| | 
Profile
|
 A Hotel of charm and character
Built in the early 20th century by a wealthy American woman, and then arranged and fitted out by a great Hindu initiate, the Château des Avenières has consistently aroused lively curiosity. Today, as a hotel exuding great charm and character, it welcomes visitors seeking calm and refined pleasures, as well as those in pursuit of rare sensations and mysteries. Under the impetus of its youthful manager Nicolas Odin, the Château des Avenières is experiencing a new lease on life, entirely dedicated to calm and harmony. |
 Won over by the magic of the place, Phil Collins recorded one of his latest albums here... Tozering majestically, its streamlined facades nestle delicately against the nearby forest... More than a resting place, a heaven, it is a tender poem dedicated to life's most refined pleasures. Breathtaking views over far horizons, well-being and discretion... The Castle has been equipped with the latest amenities ensuring optimal comfort, while nonetheless retaining its identity. |
 In terms of gastronomy, one sees the same desire for perfection. Business meals and complex negotiations? Fine woodwork and antique cameos; with its plush, hushed atmosphere, the large dining room is the place to be. A cosy candle-lit dinner? With its monumental chimney and large open log fire, the Salle des Alchimistes lends itself to whispered sweet nothings. A grand event to celebrate in due style? At the Château des Avenières, a choice of private lounges and personalized menus enable you to gather friends or family around a well-decked table. |
 Whether from the menu or à la carte, the latest fresh market produce, great classics of the French gourmet tradition, regional dishes... Each season brings its own mood and its sources of inspiration. The wine list, in its turn, has pleasant surprises in store for you. Modest Mondeuse, sparkling Foussette or very aristocratic Mouton Rothschild...your only difficulty will be which wine to choose. Unless you prefer more audacious flavours, in harmony with the spirit of the place? Then dare to order an amazing Château Musar straight from Lebanon... |
 The History
Château des Avenières is well worth a return to the sources of an enigma that has never been fully explained...From modest origins as forest clearings used for growing oats, Les Avenières emerged suddenly from its tranquil obscurity on a fine afternoon in the summer of 1904. On that particular day, a melancholic young American woman was visiting the slopes of the Salève with a few friends, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, ravished by the exceptional beauty of the panoramic views spread about before her. Her decision was swift and irrevocable. It was here that she would build the sanctuary she dreamed of, dedicated to her younger sister whose premature demise had left her heartbroken...
Mary Wallace Schillito was born in 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, a powerful business magnate, had made his fortune in the railway business. From her childhood onwards, Mary nurtured great admiration for her sister Violette, a beautiful and highly sensitive young girl. As adolescents, the two sisters immersed themselves with delight in Paris being swept by a wave of orietalism. The occult, Sapphic poetry, culture and music... They devoted their energies to the pursuit of "The Great Inner Life", until Violette died in Cannes of typhoid fever in 1901...Inconsolable, Mary continued to travel in search of relief for her sorrow and of a place in which to celebrate this devotedly loved sister. 1905: the land was bought. 1907: building work began. |
 It was a truly colossal undertaking. There was no road, scarcely even a path. The heavy stones from Burgundy were carted along, one by one. In Paris, Mary scoured antique shops to gather a fabulous treasure trove within her castle : altar decorations, 15th and 16th century polychrome sculptures... She moved in a strange circle composed of genuine scholars and shady gurus, of brilliant archaeologists and questionable experts. Among these personalities, one particular figure began to emerge: a round little man with a sharp eye and Asian features. His name was Assan Farid Dina. Born of a Hindu father and a French mother, Dina had already enjoyed an adventurous life then he married Mary Wallace Schillito at the age of 42. An acclaimed astronomer deeply involved in Assyriology and an inspired engineer, ha had travelled the world... Endowed with vast resources of creativity that spilled over into his every action, he now devoted himself to fashioning and furnishing the Castle. The surroundings were made to resemble gigantic butterfly wings, enlivened by Sphinxes and mythological figures, caves and underground pools mirroring the Mercurian symbol...
But Dina's greatest work remains the Chapel in which he attempted the impossible synthesis of universal knowledge. Egyptian tarots, Kabbalistic symbols, signs of the zodiac... Within a vast gold-studded mosaic, all divinities were convened and all religions brought together. Finally in 1917, as the Western world came to the end of its climactic struggle, Dina signed his work with the terse phrase: "The universe is an egg, the egg is a universe". He died in obscure circumstances during a last cruise on the Red Sea. Sold in 1936 by Mary Schillito, the Castle was to change hands several times. |
| |
|
