Hotel du Cap

Entrance to Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc

Built originally as a private mansion Villa Soleil (Villa of the Sun) in 1863, the Hôtel du Cap, in Antibes on the French Riviera, first opened its doors to guests in 1870.

History

The founder of France's Le Figaro newspaper, Hippolyte de Villemessant, built the Villa Soleil in 1869 for writers seeking inspiration. In 1887, Italian hotelier Antoine Sella bought the property, and opened the Grand Hôtel du Cap in 1889. In 1914, the Eden Roc pavillon was built 400 yards away from the main hotel. Gerald and Sara Murphy, a young American couple who had expatriated to France in the 1920s, once rented the hotel for an entire summer, a unique event for the era as the French Riviera was not a summer destination at the time, but a winter escape for the wealthy. With the Murphys came many legendary writers and artists of the Lost Generation, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Fitzgerald immortalized it as the Hôtel des Etrangers in "Tender Is the Night". Marc Chagall made sketches in one of the shady beachside cabanas after their construction in the 1960s. Guests who flocked there included Marlene Dietrich, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Winston Churchill and Charles De Gaulle. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton conducted an affair and honeymooned there. The hotel has traditionally been a particular favourite of film stars, especially during the annual Cannes Film Festival.

Rudolf August Oetker, a German industrialist, and his wife Maja von Malaisé first spotted the famed mansion while sailing on the Côte d'Azur in 1964; they bought the hotel five years later, in 1969.

The hotel was for many years famously known for not accepting any kinds of credit cards. Cash only was accepted though most guests wired money ahead of their stay. In 2006 this policy was finally dropped.

Amenities

The 5 star property is composed of 3 buildings:

• The Hôtel du Cap
• The Eden-Roc
• Les 2 Fontaines

The main hotel, a grand Napoleon III château, is located on the southern tip of the Cap d'Antibes in 22 acres of pine trees and tropical gardens. In addition, there are two private villas, the Villa Eleana (in front of the property) and the Villa Les Cèdres (in the property). Owner Maja Oetker personally decorates all of the 117 rooms and suites. Each year, the managing director launches renewations in order to offer the best prestations. In 2011, after having undergone a $67 million renovation, the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc received 3 awards for "the best rooms", "the best european resorts" and "the most immaculate service". Inside the Hôtel, there are two clay tennis court, a Spa with "La Prairie" treatments, fitness, shopping, hair dresser and of course 9 acres of verdure. Dynamited out of the basalt above the bay in 1914, the swimming pool is a heated salt water pool, cut into the edge of the cliff. Guests can also enjoy the "cabanas" : hidden in the roc in front the sea, the 33 cabanas are places to enjoy the sun and the sea.

Lots of famous firms and celebrities came and still come to the Hôtel in order to organize events or just to enjoy the Riviera's pleasures.

Management

The Hôtel du Cap Eden Roc belongs to the Oetker Collection. The Oetker Collection is managed by the Oetker family, and this is why all the hotels of the collection are so special for their guests. The quality is not considered as it may be considered in huge hotel groups and is really the main priority.

The Oetker Collection proposes 5 properties one of a kind :

• The Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Cap d'Antibes.
• Le Château Saint Martin and Spa, Vence
• Le Bristol, Paris
• The Brenners Park and Spa, Baden Baden
• The Palais Namaskar, Marrakesh

External links

• Hotel du Cap Eden Roc