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102CorPorate traveller

SUMMER 2014

103CorPorate traveller

SUMMER 2014

LUXURYESCAPES

LUXURY ESCAPES

or those of us who have fancied taking key

members of their team or clients we wish to

impress, and just heading for some gorgeous

chteau in the Loire Valley then here is a

destination to consider.

With handsome countryside all about, plenty of

sporting and recreational facilities by day, for those

inclined, plus plenty of ne food and wine for everyone,

but at a fraction of the price, well then we should

consider this option.

Only we wont be staying in the Loire, or anywhere

else in France for that matter, but on the border between

Hungary and Slovakia, in a sprawling 18th century country

house and estate known as the Chteau Bla.

After the Berlin wall came down and the Soviet

empire collapsed, enterprising hoteliers gradually

noticed that numerous castles, palaces, chateaux,

mansions and grand houses were sitting empty, oftendilapidated.

These properties had been forcibly seized by the

Communists during the 1940s and 1950s from old noble

families that the new regime considered to be decadent

exploiters of the proletariat. For years these buildings

were neglected and abused, including the Chteau Bla,

used as a detention centre and later a factory.

Its hard to imagine when we tour the buildings and

the grounds of Chteau Bla today, that this magnicent

country house with its endless corridors and rooms -

replete with enough antiques and curios to last a decade

or two in seasons of Antiques Roadshow - was once on the

brink of becoming a ruin.

LA VIE EST BELLE AUCHTEAU BLABy Scot Alexander-Young

F

You can be as active as you

wish here, or simply indulge in

the timeless, aristocratic art of

doing absolutely nothing

8/9/2019 Chteau Bla

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104CorPorate traveller

SUMMER 2014

105CorPorate traveller

SUMMER 2014

LUXURYESCAPES

LUXURY ESCAPES

Of course, the gradual restoration of such ancestral

properties and their introduction into the leisure and

business travel market, plus their location inside the

comparatively aordable New Europe, means there are

bargains galore.

Its doubtful we could do better than at Chteau Bla.

There are so many rooms, decorative moods and points ofinterest we can spend at least a whole day just touring the

house and grounds. After that, there is plenty in the way

of amenities whether for business or private receptions,

conferences and weddings, including, on request, a

wedding ceremony inside the 18th century chapel of

Chteau Bla itself.

We can while away the evenings wine tasting in

the Vinotheca Restaurant, organise private dining in

the banquet room or large festivities in the impressive

Orangery ballroom. We can spend a day horseback riding

through the vineyards, go shing by the lake, play tennis

or try our hand at archery. In season, we can even go

pheasant shooting. Apparently the birds are as high and

fast as they are in England.

After all these exertions, their sauna, steam bath,

tness room and outdoor pool oer ample scope for

personal regeneration. We can be as active as you wish

here, or simply indulge in the timeless, aristocratic art

of doing absolutely nothing. The author knows which

he prefers.

Chteau Bla is located in the southern part of the

Slovak Republic, on the border with Hungary. In fact,

this part of the Slovak countryside used to be a part of

Hungary, until the map was redrawn after World War

One. But lets not wade into that historical controversy,

or well be here all night. The chteau is denitely the

main attraction of the slightly drab country town of Bel,

which faces the street entry to this sprawling country

estate. Once we enter the chteaus gates however, we

leave the town behind, along with everything else bland

and quotidian about the modern world.

I recall a writer for New York 1990s satirical publication,

Spy Magazine, describing the peak of material success

as eating pheasant-under-glass in a room the size of

Liechtenstein and that phrase came to mind when we the Contessa and I - last dine in the Orangery at Bla.

The Orangery is a baroque-style ballroom with a terrace,

overlooking the fountains and parkland. Its one of

several places to dine at the chteau. After a ve-course

meal, ending in the best crme brle for at least a 100

kilometres, its easy to feel like the grand duke and duchess

of something-or-other, but if that sounds stuy or overly

formal, we can report that actually, the service is very

genuine and friendly. Wait sta seem to be recruited

locally, and we get the feeling its all one big family.

But all right, what a family, what a history. Construction

of Chteau Bla began in 1732. In 1834, one Antal

Baldacci, a Hungarian Corsican gentleman, of all things,

bought it and added fortications, a moat, drawbridge and

landscaped gardens. In the early 20th century one Baron

Adolphus Ullman, a nobleman from Budapest, moved in.

The chteau stayed in the Ullman family until 1945,

when it was seized by the socialist government ofCzechoslovakia, and turned into a detention centre for

political prisoners, then later a factory.

In 2000, there was at last a fresh start when Countess

Ilona von Krockow, the great-granddaughter of Baron

Ullmann, and a member of the Oppenheim clan, bought

the Chteau back from the Slovakian State. Just imagine

that having to buy something back something that was

meant to be your inheritance. In any case, with great care

and tenacity, the Countess restored the old family estate,

transforming it into a ve-star hotel, which opened in 2008.

For this New Zealander resident in Budapest, the

Chteau Bla is clearly a lot more accessible than it is for

some. But even at that distance, if we have, shall we say,

vintage Champagne tastes on a good Pinot Noir budget,

Chteau Bla could be just the ticket.

For more information

The closest airports are Budapest (90km), Bratislava

(130km) and Vienna (190km). And for instance, a chaueur-driven limousine can pick guests up at Budapest airport,

and get them to the Chteau a little over an hour.

Southern Slovakia has what is known as a temperate

continental climate. The seasons are pretty well dened,

with July and August the hottest months (28-30C) and

December and January the coldest, when temperatures

may fall to -15C.

Hotel Chteau Bel,

www.chateau-bela.com

welcome@chateau-bela.com

SK-943 53 Bel, Bel 1,

Slovak Republic

Tel: +421 36 757 7600