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8/9/2019 Chteau Bla
1/2
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
2/2
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
SK-943 53 Bel, Bel 1,
Slovak Republic
Tel: +421 36 757 7600