The lovely story that brought us to the Grotteaux

 

It all began when we married in 1986, then the happiness of the births of our four children.

After 18 years spent at Maisons Lafitte and a career with a number of large organisations, IBM and Vivendi for Gaël as well as a number of years working in banking, and regular employment with Hermes for Cécile, we decided it was time for a change.

So in 2005 we bought a business specialising in dental alloys in the Loire Valley and moved to Blois.

As we became increasingly enchanted by this new milieu, we started to dream of  being able to live and work  in this architecturally rich and touristic region.

 

One day our youngest son Ivan, back from a fishing trip on the Cosson, reported that he had discovered an amazing chateau. We went to see it and fell under its charms!

Some time later, a friend, to whom we showed a postcard of the Grotteaux, told us that it was for sale... but we didn’t have the necessary funds...

We did, however, go and visit it and fell head over heels in love with this delightful spot fabulously positioned in the shadow of Chambord.

It required some serious nerve to go ahead because not only was there the purchase price to be considered but also the cost of the top to toe renovation.

We finally decided, with the support of our children, to sell the business and our house in Blois and throw ourselves into this fascinating but quite mad adventure!

The highs and lows of the renovation.

 

Getting involved in this kind of renovation project was nothing less than instructive. We found out a great deal about the building of the chateau and its history. We made some amazing discoveries such as the grey murals in the guest bedrooms. We also had the good fortune to work with a number of people who were fascinated in this work and, as a consequence, fascinating, working , as many of them do, for the Chateaus of Blois and Chambord.

On the other hand we were in for a lot of nasty surprises, connected in part to the water that had been leaking into the chateau for many years.  Every day brought new decisions to make and there was always the risk of making the wrong one. In June 2016, just as the project was reaching its end, the once-in-a-hundred year flooding of the Cosson wiped out several months of work and considerably delayed our opening

New life at the Grotteaux

Today we can finally contemplate the wisdom of our folly!

The Grotteaux has been reborn.

It is a unique concept in our region which will allow us to welcome you as comfortably and warmly as possible.

Our children are very happy. Alix, Geoffroy and Tristan work in Paris. Ivan is still a student. They love being able to get away from the hurly-burly of life in the capital and to be able to come and relax here and participate in welcoming you.