The Grand Contrôle commitments
This luxury hotel, with 11 rooms and 2 signature suites, came to life in 2018 in a unique former private mansion which was built in 1681 by Louis XIV’s favourite architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
We’re saving water and energy
• The heating and air-conditioning system is backed by geothermal energy. Water at a constant temperature of 12 degrees is drawn from the water table, 40m below the building. The water then circulates within the heating system. We use gas to heat it up in the winter, and to cool it down in the summer. The water is then put back into the water table, creating a virtuous closed loop cycle.
• The lighting is 100% LED. French company, Mathieu Lustrerie managed to integrate this low-consumption technology into their 18th-century replica pendant chandeliers.
• More than 200 doors and windows have been double-glazed for maximal insulation.
• The hotel took the decision to not install TVs in the bedrooms for historical accuracy, aesthetic and energy-saving reasons.
• During their stay, our staff only change the bed linen at the request of our guests. They can use the small wooden sign available to indicate their preferences.
• The hotel’s guest cars and golf carts are electric.
We recycle and recover our waste
Le Grand Contrôle is a pioneer of responsible hotels in the Paris region.
• We work with Lemon Tri, a certified B Corp, to recycle all our waste - from cardboard, to glass, through to polystyrene, wood, cigarette butts and even plastic. All of our waste is recovered in France, in tracked waste streams.
• Our food waste is sorted and collected, then transformed into compost or biogas, for farmers in the Île-de-France region.
• Our soap is recycled by Unisoap, an association from Lyon. They collect leftover used soaps for recycling, then treat them at an ESAT vocational rehabilitation centre in Lyon, which is staffed by people with disabilities. The recycled soaps are then donated to local and national partner associations who redistribute them to vulnerable communities.
We're eliminating single-use plastic
• PET plastic bottles have disappeared from our establishments, replaced by glass bottles.
• The toiletries in our bathrooms and bedrooms are wrapped in rice paper, and our beauty products are dispensed in refillable pump bottles. Even the soles of our slippers are made from suede!
• All members of staff are kitted out with eco-designed reusable water bottles, 100% made in France from sustainable and recyclable material.
Our furniture reflects the rest of the hotel - responsible!
• We’ve chosen to furnish the hotel by purchasing pieces that best fit in with the history of the building - lightly-restored European period furniture.
• We work with French companies that have been awarded the Living Heritage label, such as Ateliers Perrault for our windows and joinery, and Régis Mathieu of the Mathieu Lustrerie workshop for our chandeliers.
We practise responsible cleaning
• For our guests, our planet, and their own comfort, our housekeeping team uses dry steam cleaning equipment as well as eco-friendly cleaning products.
Nous prônons une gastronomie raisonnable
• Homemade is inherently responsible! In our restaurant, Chef Alain Ducasse and his team favour local products with short distribution channels, cooked in a way to avoid waste, and use as many organic fruits and vegetables as possible. Most of our fruit and veg comes from the Île-de-France region.
• All our minibar snacks are organic, and packaged by ethical businesses or ESAT associations, and our range of Alain Ducasse teas and coffees are fair trade.
PERFORMANCE SOCIALE ET SOCIÉTALE
Our employees’ well-being is a constant concern
• Our managerial teams are on hand to listen, and communicate regularly and directly with them. They organise social and work events - from charity runs, to volunteering opportunities, and professional team-building exercises.
We’re gender equality advocates
• Gender parity is of particular importance to our Human Resources team.
• Managers benefit from professional equality training, and we’ve also initiated measures for our employees, such as the addition of a period product box in the locker rooms - a social initiative to address period poverty, which was replicated across all our group establishments in 2022.
Our hotel is committed to disability rights
• Our hotel is disability-friendly for both guests and staff with disabilities, and promotes high awareness of disability issues. Each year, an internal communication campaign is distributed (leaflets, emails, and flyers) to educate staff and open a dialogue with them about their personal circumstances.
• We also work with a disability-responsible consulting firm which organises training and team building events based around disability issues.
• Finally, each year, our hotel teams take part in Duoday - where people with disabilities join our team for a day.
We encourage and value staff engagement
• Airelles allows each employee to spend up to four working days getting involved with social impact projects, thanks to our partnership with VENDREDI. The social engagement platform centralises hundreds of associations and offers face-to-face or remote missions which can be carried out alone or in a team, by skills-based sponsorship or by solidarity aid.
• Our determined and committed staff are aware of this social benefit, which is promoted internally by the Human Resources department.
Our strong partnership with Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque
• Le Grand Contrôle teams are highly involved with this charity, which makes it possible for children with heart disease from all over the world to be cared for and operated on in French hospitals.
• Beyond the group’s month of sport and solidarity challenges which the teams enthusiastically participate in, our staff also take part in numerous events organised by the charity, such as the Trophée du Cœur au Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, the Christmas sale and a Tour de France event.
• Le Grand Contrôle donates luxury stays as raffle prizes for these fundraising events.
• Finally, each hotel employee is sent a card on their birthday, from which the proceeds go to the charity.
We work with committed contractors and suppliers
• We’re delighted to be collaborating with social enterprises and ethical businesses such as Unisoap, Lemon Tri and HASC, who train their staff, help people get back into work, and work with people with disabilities in ESAT vocational rehabilitation centres.
• The teams also value our group partnership with Linklusion, the first platform linking businesses with Self-Employed Workers with a Disability (les travailleurs Indépendants Handicapés, TIH).
• We equally encourage our suppliers to collaborate with Pandobac - a company specialising in reusable packaging containers - in order to lower our waste production.
• Beyond all these environmental and social measures, the hotel is part of a long-lasting culture of responsibility, as an important contributor to a historic public establishment. Through the restoration of a national heritage landmark, and annual fee and ticket purchases, Le Grand Contrôle makes a significant contribution to the Palace of Versailles’ outreach.
