Château de Codignat

Château de Codignat is a 12th-century castle in the Basse-Auvergne countryside. In 1754, Charles Antoine Claude de Chazerat, Intendant of the Generality of Riom, became owner. It later passed to the d'Estaing family — Charles-François d'Estaing served as Lieutenant General of the King's armies, while the last lord, Charles Henri-Théoda d'Estaing, was guillotined in 1794.

Its roof was restored in the Viollet-le-Duc style in the early 20th century. Between the wars, it was owned by Prince Obolenski, a descendant of the last Russian Tsar. The château became a hotel in 1971 and has been a Relais & Châteaux member for over 30 years. After changing hands several times — the Baglioni Group, then Sorgente Hotels & Resorts, which earned it a fifth star in 2012 — it closed in 2021 and was acquired by Groupe DIES, reopening as an intimate château d'hôtes. Today its 19 rooms and suites (14 rooms and 5 suites, two of them duplex) are split between the historic castle, the Chalet Myrtille (an independent building in the park with its own living room, patio, and two bedrooms across two floors), and a separate Cottage.

The execution of the château's last lord, Charles Henri-Théoda d'Estaing, during the French Revolution ties Codignat directly to the violent upheaval that swept away much of the pre-revolutionary French aristocracy.

Prince Obolenski's interwar ownership, as a descendant of the last Russian Tsar, connects this Auvergne castle to the broader diaspora of Russian nobility who settled across Western Europe following the 1917 revolution.

The château's repeated changes of corporate ownership — from Baglioni to Sorgente to Groupe DIES, with a 2021 closure in between — reflects the volatile hospitality-industry history that has affected even long-established Relais & Châteaux properties.

The surrounding volcanic Chaîne des Puys, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city of Clermont-Ferrand give guests staying at Codignat access to one of central France's most distinctive natural landscapes.