3 January 2023
It is while receiving these singers of the yé-yé years in their Manor of Pouligny Notre Dame that Mick Micheyl, Antonio Amengual and Maurice Vedy realized the real power of attraction of this haven of peace and greenery where they lived. One of the major preoccupations of their artist friends was undoubtedly the fact of being able to remain in good health and physical shape, so the three friends came up with a crazy idea: why not build a clinic in the middle of this green setting that was Pouligny Notre Dame, offering weight loss cures to these city artists in search of calm and discretion? To carry out this enterprise, they were able to count on the support and advice of Dr. Apfelbaum, one of the most renowned dieticians of the time. The Clinique du Manoir en Berry opened its doors in 1978 and was a great success from the very beginning. The artist friends of Mick Micheyl, Antonio Amengual and Maurice Vedy, including the famous scriptwriter, novelist and journalist Joseph Kessel, came in great numbers. The problem of accommodating the families of the clinic's patients soon arose. At the beginning of the 1980's, several acquaintances of the trio came up with the idea that, since the land in front of the Clinique du Manoir en Berry was free, it would be a good idea to build a small hotel with about ten rooms and to add a swimming pool. The land where the current golf compact is located was chosen as the site. While Mick Micheyl, Antonio Amengual and Maurice Vedy were presenting the hotel project to one of their English friends, the latter, a golf enthusiast, suggested that this green area would be ideal for a small 9-hole golf course. It was then decided to widen the range of sporting activities by dedicating part of the building to aquatic activities and the Spa. As the project grew, it became essential to use the numerous contacts and relationships of each person and to find investors interested in this somewhat daring and risky adventure in the heart of Berry. About forty local and Parisian shareholders decided to embark on the adventure and a request for a building permit was submitted. Discussions about the new project were still going on between the trio and their artist friends who came to stay at the health center or to visit them at the Manoir, and new modifications were made while the building permit was already being processed. One of their friends suggested that, given the number of rooms envisaged and the sports and leisure facilities planned, it would be interesting to welcome not only individual clients but also business clients. Seminar rooms would, under these conditions, be provided. Another friend who had fallen in love with the site of Pouligny Notre Dame told them that, since one of the key assets of this future hotel was to be surrounded by preserved nature, it was necessary to play on this asset and to make each client want to come back by offering him a magnificent view of the surrounding green landscapes. What better way to do this than to add a sixth floor to the building and turn it into a breakfast room with a 360° view? These new features were finally integrated into a modified building permit. The small 10-room hotel with swimming pool that Mick Micheyl, Antonio Amengual and Maurice Vedy had conceived in the early 1980s was never built and in 1987 a hotel with 80 rooms and 5 suites, restaurants, seminar rooms, a spa and an 18-hole golf course was opened. The Hotel Les Dryades was the first four-star hotel in the Indre department to be equipped with a Spa and an 18-hole golf course. Maurice Vedy and Antonio Amengual were aware of the need to revitalize Pouligny Notre Dame for the future development of the Hotel Les Dryades. They donated land to the municipality so that a soccer field and tennis courts could be built. They also encouraged the municipality to build a village hall, with the aim of using it as an auditorium.. See you soon for episode 3 of the Dryads story! See episode 1.
