Domaine des Cèdres hosts weddings, private parties, seminars, conferences and meetings for up to 150 guests, or 120 with a dance floor. It offers two reception venues, the château and the Pressoir, which can be hired separately or together with the whole estate. The domaine stands in Villebois, in the Ain plain between the Rhône and the Bugey mountains, in a 4-hectare enclosed park.
Seminars and company events
The estate hires its rooms to companies for a half day or a full day, for a seminar, a conference, a meeting or another professional event. Catering and organization services are adapted to each event. A video projector is available in both the château and the Pressoir, and furniture is included: round and rectangular tables, high tables and chairs. The park lends itself to breaks and outdoor activities.
The owners, Arnaud and Delphine, live on site and have run the estate for about fifteen years. They work with an organization partner, Poppin's événements, which handles visits and event follow-up.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the main activity. Each formula covers three days and two nights, from Friday to Sunday, with no time limit on the night of the party. The Château formula includes the château's reception rooms and its 18 bedrooms for 40 people. The Pressoir formula includes the independent hall and lodging for 20 or 27 people. Couples can also hire the whole domaine exclusively, with all rooms and the park. Ceremonies, cocktails, evening parties and Sunday brunch can all take place on site. House rules include no fireworks or sky lanterns, and no outdoor music after 10 p.m.
Rooms and capacities
The château offers 307 m² across four rooms with views of the park and the tower and direct access to the terrace. The Salle des Cèdres, 172 m², is the main reception room. The Salle des Buis, 60 m², opens onto it and serves for buffets, a photo corner or the dance floor. The Salle du Restaurant, 60 m², adjoins the main room and is set up for children's meals. The Bar, 15 m², closes the evening. A basement games room takes up to 19 children on Saturday evening, with babysitters. The château holds 150 without a dance floor and 120 with one.
The Pressoir is a 198 m² hall set apart from the château, in a former wine press with a modern glass extension and a covered terrace at the foot of the estate's tower. It also takes 150 without a dance floor and 120 with one.
Accommodation
The château has 18 bedrooms for 40 people, each with a bathroom, included on Friday and Saturday with a château wedding. Two gîtes, Le Puits and L'Atelier, along with tents and a dormitory, add more beds. The neighboring Cit'Hôtel La Résidence has 30 rooms. Altogether the estate counts 149 beds.
Catering
The estate offers catering and organization services on request. Hirers get access to the kitchen with the rooms.
History and setting
The property is tied to the blast furnaces of Villebois: René François Gigodot took them over in 1858, and his family stayed linked to the estate for generations. The estate dates the main building to 1856, and describes the château as 17th-century elsewhere. The Pressoir recalls the vines of La Carriaz. In December 1954 the Mutuelle Générale des PTT bought the property. The medieval towns of Crémieu and Pérouges and the Grottes de La Balme are nearby.
Getting there
Villebois lies in the Ain plain, near the Rhône. Contact the estate for directions and arrival times for your group.
