Legendary Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera
The legendary hotel of the French Riviera celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2020. 150 years of glamorous history. In April 2021, «the Grande Dame » was honored by the launch of a beautiful coffee table book «Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a timeless legend» written by Alexandra Campbell with an introduction by Graydon Carter. Published by Flammarion, it compiles hundreds of records and photographs, plenty of rich information.
Reputed to be among the best properties around the world and one of the most emblematic of the French Riviera, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is so particular by its site as it is located in the magnificent landscape of the Cap d’Antibes.
First designed in the mid nineteenth century as a refuge for intellectuals, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is today part of Oetker Collection -an exceptional portfolio of masterpiece hotels, estates and villas- and continues to attract an exclusive international clientele. A private retreat synonymous with timeless elegance and discretion.
Looking back at 150 years of history.
In 1862, French journalist and founder of the newspaper Le Figaro Hyppolite de Villemessant came out with the idea to build a peaceful retreat in the south of France where artists and writers could escape from Paris to recharge and nurture their inspiration on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Villa Soleil was created. Due to financial pressure, Villa Soleil was rescued by Count Paul de Fersen, a formal colonel of the Russian Imperial Army and aide-de-camp of the tsar living in Antibes. He created an association of property owners and investors in the area. In 1865, The Count died from tuberculosis and his brother-in-law Alexis de Pletscheyeff took over Villa Soleil and after some renovations the magnificent Napoleon III style mansion known as the Grand Hotel du Cap reopened on February 26th, 1870.
In 1887, Antoine Sella, a young Italian hotelier, took over the property and invested in a two year renovation. His vision was to build a property with an uncompromising level of luxury to attract famous artists, writers, actors, royalty and heads of state over the years. He added the tea house which was transformed into a restaurant, then founded the yacht club. F. Scott Fitzgerald immortalized these Riviera dazzling moments with the “Hôtel des étrangers” in Tender is the Night in 1934: “On the pleasant shore of the French Riviera, halfway between Marseille and the Italian border, stands a large, proud, rose-coloured hotel. Deferential palms cool its flushed façade, and before it stretches a short dazzling beach. Lately it has become a summer resort of notable and fashionable people”.
Marlene-Dietrich 1939 at Hotel du Cap Eden Roc A timeless legend Flammarion 2020
The Grand Hotel du Cap was already a legend. Marc Chagall sketched drawings in one of the cabanas on the shoreline when years later Picasso and his wife enjoyed spending time in this elegant place.
In 1964, Rudolf-August and Maja Oetker first discovered the property on the cape from a sailboat when navigating on the Mediterranean. In 1969, Antoine Stella sold the hotel to the couple as they shared the same vision for the future. In 1987, Grand Hotel du Cap was renamed Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Today and for 150 years this unique property in Cap D’Antibes has definitely maintained De Villemessant’s affinity for artists and intellectuals, and Sella’s rigorous standards of luxury. Since the very first Cannes Film Festival in 1946, the « Grande Dame » tied its history with cinema and Hollywood stars.
The worldwide recognizable pool embedded in the rocks overlooking the Mediterranean Sea immortalized by American photographer Slim Aarons, and the glamorous Grande Allée, where Karl Lagerfeld orchestrated his Chanel Cruise Collection 2012 are some of my favorite spots. This property has a special soul that you can’t find anywhere else.