Located right in the centre of the Grenoble-Lyon-Valence triangle,
Saint-Jean-de-Chépy is a 10-hectare estate consisting of a 13th C château and the Grange des Prés, a 300 m2 building. The château has three rooms available (between 30 and 60 m2 ) which are ideal for board meetings and smaller seminars. The second building has a flexible room measuring 250 m2 which can be further extended by the covered hall measuring 150 m2 and which overlooks the swimming pool. Corporate clients have fallen in love with the venue and a number of them are booking it for their seminars.
Founder of MTC Voyages, one of the region's foremost travel agencies with branches in all of the main towns in the Rhône-Alpes, Henri Martinenghi sold his business in 1998. Well known for his enthusiasm, it was obvious that he was not going to settle down to a quiet retirement and he began searching for an alternative business within his own field. Completely by chance he came across the château de Saint-Jean-de-Chépy, a superb 13th C building situated in Tullins. He fell in love with the place, decided to buy it and to transform it into an impressive venue for seminars. Making good use of his address book he undertook a quick survey of the company directors he knew well and quickly realised that there was a definite need for such a facility in the region.
« I asked my son Philippe, who was a photographer with the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, if he was willing to join me in this venture," says Henri Martinenghi. "He agreed and then did a year's training at the IFMT in Grenoble, after which we bought the estate in 1999 and did a whole load of renovation work under the guidance of Bâtiments de France. The Domaine Saint-Jean-de-Chépy opened for business in March 2001 after a year of renovations and a total investment of 1.2 million euros ».
Henri Martinenghi had a wealth of experience in the tourism industry (MTC also had a renowned business tourism department) and so he was well aware of the importance of Saint-Jean-de-Chépy's geographical position, located in the centre of the Grenoble-Lyon-Valence triangle and just a few minutes from the Tullins exit on the A49 between Grenoble and Valence.
The château was carefully restored and now offers three rooms of between 30 and 60 m2, with space for 20 to 30 people, plus four rooms or suites. In addition the Martinenghi family had the Grange des Prés built 50m away from the château, measuring 300 m2, of which 250 m² is dedicated to meetings and other receptions, and all of it extended by a covered hall measuring 150 m2 which can be adapted to organise outdoor cocktails (weather permitting!).
« The Grange des Prés is timber-built, following advice from the Bâtiments de France architect," continues Henri Martinenghi. "It is a single-storey building with air conditioning, and offers three rooms of 60, 70 and 130 m2. They are all flexible and, at their largest capacity can host up to 150 people and even up to 250 if the next door hall is used. It is also possible to erect a marquee in the grounds if necessary to hold up to 500 people ! ».
« As well as the four rooms and suites in the château, the Domaine Saint-Jean-de-Chépy has eight lodges set around the swimming pool, giving the option of organising events over several days. "At the moment our client base is mostly from the Rhône-Alpes area including ST Microelectronics, the CEA, Schneider, Rossignol, Thales, Alcan, the CNRS, the Post Office, Renault Trucks, the Conseil Général de l'Isère and most of the large pharmaceutical companies in the region," clarifies Philippe Martinenghi, Site Director. ».
With its 10 hectares of grounds through which the river Fure and a canal flow, the Domaine Saint-Jean-de-Chépy is able to make the most of its surroundings to create special events. "A study day at the Grange des Prés costs about 45 € (ex VAT) per person including welcome coffee, two refreshment pauses and lunch and this also covers the room hire," adds Philippe Martinenghi. "In the château the rate rises to 65 € (ex VAT). Exclusive use of the whole site costs 3 500 € (ex VAT) for an event during either the day or night, with a supplementary charge for catering, whilst exclusive use of the château comes out at 1 500 € (ex VAT) and between 2 000 and 3 000 € (ex VAT) for the Grange des Prés depending on the time of year".
In addition to its market position for business tourism, the Domaine Saint-Jean-de-Chépy also hopes to play an important role in organising cultural events. "Every month we organise a gathering of some of the big cultural names which is then followed by a concert," explains Henri Martinenghi. "In 2005, we successfully organised the " Chant des sculptures " project involving 22 sculptors. This gave us the chance to install about 40 pieces of sculpture throughout the estate. And at the end of September, beginning of October we shall open the " Chemin de la vie " , a path 80m in length which is inspired by an Australian aboriginal tradition. The path will be installed around the estate's lake and will be dotted with 15 works of art on the ground: 14 paintings, created in a 2m circle and a bronze statue".
