Seminars for 20 to 400 participants, standing receptions for up to 400 guests and seated weddings for up to 200 can be organised at the Domaine du Grand Malherbes, a restored estate in Aimargues, in the Gard part of the Camargue between Nîmes and Montpellier. The whole property can be booked for a single event, and 21 bedrooms and suites sleep up to 53 guests on site.
Seminars and company events
The estate sells three seminar formats: a study day with welcome coffee, breaks, lunch and meeting equipment, a half-residential format with dinner, a night and breakfast, and a two-day residential format. Salle Cocteau suits conferences and product launches, Salon Baroncelli and Salon Hugo suit executive committees, and the bar room works for afterwork drinks and tastings. The main hall has a fixed 5,500-lumen projector and a 20 m² screen. The estate also provides a portable projector, a sound system with wireless and lapel microphones, a modular stage up to 20 m², flipcharts and Wi-Fi across the rooms, the park and the bedrooms. On site, teams can use the pétanque court, a table tennis table, the park and a two-hectare olive grove. With local partners the team arranges Camargue safaris, bike and horse rides, nature rallies, Camargue cooking workshops for up to 10 people and wine tastings with local producers.
Weddings and receptions
A wedding takes the whole estate, with no other event at the same time and separate access for guests staying overnight. Secular ceremonies take place at La Gloriette, a period kiosk in the park, with Salle Cocteau or the covered Préau d'Henri as rain cover. The vin d'honneur can be held in the Orangeraie or the courtyard. There is no set closing time, couples choose their own DJ and suppliers, and fireworks are not allowed.
Rooms and capacities
The Salle Grand Malherbes, 480 m² in the former wine cellars with a starry ceiling, takes 400 in classroom or cocktail layout and 250 for dinner. It opens onto the 250 m² Grand Préau, a covered courtyard for 200 at a cocktail. Salle Cocteau, 160 m² under stone vaults, takes 120 standing and 80 seated. Smaller rooms are Salon Baroncelli (65 m²), Salon Hugo (55 m²) and the 30 m² bar room. Outdoors there are the Orangeraie, the Préau d'Henri with its terrace, a 300 m² courtyard terrace for 250 and the 8,000 m² park. Several spaces can be combined, and the main reception rooms are step-free.
Accommodation
The 21 rooms and suites range from Confort rooms to family suites and pool suites. Room 19, on the ground floor, is accessible. Staying guests have a pool, billiards and a spa with jacuzzi, sauna and hammam, by reservation.
Catering
Catering is done in-house under Vincent Michel and is not subcontracted. Options include themed coffee breaks, buffet or plated lunches, cocktail dinners, gala dinners and brunches, with menus built around Languedoc produce.
History and setting
Records mention a farm here in 1520, and the Malherbes name appears in 1693. In the 20th century the estate belonged to descendants of Victor Hugo and received Jean Cocteau. Vincent and Dominique Michel started restoring it in 1999.
Getting there
The estate is at 1 route des Plages in Aimargues, about 20 minutes from the Mediterranean, with 400 free parking spaces where cars can stay overnight.
