Body and facial treatments with mother-of-pearl, quartz, peridot, or opal… Beauty bestowed by gemstones. Château de Vignée truly lives up to its name as the ‘Pearl of Rochefort.’ Especially now, since it has partnered with the French beauty brand Gemology. Gemology extracts trace elements from minerals and integrates them into skincare treatments that provide wonderful benefits.
The name Vignée harkens back to the vineyard history of this estate. “Once, vineyards flourished along the banks of the Lesse here,” says Elodie François, General Manager of Château de Vignée. “But Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have ordered their destruction in favor of French wine production.” This connection to wine—one of the passions of the current owner, Christian Teunissen, CEO of the publicly traded company Xior—is what made him fall in love with this 18th-century château. He purchased it after spending several years vacationing in the region with his family, seizing the opportunity when it arose in 2018. Under the courtyard of the original square farm, he created a space for wine tastings and food pairings. At the heart of the private dining room, surrounded by one of the largest wine cellars in the country (with more than ten thousand bottles), sits a ’round table’ that accommodates a select group of fourteen guests. Above ground, there’s also the one-star restaurant ‘Arden,’ led by Marius Bosmans, who serves expressive dishes made from natural ingredients. Together, they form a magnet for epicureans.
Oenology at its Finest
The love for oenology extends even into the spa. Evidence of this can be seen in the wooden wine crates used to store beauty products and the exclusive collaboration with Gemology, the French beauty brand whose mineral-based products align perfectly with the wine theme. We put it to the test with the Perle de Nacre body treatment, which begins with the ‘Perle de Gommage Visage et Corps,’ a scrub made from sugar granules. It’s notably more pleasant compared to the coarser textures of apricot kernels. Paired with the hydrating and firming Parure de Soi body milk, enriched with mother-of-pearl, moonstone, and hyaluronic acid, the scrub leaves our skin intensely moisturized. “We also offer scrubs made with Peridot salt or gemstones like ruby,” says spa manager Florence Charlier. During the body massage, Florence uses two pebble-shaped rose quartz stones heated in a special device to a maximum temperature of 45°C. She alternates between using the flat side of the stones and their edges, particularly to work on pressure points. For the facial treatment, she again uses these quartz stones to smooth and soften the skin, along with two jade rollers—around ten centimeters long and two centimeters thick—to tone and firm the skin. The sensation of having the skin around the eyes gently pinched between the jade rollers is a uniquely relaxing experience. We are equally impressed by the Mousse de Roche cleanser, made with white quartz, green tea, and peppermint, which foams crisply on the skin after cleansing with the beautifully scented Bijou Nacré Démaquillant. The lovely fragrances are a constant with Gemology, as even the dry organic body and hair oil carries the delightful scent of opal.
Ardennes Character
For the wellness area, the interior designers from Antwerp-based visual agency WeWantMore drew inspiration from the spa designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor in the Alps. “By covering the walls and floors with blue stone, we gave the brutalist style an Ardennes character,” explains Ruud Belmans, Creative Director Interior at WeWantMore. Eye-catching elements, like a restored washbasin, nod to the old, authentic part of the château. The spa roof is pierced by a massive sauna block, offering views over the Lesse. Guests can also unwind in the hammam, the Finnish sauna overlooking the Lesse Valley, or the infinity pool with massage jets. Large glass panels open onto a sun terrace with lounge chairs, providing everything you need to indulge your senses.
