Review: Domaine des Etangs, Auberge Resorts Collection

Why book?

Because Domaine Des Etangs proclaims itself to be in the business of art de vivre, and, for once, the marketing bumf is on the money. Walk in forests where dragonflies buzz and orchids bloom in secret copses. Ride (or nip off in one of their hybrid cars) over rolling hills, past tranquil ponds and rain-green pastures—and monumental art installations. Repeat-visit Dyades, a modern French locavore restaurant that makes the ingredients of their vegetable garden sing. Row lopsidedly across the lake after too much rosé.

Set the scene

The Rapunzel turrets of a romantic chateau are reflected in a glassy lake wrapped up in 2500 protected acres of forest, ponds and meadows, posing pastures for sleepy herds of Limousin. Inside, art and design are everything. Rooms are filled with beautiful canvases, pieces and objets; modern and antique furniture combine; and the bones of the building—stone walls, exposed eaves, gargoyles and floorboards—have been restored to perfection. Everywhere you turn there is a vast sculpture, monumental or sound installation. The current, estate-wide exhibition, Primordial Waters, running till late spring, displays artist commissions from the likes of Nina Cannell, Tomoko Sauvage, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané and Sissel Tolaas. An impressive and ambitious permanent art collection ranges from Olafur Eliasson to Hergé Tintin illustrations. The sublimely minimalist and peaceful gallery, La Laiterie, harbors an Yves Klein.

The backstory

First mentioned in the annals of history in 1270, this was once the fiefdom of the knights of Chasteigner de la Roche-Posay. Since 1986 it has been owned by the Primat family; daughter of the family, Garance Primat, first oversaw the world class restoration of the ancient chateau and original farm buildings. She is the prodigious art collector on the scene. This year, it entered the Auberge Resorts Collection, but it’s clear that its spirit, graciousness and slowness remain gratifyingly unchanged.

The rooms

Seven Isabelle Stanislas-designed suites unfold in the 13th-century chateau and environs, and in six far-scattered farmhouses. I stayed in Printemps, a suite in La Longère, the long farmhouse barn, which had exposed stone and timber-clad walls and a blood-red sofa.

The area

The wooded, wet, green and pleasant foothills of the western edge of France’s Massif Central epitomize what the French call La France Profonde. This is a France that’s deeply French, in the country sense of the word, a land of shepherds, farmers and chasseurs. Domaine des Etangs officially resides in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, though locals still call it Limousin (of the eponymous dialect, and Limousin cattle).

The service

Friendly, kind, brisk, and leaning more towards laissez-faire Gallic than breathing down your neck.

Food and drink

Eating well is a huge feature—from the perfect crepes, homemade jams and market fruit of breakfast to Dyades locavore menu, noted in the Michelin guide, which makes the herbs, flowers, fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden shine. The same kitchen, in the château’s former stables, does the room and farmhouse service. Don’t miss wine-tasting (‘potager pairing’) in the spiral-shaped organic garden. Or the piquenique, which can be eaten in a silent glade of your choice: doorstop baguettes packed with gruyere, Maison Larignon ham, crudites, with lentil salads, local wines and a little pud.

The spa

There’s Moulin Des Etangs, the characterful spa in a restored stone-flagged mill house on the lake for facials and body work. Beneath the Château, the indoor area has a Roman-inspired hydrothermal circuit experience that includes a tepidarium, a steam room, frigidarium and ice bath and vitality pool.

For families

Children are catered to imaginatively, but in a non-structured, left-to-their-own-devices type way. There’s a pretty playground with a zip wire, a tennis court floating on a lake and a vast beamed attic filled with board games, snooker and trunks of fancy dress.

Accessibility

There is one accessible room for people with reduced mobility, on the ground floor, in one of the towers of the Château. The restaurant, reception, bar and boutique are on the ground floor of the Longère and accessible for guests with reduced mobility. The hotel also has two lifts to the children’s attic.

Eco effort

Domaine des Etangs’ 2,500 acres of forest are sustainably managed to promote natural soil enrichment, and have a PEFC certification. The herd of Limousin cattle is sustainably and organically managed. About 20 per cent of vegetables and herbs come from the large onsite organic vegetable garden. Small, local producers are chosen for food and wine, and local artisans for the small gift shop. Guests can use the estate’s bicycles and electric cars to explore.

Other initiatives include recycling of oils, composting organic waste, making compotes from damaged fruits, eschewing plastic and individual packaging, and use of eco-friendly cleaning products. A large wood-chip boiler for heating and hot water limits fuel oil consumption, and the Domaine buys green electricity from renewable energy sources. Robot lawn mowers are used in the gardens, and flowerbeds are irrigated with water from the ponds. Motion sensor lights reduce electricity consumption. The indoor pool is purified with ozone. Geothermal energy heats some of the farmhouse cottages.

Anything else to mention?

Go on an outing with the groundsman Jean-François Magnan. A childhood spent wandering in this ancient forest—being chased away by the gamekeeper—instilled in him a lifelong love of the estate. It’s all very Gloire de Mon Pere, and the best way to reassure oneself that rien a changé. He has a deep knowledge of local history, and is the best person to tap up for the story of the chateau.