The Hotel

History of the castle

The common Plorec was a parish of the Diocese of St. Malo, whose municipality was first elected in 1790
By order of 6th December 1827, Plorec ceded the village of Hôtellerie, which is close to the castle, to the commune of Bourseul in exchange for the large oak grove of the Bois Bily and the Chateau du Bois Adam.

The name of the town changed to Plorec sur Arguenon by decree of 10th May 1954. Two castles were built by the Caignard de Saulcy family, the Chateau de la Ville Lambert and the Chateau du Bois Bily, to which the surrounding farms and land were attached.

It was by marrying Miss Caignard de Saulcy, the daughter of a member of the Institute and owner of the aforementioned castles, on 27th January 1874 in Paris that the Marquis de la Bégassière, born Victor Marie Adrien du Boüays on 2nd May 1838 in Verdun (55), Major General, Commander in Chief of the Tunisian army corps, Officer of the legion of honour, who died on 14th January 1904 in Nancy, came to live in the Chateau du Bois Bily in Plorec sur Arguenon. They had three children:

Antoine du Boüays de la Bégassière, born in 1874, embassy secretary who lived in La Ville Lambert.
François du Boüays, Comte de la Bégassière, was born in 1875 and married the daughter of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the creator of the Suez Canal, in 1900, and it is to him that we are grateful for the chance to admire the wonderful araucaria (monkey puzzle tree), which takes its name from the small South American city where it originated, on the left as we leave the castle.
Charlotte du Boüays de la Bégassière, born on 19th October 1876, became the Comtesse de Scrionne by marriage. Widowed in 1939.

Frédéric Kuhlmann (1882-1959) became the Marquis de la Bégassière by marriage and brought his industrial fortune built through the potash mines in Alsace to his new family. Owners of the magnificent Chateau de Quintin and of other prestigious places, the family gradually abandoned the two castles in Plorec.

End of the first era.
Mr Aymery de l’Oustand acquired the abandoned building and land.
He sold the stables, the farms and a large amount of the land and woods to create, after many events, a nightclub.
We are now at the Chateau “LE WINDSOR”
The venture brought back life and fame to this place, which was frequently visited and well-known for the quality of its parties and its sophistication.

With the emergence of large nightclubs, Mr de l’Oustand decided to sell his and that was the premature end of this venture which closed its doors, leaving this rare place desperately empty and sad.

End of the second era.

Mr and Mrs Jean BOUVIER discovered this place by chance and bought a building which was in good condition on the outside but totally run down and dilapidated on the inside.
This offered Annie and Jean BOUVIER the chance to express all their respective talents, showing courage and determination to rise to the challenge of turning this into a Chateau Hotel and Restaurant.

However, it all got off to a bad start as the Chateau, uninhabited and emptied of its soul for many years, refused to be tamed!
The hurricane which crossed Brittany the very day the building was bought, 17th October 1987, caused chimneys to fall and decapitated and uprooted hundreds of trees. A disaster which left a good year of unwelcome additional work.

There followed the slow restoration of the interior, with Annie BOUVIER exploiting all her talents as a decorator and project manager. Jean BOUVIER abandoned his life as an artist and his exhibitions in more than thirty countries to devote his creative energy to reviving the Chateau Hotel Restaurant. He abandoned oil painting for cooking with butter.

Ten years of hard labour to restore this exceptional place with its 11 hectare park and to bring it back to life, giving it back its soul, in order to receive, design and hold receptions steeped in fantasy and quality.

After 22 years of activity, Mr and Mrs BOUVIER said an emotional farewell to their duties, exchanging them for another activity, "a well-deserved retirement".

And thus ended the third era.

At the start of October 2009, the chateau "Le Windsor" was acquired by Mrs Rouland Catherine, Jean-Manuel, her husband, and Cécile, her daughter.
They arrived with many ideas, and particularly intended to make this magical place a haven of peace.

And thus began the fourth era.