> Château Grattequina: function rooms and an attractive hotel
.
This château, only 15 minutes from the airport and 8 km from Bordeaux city centre, is a lovely family success story. In 1986, the Hue family purchased the château and restored the superb, 19th-century mansion overlooking the Garonne River to its former glory.
Château Grattequina offers businesses fully-equipped meeting and function areas with space for 220 persons.
The well-lit, tastefully-decorated, quiet meeting rooms are ideal for working sessions involving 20 - 90 persons. In addition, the converted barn, decorated with the same attractive blend of antique and contemporary fittings as the Château, has a capacity of up to 250 persons.
The Château also has a projection room and high-performance audiovisual equipment.
Coffee breaks may be set up in the hotel reception or the "Estuaire" room and meals served in the "Ile" room or the château itself (210 persons), while the barn or château can accommodate gala dinners for up to 500 persons - there are a wide range of possibilities depending on clients' requirements and budgets.
Château Grattequina, is also an attractive hotel with ten modern, comfortable, welcoming rooms. The fully-equipped rooms (flat-panel TV, direct-dial telephone, Internet access, etc.) offer lovely views over the Garonne River . The outdoor swimming pool is an ideal place to relax in fine weather.
www.grattequina.com

> Château Kirwan: the art of gracious hospitality

This château has been in the Schÿler family since 1925 and is named after a former owner, Mark Kirwan, an Irish wine merchant. The owners spare no effort in the upkeep of this 1855 Great Growth, located in Cantenac, near Margaux, about twenty kilometres from Bordeaux. Château Kirwan, now managed by Nathalie Schÿler, offers facilities for seminars, meetings, business entertaining, and concerts. The superb, 18th-century château has facilities for events with up to 200 guests.
The accent here is on gracious hospitality to match the quality of their great wine, together with a friendly atmosphere. The four comfortable meeting rooms, fully equipped with audiovisual systems, overlook the barrel-ageing cellar, while the reception rooms have views over the vineyards. The "Prestige" room on the first floor has a panoramic view over the vines. It is an ideal setting for work or relaxing in a group.
The catering features traditional regional cuisine - a perfect foil for the finesse of Château Kirwan.
The château is set in two hectares of gardens, ideal for outdoor lunches and relaxing strolls among the ancient trees. Château Kirwan also offers wine-related activities for those who wish to develop their palates.
www.chateau-kirwan.com

> Château Malartic-Lagravière: in the heart of the oldest Bordeaux vineyard area

Château Malartic-Lagravière offers a superb environment for receptions, conventions, and seminars. This Graves estate is ideally located in Léognan, 15 minutes from the centre of Bordeaux , and produces red and white Grand cru classé wine. Two rooms are available for your events.
"Les Vieux Chais de Malartic" has a capacity of 100 - 300 seats. It overlooks a terrace with a wonderful view of the Château and gardens.
"Les Anthocyanes" is ideal for smaller receptions. The Château drawing rooms provide an elegant setting for prestige events, with their rich decor, air-conditioning, and seating for up to 50 persons.
In August 2004, Château Malartic-Lagravière, owned by the Bonnie family, was the venue for an outstanding event. In the context of the 5th International Graves Meetings, cello Master Classes were held there by Mstislav Rostropovitch. The audience were charmed, not only by the famous cellist's talent, but also by his unpretentiousness. This was truly a major event for the Château.
It was also a great day when the 2002 vintage was awarded the Grappe d'Or in the 2006 Hachette Wine Guide. Every year, the Hachette Guide awards this distinction to an estate selected from among the best 3-star " coups de cœur ".
www.malartic-lagraviere.com

> Château Vieux Robin: shared pleasures
.
Maryse and Didier Roba, fifth-generation winegrowers and owners of Château Vieux Robin, are keen to share their family heritage through their enthusiasm for wine and terroir . This Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, located in Bégadan in the northern part of the Médoc peninsula, belongs to a couple who have chosen to blend art and wine in their own philosophy of pleasure.
Pleasures include learning to taste wine, guided tours of the winery, horse-drawn carriage rides in the vineyards, one-day grape-picking experiences during the vintage, and one-day tasting master-classes when the new wine is blended from the various vats.
Attractive, artist-designed labels feature vineyard and wine themes.
As Maryse Roba believes in the pleasure of sharing, she organizes meetings and exhibitions celebrating women and wine, as well as the art of being a woman in the wine world.
This original approach makes Château Vieux Robin an ideal venue for all those - men and women - who enjoy fine food and wine.
The estate has facilities for groups of up to 20 persons.
www.chateau-vieux-robin.com

> D'D TOURS : an original concept for corporate team-building
.
The designers at D'DTOURS who have specialized in the © Rallye Découverte since 1983, organize events revolving around human resources and communication.
D'Dtours' Rallye Découverte is an excellent activity for meetings, conferences, conventions, seminars, training sessions, product promotions, communication on corporate objectives, etc.
How does it work? The participants are given a road book at the start, containing riddle-type questions that they must solve to progress to the next waypoint and, finally, to their secret destination. Themes chosen by the corporate clients may be included in the road book, to suit their specific objectives and the messages they wish to convey. Rallye Découverte can be adapted to all means of transportation (even walking), any type of activity or timeframe.
Rallye Découverte, developed by former SME managers, human resources managers, and sociologists, can be used to strengthen communication, team spirit, loyalty, decompartmentalization, corporate culture, etc...
It is also a useful tool for ensuring that corporate messages and objectives have been fully integrated.
This original, fun activity is customized to meet the specific needs of each client.

> Holiday Inn: a few minutes from Bordeaux city centre

The Bordeaux City Centre Holiday Inn hotel, just a couple of minutes from the railway station, is an excellent venue for seminars and business meetings. It is also less than 10 minutes from the city centre by the new urban tram system.
The hotel has three, fully-equipped modular rooms on the ground floor and three smaller rooms upstairs.
The 89 bedrooms (including 5 "Executive" and 5 "Executive Club" rooms) are all well-appointed: television (canal +, satellite, and movie channel), direct-dial telephone, individual air-conditioning, safe, radio-alarm, trouser press, hair-drier, mini bar, and courtesy tray.
The hotel offers traditional, simple yet inventive cuisine at "Le Canotier" restaurant and an ideal place to relax at "Le Bougainvillier" bar.
www.holidayinn-bordeaux.com

> Ligne Bleue Events: a solution to meet all your needs
.
This incoming tourism agency, founded in Bordeaux in 2005, is a consulting firm specialized in corporate event organization and installation. Eric Monget declares that, in their key areas: incentive operations, conventions, and seminars, " La Ligne bleue Events , offer solutions rather than services, putting the focus on simplifying customer relations and keeping them as direct as possible".
Their operations are organized in four stages. The first consists of analyzing the firm's needs in terms of communication, as the agency founders have a strong background in that field. The next stage is a general recommendation, including a detailed presentation of the products (location, caterer, activities, etc.). Third stage: La Ligne Bleue Events negotiates the necessary purchases on behalf of the clients.
Finally, the agency supervises the logistics of the entire operation, including technical management. Each event may involve anywhere from 10 to several hundred participants.