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From the beginning of July, the 4* deluxe hotel located at Crozet in the Pays de Gex area, will open its new 9-hole golf course, the first one in Europe to have synthetic greens and tees in order to conserve water. The course cost 2 million euros to install completing the impressive facilities already available at this resort, with its friendly, intimate style, which was opened in 2007 by Ian Lundin, director of one of the main North Sea oil and gas companies.
In addition to its 34 rooms, six of which have their own outdoor hot tub, the hotel also boasts a heliport, a Carita spa centre, a gym, a 25 m indoor swimming pool, two tennis courts, a restaurant and two seminar rooms with capacity for 16 and 48 people, both of them situated in a dedicated area that overlooks Lake Geneva and faces Mont Blanc… Plus there is a large equestrian centre close by.
The setting is quite simply magical and it is this which persuaded Fabrice Mercier, previously with the Château de Divonne and Château Les Crayères in Reims, to accept the post of general manager from the hotel’s owner. “The fact that our greens and tees are synthetic means that the golf course will be open year round,” he explains. “Annual membership to the club will cost from 1200 €. Our aim is to have a total of 400 members, with hotel guests also having access to the course. It will also be possible for clients who book the property for their seminars to organise a quick round of golf at the end of the afternoon, followed by a drinks reception or a dinner in our 60-cover restaurant which offers a brasserie-style menu at lunchtime and a gastronomic menu for dinner. It will also be possible for corporate clients to arrange for exclusive use of the golf course during their events”.
Fabrice Mercier has great plans for Jiva Hill, wanting to make it one of the main venues in the region. As part of his strategy, he has just joined the Rhône-Alpes Prestige Club as well as the Rhône-Alpes Tourisme’s Club des Spas. Another of his ambitions is to become part of the Relais et Châteaux chain. “Our clientele is made up of 50% Swiss together with those foreign residents from the area around Geneva… our occupancy throughout the year is over 50%. Seminars and study days make up between 60 and 70% of our business, mostly from companies from Geneva, the Vaud area and Lyon. Most of the groups consist of 25-30 people, and in 2011 we’re opening a new 60-seat meeting room which will be mostly dedicated to one day events”.
Rates at the Jiva Hill for a residential seminar on full board basis start at 330 € per participant. For a study day with lunch, the price is 79 € per person. In order to publicise this beautiful property, Fabrice Mercier is also launching a quarterly e-newsletter this month and is planning a corporate evening promoting the golf course on 23 September. After the summer season he also has plans for wine-themed evenings every second Monday of the month.
Le Jiva Hill Park HĂ´tel, in Crozet (Ain)
Tel.: 00 33 (0)4 50 28 48 48
