News
Here you will find all the articles concerning the history of the Manoir du Lac as well as news from the surrounding area. We are happy to share with you the secrets of the Manoir au Lac.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Ski holidays
Are you a winter sports fan? The alpine ski resort of La Mauselaine welcomes you with 40 km of downhill runs. Other resorts are nearby with a wide choice of slopes for all levels: La Bresse-Hohneck, Lac Blanc, La Schlucht, La Bresse-Lispach...
Follow in the footsteps of our great Vosges Nordic skiing and biathlon champions in our resorts: Les Bas-Rupts, Lispach, Le Poli, Les Trois Fours and more for some 120km of runs.
A guide can accompany you to the summits on ski touring, or for a simple walk in the forest on snowshoes.
Le Manoir au Lac is only 10 minutes from the nearest resorts. We will be able to advise you if necessary, so don't hesitate to come and discover Gérardmer!
Gérardmer International Fantasy Film Festival
From 25 to 29 January 2023, Fantastic'Art returns to Gérardmer for its 30th edition.
Chaired by Bérénice Bejo and Michel Hazanavicius (OSS 117, The Artist, Coupez!..), and composed of Alex Lutz (A l'ombre des filles, Guy,..), Eye Haîdara (Le sens de la fête, En thérapie..), Catherine Ringer (Les Rita Mitsouko) and more.
Its exceptional jury will use its excellence to nominate the best fantastic films of the year and the most talented directors.
In the running are Brad Anderson's Blood, Saara Saarela's Memory of Water and Hary Cleven's Watcher.
See the programme
Sales are open, from 10€ per screening, up to 100e for the Festival Pass: Go to the ticket office
The festival offers all kinds of screenings: short and feature films, a night dedicated to a film or an author, or video screenings.
New for 2020!
Claude Valentin's poster collection
Advertising posters from the past,but also images of Epinal...
Deep roots in history
How nice it would have been to walk along the shores of Lake Gérardmer in those sweet, carefree days at the end of the 19th century. Well known as "the pearl of the Vosges", the small town situated at an altitude of 660 metres was indeed the holiday resort of the Tout-Paris of the time.
No doubt one would have heard Ernest Renan philosophise there, greeted President Sadi Carnot, or perhaps even met the portrait painter Léon Bonnat. Proof of the interest that this demanding and well-to-do population showed in this landscape, set in a valley and bordered by mountains with fir trees and meadows, Gérardmer was the site of the first tourist office in France. In 1875, it was aptly named "Comité des promenades". The attractiveness of the splendid and paradisiacal lake of Gérardmer - more than 2 km long - quickly attracted wealthy people who built their holiday homes there.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was possible to count dozens of posh "chalets" on its shores, buildings of prestige and character that bore witness to a time when the art of living skilfully combined romanticism and worldliness.
The theatre, which resurrects this atmosphere of yesteryear, overlooks the shining expanse of Lake Gérardmer. This prestigious residence, built entirely of wood, stands nobly on a slope pleasantly adorned with generous vegetation.
The Manoir au Lac, as it is called, is one of those miraculous chalets as it is so rare to find them still on the Vosges balloon. Moreover, the house still has a typical half-timbered facade on the rear side which does not lack character. Originally owned by Parisian bankers (the Cahens of Antwerp), the building, after passing through the hands of an industrialist, was acquired in 1979 by Claude Valentin, a Gerome resident who was sufficiently inspired by his native region to have the audacity to invest in a concept that is, to say the least, singular.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MAUPASSANT
From the outset, Claude Valentin was convinced that the position of the building on the lake, as well as its character, naturally destined the chalet Cahen d'Anvers to be transformed into a refined hotel. To the existing 800m2, the lucky buyer added a new building which now links all the wings of the property. The whole complex has allowed the development of twelve rooms and two flats (or suites) of character.
Each of these rooms has been given its own name, making it easier to distinguish the style and colours. From "Mirabelle" to "Bastien" to "Prunelle" to "Don Juan", it's all a matter of taste, and the carefully staged furniture inevitably gives the rooms unique personalities. For the record - which adds nobility to the already poetic atmosphere - one room, aptly named "Bel-Ami", was even home to Guy de Maupassant.
"The country I have just visited is one of the most beautiful one can see. Immense valleys, enclosed in mountains with gigantic forests of pine and beech [...] At the bottom of all these valleys, lakes", wrote Guy de Maupassant to his "dear mother" in 1890
The hotel's design exudes such a sense of comfort and luxury that it quickly made the reputation of Claude Valentin and his Manoir au Lac. So much good taste, elegance and refinement permeate this exceptional place, that some may think it took an armada of interior designers to design it.
However, the owner of the establishment is the sole architect of this décor which, in his own words, "reflects my personal vision of luxury hotels".