Chateau Impney

The Chateau Impney is a brilliant example of classic French Chateau style architecture with all that it implies in terms of elegance and romance. It was built in 1875 by John Corbett, the Salt King, as a present to his wife, a beautiful French governess. Corbett fell in love with her during a visit to Paris and as both had been enchanted by Versailles and the French Chateaux in the Loire Valley they decided to build their own palace in England. Corbett, son of a wealthy bargee from Staffordshire, at the age of 28 bought the derelict salt works at Stoke Prior, just outside Droitwich Spa. With his engineering skill he was able to turn his business into an extremely profitable company, producing 160,000 tones of salt per annum, and amassing a great personal fortune. Three thousand men toiled on the construction of the building creating the magnificent mansion and park that is today the Chateau Impney. They totally transformed the landscape creating 155 acres of parkland, building lakes, waterfalls and tropical gardens and planting over 3000 varieties of trees, many of which are evident today in their full glory. All this they completed in a style typical of the great French houses. Today the Chateau is one of the premier hotels in the Heart of England specialising in conferences, banquets and exhibitions for customers seeking a venue with a style all of its own. It is independently owned and operated and is the life-work of its management team. There are 122 bedrooms in the Chateau, 65 bedrooms in main hotel, 40 bedrooms in Impney Court and 9 suites (17 bedrooms) in Impney Apartments