Château de Pondres can host day meetings, residential seminars, company receptions and weddings. Its six reception rooms seat up to 200 guests, and the Cour d'Honneur takes 200 for a banquet or 300 for a standing dinner. The château is a four-star hotel with 24 bedrooms, a restaurant and a wellness area, set in a 15-hectare park at Villevieille, next to Sommières in the Gard.
Seminars and company events
The hotel sells three seminar packages. The one-day formula includes the meeting room, a welcome coffee, two coffee breaks and a three-course lunch. The semi-residential formula adds one night with breakfast, and the residential formula adds both lunch and dinner. Every meeting room has daylight, free Wi-Fi, a video projector, a paperboard, pens and notepads.
Equipment on request includes a projection screen, a wireless microphone, a laser pointer, round or rectangular tables and coat racks. For a larger company event, the Cour d'Honneur hosts receptions of up to 200 guests, and the meadow is offered for concerts, fairs or shows on a much larger scale.
Team-building ideas listed by the hotel include paragliding, canoeing, archery, hiking, mountain biking, cooking workshops, regional wine discovery, a flight over the area by helicopter, balloon or microlight, and a murder party in the château's secret room.
Weddings and receptions
Indoor and outdoor spaces can be booked separately or together, and the whole château can be reserved for a large event. Aperitifs and cocktail dinners take place on the terraces, in the formal gardens, in the forecourt or in the Cour d'Honneur. Small ceremonies can be held in the restored chapel, and the vaulted Salle des Repas serves as a fall-back for a lay ceremony in case of rain. A dedicated team follows the couple from planning to the day itself, and a Sunday brunch can close the weekend. A tent or structure can extend the capacity.
Rooms and capacities
The Salle des États Généraux (105 m²) has a carved stone fireplace and painted ceilings. With the adjoining Salle des Arts (47 m²) it hosts banquets in cold or wet weather. The Salons du Temps (54 m²) form a double salon on the Cour d'Honneur. The Salle de Musique (42 m²), the Salon de Réception (46 m²) and the original library (22 m²) run in a row in the south wing and suit small meetings. The vaulted Salle des Repas measures 93 m², and the Cour d'Honneur 500 m².
Accommodation
The 24 bedrooms include 4 suites. Twelve are on the second floor of the château, two of them adapted for guests with reduced mobility. Eight are in Les Moulins and four in La Maison des Bois, both annexes in the park. The site has an outdoor pool, a lift and a private car park with 100 spaces.
Catering
The chef of La Canopée cooks Mediterranean dishes from local and seasonal produce. For weddings, the menu and wines are set with the head chef and the maître d'hôtel. Suppliers named by the hotel include Villevieille olive oil, Camargue farms and the ports of Sète and Le Grau-du-Roi.
History and setting
The château is first recorded in 1195. Its present form dates from works led in the mid-17th century by Pierre II de Crouzet. It was looted and burned during the Revolution, rebuilt in part in the 19th century, then neglected through the 20th. The Gard department bought it in 2004 and sold it in 2006 to the current owner, who restored it over ten years under the supervision of the historic monuments service. The park runs along the Aygalade river and keeps plane trees planted in 1775.
Getting there
Nîmes TGV station is about 30 minutes away and Montpellier Saint-Roch about 40 minutes. Montpellier Méditerranée and Nîmes airports are each about 30 minutes away. By road, exit Lunel on the A9 is 15 minutes away.
