You leave the secondary road through trees to reach a white double gate. This leads onto a tree-lined lane that runs through meadows where horses wander. Once you have passed the open-air horse-riding area, the tennis court and the swimming pool, you see the magnificent house standing before you in a U shape on its rocky headland, opening out on its south-east side. A horse-riding hall and its adjoining annexes lie beneath a gable roof at the property’s north corner. Beyond, there is a ten-hectare lake of running water: this is actually a section of a river that flows through the valley to the Angoulême urban area. Paths lead down to the lake on both sides of the rocky headland. Its west edge is wooded with tall trees that include bald cypresses; its north side is bathed in sunlight and punctuated with limestone rocks. The site lies in an area listed as a Natura 2000 conservation zone that includes a watercress bed, a spring that supplies the property with water and over ten hectares of woods that are naturally rich in truffles.

The house

The house has two floors. Its gable roof is covered with monk-and-nun tiling that is characteristic of the local region. Pale wall-rendering coats its main section, which is flanked by two wings protruding at right angles so that the building forms a U shape. It stands around a gravel court embellished with manicured lawns. In this court, the facades are covered with a range of climbing plants, leaving only the windows visible. These casement windows have both small panes and larger ones. They are painted white, like their shutters. The living rooms lead outside onto decking: terraces that overlook the lake, which you can reach via an adjoining path.

The property’s twelve bedrooms are currently used as part of a four-star hotel complex – a resort appreciated by celebrities.

The ground floor
The main hallway has a large timber staircase. To its left, this hallway connects to a dining room that looks out over the lake. Large stone tiles adorn its floor and wooden panelling embellish the walls. When you go down a few steps in the corner, you reach a second living room with a fireplace. This room has the same style. Part of it is looks down at the surroundings from a height. It offers a sweeping view over the lake below.

Straight to the right of the hallway is a room that serves both as a lounge and a dining room. Through windows on both sides of its fireplace, it offers a marvellous view over the lake and, beyond, a sun-kissed hill. A door opens into a hall with a staircase and a door leading out onto the terrace. Next, there is a kitchen and, after it, a scullery and a wine cellar.

Further on lies a horse-riding hall that is fifteen metres wide and twenty metres long, followed by workshop spaces. The east wing, stretching out at a right angle to the main section, contains different storerooms and ends with an independent unit of accommodation that has a lounge, a kitchen and a bedroom. On the other side, in the south-west wing, there is a utility room, a covered passage that leads beyond the building, a seminar room, and a bedroom that people with reduced mobility can enjoy.

The first floor
On the court-facing side of the first floor, a corridor connects to ten spacious bedrooms with bathrooms and lavatories. The beds all lie in alcoves. Each bedroom has its own decorative features with fine nineteenth-century-style mouldings, beautifully understated walls and trompe-l’oeil wooden panelling with geometric antique patterns. The bathrooms reflect the same style with undeniable elegance. The south-east end has the same style and offers two extra bedrooms, a lavatory and a bathroom.

The outbuildings

Seven looseboxes occupied by horses and llamas stand on the edge of the rocky headland, north of the horse-riding hall. Storerooms and barns adjoin the latter.

The grounds
The property’s eighty-three hectares of grounds include a watercress bed, saffron production and almost fifteen hectares of downy oaks that encourage the growth of truffles. These grounds surround a lake of running water.