It is often said that there is no castle without a ghost, but we, who are inveterate romantics, like to think that There is no such thing without a love story that leaves a mark. In this, located at the highest point of Biarritz, the marks of the past can be found engraved in stone, carved or forged: M for Marthe, B for Boulart, C for Charles.
Charles Boulart, an enlightened industrialist of the 19th century, commissioned the virtuoso Joseph Louis Duc to build in 1881 –Grand Prix d’architecture– this refined chateau for his young wife, Marthe Boulart, and this was the endearing way he found to dedicate it to her. Today, more than a century later, La Folie Boulart is reborn as a historical jewel in which to stay.
Five years of work and passion have required its current owner, Brigitte and Pierre Delalonde, to recover the sumptuousness and the bold spirit of the Belle Époque of his early years, but thanks to a meticulous restoration they have managed to bring to light buried treasures, stained glass triptychs, marble columns, mosaics, frescoes and delicate carpentry, among other original elements.
"In the beginning, there was a moving place full of history that captured all my attention and that of my family. I quickly understood that I would have to turn to passionate experts to restore it to its full nobility and give it a second life. It took five years, but the end result is spectacular we are very proud of it”, says Pierre Delalonde.
Edward VII Suite.
THE RESTORATION
It is not easy to restore a listed historic site, such as La Folie Boulart –with its majesty, its ornamentation and its solidity–, and adapt it to modernity and current requirements, without losing its essence. For this reason, Brigitte and Pierre had the advice of a general conservator of the estate, specialist at the time in one of the great museums of France, to shape the interior design.
Without any unnecessary ostentation, this expert in the decorative arts of the 19th century guided the choice of furniture, in harmony with the original environment, and he was right with great precision when choosing the pieces: a pool table that belonged to the Lumières brothers over here, a huge bronze chandelier signed by Victor Paillard over there… and as a gift 17th century Flanders tapestries and the occasional chandelier from the time of Louis XVI.
Pool's room.
THE CHATEAU
With views of the ocean and the Pyrenees, the 2,500 m2 château has eight rooms, between 45 and 110 m2, with capacity for 14 guests, “wildly decorated with period furniture and unique pieces”, acquired at auctions or chosen with meticulous care in antique dealers. Home automation and marble bathrooms sharing space in one place forever linked to personalities such as the writer Oscar Wilde, King Oscar of Sweden and even the King of England himself
Precisely in homage to the intense social life, parties and receptions enjoyed by high society at La Folie Boulart, the reception areas have been designed to dazzle, with succulent painted ceilings and a rich collection of paintings, mirrors and works of art.
Dazzling spaces.
MUCH MORE THAN HISTORY
Centennial trees and fountains welcome the visitor in the garden; in the restaurant they do it creations of the former chef of the starry Hôtel du Palais, Jean-Marie Gautier. In its menus with a terroir flavor, we find dishes such as a carpaccio of scallops with citrus fruits, a sea bass with steamed seaweed and caviar from Aquitaine or a Montblanc reconstituted with yuzu zest by his son, pastry chef Sylvain Gautier.
And those who are looking for a refuge in which to relax, can always go to its spa, located under the glass atrium and perfectly equipped with treatment rooms, hammam, sauna and a swimming pool dug into the cellars.