Château des Comtes de Challes, Castle & Hotel in Chambéry
What an epic tale: six centuries, vibrant destinies, and famous figures for a family residence that continues to write its story.
The builders, the Comtes de Challes
Originally a wine-growing farm in the 11th century, it captured the hearts of the Counts of Challes, who were invited to a jousting tournament in Chambéry by the Count Vert. In 1450, they had a fortress built above the historic wine cellar.
It is to Étienne de Challes that we owe this first chapter in a story that would encompass many more.
The Château remained in the family until 1594, during which time it held high, middle, and low jurisdiction over the commune and possessed feudal rents from around thirty parishes.
From the Milliet de Challes to the Marquis de Faverges.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau gave music lessons here to a young lady named Gasparine Balthazar de Challes, as described in his confessions. After the Milliet de Challes family, the Château passed to the elder branch of the family: the marquises of Faverges. However, the rumblings of the revolution hastened the flight of the last lord of the castle.
Legend has it that he left behind his treasure, hidden somewhere in the depths of the Château.
Source of sulfurous water, thus Challes-les-Eaux was born.
After the revolution, the Château was sold as national property and acquired by Jacques-Antoine Balmain, a judge at the Grenoble Court of Appeal and former steward to the deposed marquis. His daughter married Dr. Louis Domenget, physician to the Savoy royal family, and a professor of medicine, chemistry, and botany.
In place of treasure, he discovered an extraordinary sulfur spring on April 11, 1841, capable of treating respiratory and joint ailments. This discovery forever changed the fate of the commune: Triviers became Challes-les-Eaux in 1872, with the founding of the thermal baths, turning it into a favored wellness destination.
Hotel and family house
Subsequently, the Château was passed down to the Domenget descendants before being sold to the Planche family, who renovated and expanded it. In 1860, during the annexation of Savoie to France, it was transformed into a hotel-restaurant, becoming the very first hotel located in a château in France.
The young Louis Aragon, while staying at the Château des Comtes de Challes, wrote his first texts in school notebooks, modestly hidden in the trunk of a tree in the park.
Since 2002, the Trèves family, hoteliers from Courchevel and true Challes residents at heart, has taken up the pen to write the contemporary history of the Château. With monumental renovations, unwavering determination, a passion to spare, a love for wine, and a taste for sharing as their legacy, the Trèves family has transformed the old building into a place of emotions for unforgettable stays in Savoie.
