Taken over in 2006 by the GDP Vendôme group, which is owned by an Ardèche-based businessman, the Domaine de Saint-Clair is increasingly positioning itself as the perfect seminar destination in northern Ardèche. The 3* hotel, with its 54 rooms, already boasted two meeting rooms and three break-out rooms but has recently added a new 250 m² conference room with capacity for up to 150 people. It also built a heated outdoor swimming pool in 2008 to complement the Carita spa with its indoor pool, sauna, treatment rooms and fitness area. GDP Vendôme has also taken over management of the former Gourdan golf course which is now known as the Domaine de Saint-Clair, all of which makes this an impressive venue under an hour away from Lyon.

The companies nearby make up our core market for seminars, with most of our clients coming from the triangle that is Lyon, Saint-Étienne and Valence, explains Serge Fritsch, manager of the GDP Vendôme’s hotel branch. In 2008, we organised about 30 seminars and study days lasting on average one and a half to two days. The seminars involved on average between 30 and 45 participants, mostly from the insurance, automotive, finance and industrial sectors .

However, the first five months of 2009 have been rather quiet, whilst June is picking up again with almost 15 events in the diary mostly from the training sector, which gives a total of 25 seminars for the first half of the year. The companies who contact us have already been to Saint-Clair, continues Serge Fritsch.

We offer a study day with welcome coffee, refreshment breaks in the morning and afternoon, lunch inclusive of wine and coffee for 45 € per person and a residential seminar with the addition of accommodation, dinner and breakfast for 150 €. In order to try to promote our sales, we offer residential seminar clients an introductory golf lesson lasting two hours .

It is worth noting that this 18-hole golf course is an amazing asset which is ideal for the organisation of a whole range of activities such as archery, biking or hot-air ballooning. The Domaine de Saint-Clair has subsequently become the driving force for the GDP Vendôme’s new hotel arm which also owns a hotel-residence in Deauville that opened at Easter.

After the summer, another hotel-residence offering 100 flats will open in Grenoble and will be marketed by Adagio, which is part of Accor and Pierre et Vacances. There are also plans to open three hotels, including a 150-bed 4* property in Grenoble.