Domaine de la Commanderie de Ballan hosts study days, executive committee meetings, residential seminars and team-building stays for groups of up to 40 people. The venue is a former Templar commandery turned four-star tourist residence at Ballan-Miré, a few minutes from Tours and the Loire châteaux.
Seminars and company events
The domaine sells four formats. The study day includes a meeting room sized to the group, a projector, screen, flip chart, notepads, pens and Wi-Fi, a welcome coffee, an afternoon break and lunch. The executive committee meeting is a shorter format without lunch, with one break. The residential seminar adds a single or twin room, two breaks and both lunch and dinner. A custom format covers onboarding seminars, team building and training over the length you need.
Meals are served as a buffet, as a seated three-course single menu made from local, seasonal produce by the domaine's caterer, or as a standing lunch or dinner with at least ten savory and sweet pieces per person. Drinks are extra.
The site suits small teams that want quiet and privacy: there is no through traffic on the estate. For team building, the staff can arrange cycling, golf on two courses less than five minutes away, a hot-air balloon flight over the Loire châteaux, or a free half day at the outdoor spa and pool.
Rooms and capacities
Three rooms are listed. The seminar room covers 30 m² and takes up to 20 people in a U shape or at a banquet table, or 12 around a boardroom table. The Salon des Boiseries, a 32 m² paneled room, takes 20 for a cocktail, a banquet or a seated meal. The conference room covers 60 m² and takes 40 theater-style, at a banquet or in a group layout. Rooms can be used together, with sub-groups in the smaller spaces and plenary sessions in the conference room.
Accommodation
Inside the château, three rooms and two suites are let: the Suite Royale (49 m², up to four people), the Junior Suite (31 m², three), and the Fleur, Macha and Noé rooms (25 to 30 m², two each), with period furniture and tapestries. Around the château, the estate has three Terrace Suites, a Tower apartment of 80 m² with its own garden, and family houses for 8 to 11 people, some with a pool or an orchard. Units listed for seminar groups include a 139 m² house for ten, a 106 m² house for eight, a 152 m² gîte for ten, a triplex for six and a duplex for four.
Residents have access to the pool and pool house, a Nordic bath and sauna, massages, yoga sessions and bike rental.
Catering
The domaine is a tourist residence and has no restaurant. Seminar meals are prepared by its caterer, and a short menu of meal formulas is available to guests through the reception, depending on the season.
History and setting
The commandery was one of the first founded by the Knights Templar, and the domaine dates the château to around 1180. The site states that King Philip Augustus stayed here in 1189, and that the oldest beams in the former library still carry the royal arms painted at that time. The tuffeau château with round and square towers stands in a park and woodland of more than 6 hectares, with orchards and outbuildings.
Getting there
The address is 17 Rue de la Commanderie, 37510 Ballan-Miré. The domaine is about one hour from Paris by train and two hours by car. Villandry is a few minutes away. Reception is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
