When a couple of investors became the owners of the Château and Domaine du Bois d'Arlon in 2005, the premises were in a deplorable state. The work was going to be long, difficult and expensive.
Forgotten by the people of Arlon, hidden at the end of an alley, Château Barbanson, named after a founder of Luxembourg’s Arbed steel firm who had it built at the end of the 19th century, had lost all its splendour. However, in the Belle Epoque, balls and dances were organised here. The place was select, and socialites flocked there. Then the place became a hunting lodge. Wild boar were bred here and then released into the 190 hectares of woodland in the vicinity for the "pleasure" of hunters. Family problems led to the estate being divided up in 1952, and it fell into disrepair a few years later. It was even partially destroyed in the early 1980s - this is when a large part of the top floor of the château collapsed.
Reversal of fortune
After 2005, the new owners spared no expense. The dank and unwelcoming cellars became a spa and beauty centre, a floor was created, a veranda was added. Everything was redone, the furniture came from Florence. The 10-room hotel is the most beautiful in the region. The most chic, certainly. But it is not profitable. A stroke of luck: the neighbouring concierge service is in turn sumptuously restored and should boost the number of visitors. But it isn't functioning. A new setback and big problems on the horizon. To replenish the coffers, the estate's standing trees were sold.
Abandoned, the manor was completely refurbished and transformed into a hotel in 2005. (Photo: Maison Moderne)
In the end, it was another financial vacuum, with a debt of several million euros. Bankruptcy was declared. The Luxembourg entrepreneur Roby Schintgen acquired the castle and then the 190-hectare estate. Known in Arlon for having developed the real estate project on the site of the former Callemeyn barracks, he had two precious assets: time and money.
Horizon 2023
Schintgen is thinking big and far ahead. His dream: to develop a golf course on the estate. Is this a rich man's whim, given that he is a passionate golfer? "Yes, that's a bit of it," he said a few years ago. But it is also much more. The Bois d'Arlon Golf & Resort will have two 18-hole courses, another 9-hole course, a new hotel in addition to the existing one, lodges, a restaurant and a cycle path running alongside the site. In the end, the project was revised and will "only" have 27 holes instead of 45, but still with an international ambition, notably through prestigious competitions.
The future golf course looks great. Work began a few weeks ago. (Photo: Alinea.ter)
It was not until 2021 that all the permits were obtained, not without difficulty, and work began on the "eco" golf course and the new infrastructure. 60 jobs will be created, and the first golfers will be able to work on their swings probably from the second half of 2023. But not only them, Roby Schintgen wants his golf course to be accessible to the general public, a place for family walks or to enjoy a pleasant moment at the table with friends.
This article was originally published on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.