Capucine Plume
A weekend at La Borde en Sologne, a château near Blois
Just 20 minutes from Blois, Chambord and Cheverny, a confidential new address opened its doors last year: La Borde en Sologne, Château et Spa, a luxury hotel like a family home. You can see it at the entrance gate, in the distance, at the end of the long driveway leading to the water feature, behind which it takes shape and becomes clearer as you go along. The proportions are attractive for this residence, owned by the family of owner Anabelle Ubald-Bocquet since 1904, built in the style of the region, the Sologne des Etangs, with its graphic decorations on the facades, slate-tiled roofs and red brick walls.
A fairytale park with 140 species of birds, deer and roe deer.
Two majestic stag sculptures welcome guests near the staircase, reminding us that the property is surrounded by 40 hectares of parkland, in fully enclosed grounds that are home to deer and roe deer, and 140 species of birds, including pheasants, partridges, herons, swans, ducks, geese and kingfishers, swans, ducks, geese, kingfishers, which can be seen from the château's rooms, flying over the property or crossing the lawn regularly, swimming on the 500 m-long lake, which has a landing stage for a boat trip. Three full-time gardeners and the manager, Yohan Gauthier, look after the farm's vegetable garden, the forest paths, trim the hedges twice a year around the swimming pool, preserve the French-style gardens and the magnificent magnolia groves that have lined the sides of the château for 40 years, and to create the English-style park, a style chosen for the main lawn in front of the château and a charming 500 m long tunnel, in which Anabelle had fun this summer creating a 40 m long table for a birthday party for 40 guests, lit up with luminous lights showering the table with a shower of light. Fairy-like.
A family estate
Owned by Anabelle's father's cousin, the château was originally a three-bedroom, one-bathroom country house that had been uninhabited for 21 years. On learning that the family wanted to part with it, the new owner decided with her husband, Jean Marie de Mourgues, to acquire it in 2021, having been charmed by this fairytale château since childhood, and created this historic hotel within its walls.
...for families
From family rooms set up as duplexes under the roofs, or in the stables that have become luxurious suites, to the swimming pool for children, to picnic baskets made from products of local artisans, prepared for a bucolic lunch on the lawn or a visit to the nearby Loire castles, to bike rides along the many forest paths or the opportunity to feed the farm animals, to an introduction to harvesting and planting in the vegetable garden which offers some 50 fruits and vegetables, to a menu dedicated to the youngest guests, to fishing parties on the watering hole opposite the château, a brunch every Sunday and a kids club to let parents rest, everything has been thought of for the family.
35 rooms and suites decorated in a modern, château-like style
Diamond and round slate decorations dating from the 17th century adorn the facades of this jewel case, built in the typical Sologne chateau style. The enfilade lounges, fireplaces, moldings, frescoes, woodwork and period ornaments have been preserved to perpetuate the heritage of this family château. The couple's passion for the region and their desire to preserve this historic residence led them to launch their hotel business. After a year and a half's work, the château has become a 4-star hotel-spa. They offer their guests the chance to experience château life in an exceptional setting, sleeping in rooms that have been "modernized, dusted off", says Anabelle, with family furniture, designer pieces and antiques, XXL bathrooms, while retaining the spirit of the place, with surprises such as the ultra-comfortable rooms installed in the former stables where the horse stalls have been preserved, "the most in demand", says Samuel Srouji, the manager.
Extraordinary local craftsmen helped renovate the listed château
Preserving the short circuit within a 15 km radius of Vernou-en-Sologne, where the château is located, and fortunate enough to have exceptional craftsmen on site, Anabelle recounts "we worked with extraordinary local craftsmen who worked with us on this beautiful project", such as carpenter Romaric, from the Doucet company in Montrieux, Sologne, who created the oak bank for the reception area, made from a tree trunk from the estate's forest, which after drying for 4 years and now fitted with an incredible lighting system, has found its place in the reception lounge as a true work of art, or Léo Bridier for the roofing and carpentry, a journeyman called in to work on the reconstruction of Notre Dame in Paris. "He is currently creating a machine to produce oak roof tiles.
The tapestry was done by Emilie Gaveau and the painting by Pascal Gaveau, both based in Neung sur Beuvron, the ironwork by Joel Givierge, based in Cheverny, the masonry by Nicolas Fornells Pruniers en Sologne... to name but a few, but all the local partners played an active part in embellishing and preserving this listed monument, which has become a source of pride for the region.
Bistronomic dining at Mémoire
Set in the château's gilded and flamboyantly decorated salons, illuminated by the luminous hand-blown glass sculptures of designer Summer d'étoile, pearls strung one by one on a luminous ribbon, the Mémoire restaurant, run by Romain Matura, offers the ultimate in romantic dining.
In a preserved setting reminiscent of 17th-century salons, the restaurant offers 80 covers and a selected seasonal menu, made with produce from the farm and kitchen garden, as well as from neighboring suppliers. The menu is short and to the point, with a choice of mushroom tartlet and zucchini flower stuffed with crabmeat, soft-boiled egg with cream and a pinch of Sologne caviar, pike quenelles and leek fondue, and cheeses from the Mons cheese dairy, and finish with a Guanaja Vahlorna chocolate tart and pear marmalade with turmeric, all washed down with a dry 100% Romorantin white wine from Domainedes Huards, produced in Cour Cheverny in the Loire Valley, and a red Pinot Noir wine, a Bourgogne de Chitry from Edmond Chalmeau.
A spa by Tata Harper, the American organic brand that beauty queens proclaim, and Alaena Cosmetique, the French brand from Biarritz.
The spa is housed in the former orangery, next to the adults' pool, and offers the traditional hammam and sauna, as well as exclusive massages with treatments by the American brand Tata Harper, which, true to its draconian selection policy, has made its home here to offer guests the benefits of its natural, organic products. Echoing the surrounding nature, the products are concentrated in pure active ingredients and devoid of synthetic ingredients, giving a lasting radiance and a noticeable benefit after a facial treatment lavished with precise, soothing gestures. Tested and approved.
Romantic walks among century-old cedars and hornbeam alleys
And after a siesta in the serene bubbles placed here and there in the park, a romantic stroll in a boat on the lake or on foot through the forest paths of this parcel of Sologne des étangs, whose marshes have been eliminated since Napoleon, to pick wild hyacinths among the long avenues of century-old cedars and plane trees, acacias, oaks, cypresses, pines and birches that make up the nature reserve around the château, or to let off steam on the tennis courts designed by Guy Forget, former player and captain of the French national team.
