Seminars and company events
The Château de la Ferté-Frênel hosts seminars, conferences, gala dinners, press presentations, product launches and staff events, with 17 bedrooms on site for participants. The château stands in La Ferté-Frênel, a village of the Orne department in the Pays d'Ouche, in Normandy.
The business offer centers on prestige events: gala dinners, auctions, launches of luxury goods such as cars and jewelry, fashion shows and photo shoots. The château also hosts corporate events for staff in a historic, natural setting, as well as seminars and conferences. Film crews use it as a location, and school groups visit. Services available with a stay include a chef for dinners, a chauffeur, a concierge and a tennis court, which helps when planning a residential seminar over two or three days. The website does not publish room capacities, so group sizes need to be confirmed with the owners when sending a request.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are part of the private offer, alongside birthdays and children's parties. The 17 bedrooms allow families and the wedding party to stay on site, and the château bar and restaurant serve during opening hours.
Rooms and capacities
Two reception rooms are named on the website. The Salle des Caryatides, with its staircase, was decorated by Alphonse Ouri (1828 to 1891), a pupil of Delacroix. The Salon de Cupidon has corners painted by the artist Godon. The château also has a park. No capacities are given for these spaces.
Accommodation
The château offers 12 premium rooms, including four suites and a junior suite, and five smaller classic rooms that share a bathroom and a shower room. Named rooms include the Suite des Marquis, the Suite Alsace, the Suite Bourgogne and the Pompadour, Champagne and Loire premium rooms. An apartment in the Vieux Manoir completes the offer. Breakfast is included, check-in is from 6:00 PM and rooms are vacated by 11:00 or 11:30 AM. Rooms are tied to participation in the château's events and activities.
Catering
Food and drink are served on site at the château bar and restaurant during opening hours, and a chef can be booked for private dinners.
History and setting
The estate goes back about a thousand years. According to legend, Rollo, the Viking founder of Normandy, gave the fief to his companion Turulph. Two feudal castles followed, then a manor house with a dovecote imagined by Baron d'Héricy nearly 300 years ago. In 1853 Armand Alexis Odet, Marquis de Montault, decided to build the present château, the fourth on the site. His father had served as chamberlain to Napoleon I. The architect was Maurice Storez, inspector of civil buildings, who entered the competitions for Les Halles in 1854 and the Hôtel de Ville of Paris in 1873, and drew a project for the Paris Opera in 1860. The Salle des Caryatides and its staircase appear to draw on that Opera design. The Marquis reused older decor from earlier châteaux, including 18th-century Versailles parquet floors and late 17th-century woodwork and fireplaces.
Getting there
The château is generally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, except public holidays and depending on the season, so site visits are best arranged by phone before traveling.
