cities of Orléans, Tours and Angers.
In room amenities include fine European linens, hooded robes, slippers, loads of Buly 1803 bath and body products, an in-room safe, Wi-Fi and, of course, a plethora of additional delightful surprises.
GARDENS AND GROUNDS
Inspired by the gardens at Versailles, the Château's private grounds and gardens were designed on a north-south axis and remain true to French classicism. The classic gardens are a brilliant feat of order and symmetry with near perfect structure. Planted with a brilliant variety of flowers and plants, the Jardin Exotique (exotic garden) features original working greenhouses and the quintessential orangerie — protecting a multitude of citrus in the winter and open for infinite possibilities in the warmer months. Below the parterre of the classic gardens is an exquisite potager garden (kitchen garden) and orchards filled with an incredible Loire Valley bounty — haricots verts, tomatoes of nearly uncountable varieties, lettuces, artichokes, dozens of herbs, lavender, stone fruits, apples and pears — many of which will be used by Chef Thomas to create the seasonally changing Le Lucé menu.
Beyond the potager garden, there are acres upon acres to explore — a lake, meadows and a historic white oak forest with a circular clearing in the center (as designed in 1760). In the center of the clearing, a statue of Persephone, daughter of Zeus, is found - one of eight statues placed throughout the grounds by King Louis XV as a housewarming gift to Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay.
WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
From a grand wedding or event of noble proportions to an intimate soirée in the garden, Hotel Château has infinite possibilities. The 80 acres of Loire Valley beauty surrounded by the original medieval wall features a lake, meadows, multiple courtyards, terraces, exquisite gardens and a historic white oak forest. A ballroom of royal proportions designed in the former stables allows events year-round. The original 12-foot-tall windows of the ballroom have been draped in a fabulous custom-colored Pierre Frey velvet inspired by the green of the garden. Gorgeous French oak point de Hongrie flooring and resplendent crystal chandeliers and sconces have been installed, resulting in unequaled grandeur.
LOCATION
Known for its incredible splendor, the Loire Valley was once a region of critical strategic importance to kings, queens, dukes and barons. With easy access from Paris, and perfectly situated between northern and southern France, the valley is sprinkled with hundreds of châteaux, originally built as opulent aristocratic estates, dotting the countryside. The entire area is deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site, with over a thousand years of rich architectural history and artistic creativity. Having a near-perfect climate for a variety of grapes, the Loire Valley produces some of the world's finest reds and rosés in addition to the fabled Sancerre. There are a multitude of tiny wineries throughout the rolling landscape of the valley.
The Château is located in the village of Le Grand-Lucé in the northern Loire Valley. Untouched by tourism, the village is quintessentially French with two boulangeries, a charcuterie, two banks, a florist, a pharmacy, two coiffeurs, historic city hall, an 11th-century church, a Tabac, a pub, cobblestone lanes and centuries-old stone homes. It is the ideal gateway to explore the best of France's countryside gastronomy, vineyards and castles, with easy entrée to the elegant cities of Orléans, Tours and Angers.
