Contact :
Area head of sales at Oetker Collection Olivia Pare : olivia.pare@oetkercollection.com
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the iconic property on Cap d’Antibes. For this milestone season, the hotel is commemorating its gla- morous history to pave the way for a future in which the same timeless values of excellence in service, beauty in design and refinement in taste are proudly upheld.
The idea for a peaceful refuge on the tip of Cap d’Antibes was first conceived in 1862 by Hyppolite de Villemessant, French journalist and founder of the newspaper Le Figaro. De Villemessant set out to build a retreat where artists and writers could recharge, gather inspiration and nurture their craft on the sparkling French Riviera. He wanted to call it Villa Soleil. When the journalist’s idealist vision came to a halt due to financial constraints, Count Paul de Fersen, formal colonel of the Russian Imperial Army and aide-de-camp of the tsar living in Antibes, rescued the project by creating an association of property owners and investors on the cape. Upon the Count’s death from tuberculosis in 1865, his brother-in-law Alexis de Pletscheyeff took over the final leg of the building.
The imposing Napoleon III style mansion that would live a short life as Villa Soleil was finally completed and opened on February 26th, 1870. By 1887, the property had faced a downturn and was purchased by a young Italian hotelier named Antoine Sella. Mr Sella invested in a two year renovation and reope- ned as the Grand Hotel du Cap in January 1889. It was Sella’s vision and demands for an uncompromi- sing level of luxury that began attracting a discerning clientele of famous artists, writers, actors, royalty and heads of state as early as 1920.
In 1964, Rudolf-August and Maja Oetker first discovered the dazzling property on the cape from a sail- boat touring the Mediterranean. They were introduced to Antoine Sella who was interested in selling to a like-minded buyer and Rudolf-August and Maja Oetker came into possession of Grand Hotel du Cap in 1969.
The couple hired Hamburg based architect, Professor Pinnau, to design and manage an extensive re-novation. Renamed Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in 1987, the property—still affectionately known as “Hotel du Cap” by long-time guests and admirers—has preserved De Villemessant’s affinity for artists and intellectuals, and Sella’s rigorous standards of luxury, across a century and a half.
“The reputation of this iconic property has been forged thanks to the competence and savoir-faire of the outstanding and passionate hoteliers who I like to refer to as “artisans of paradise”. Our guests, through their enduring loyalty and trust, have also played an important role in solidifying the reputation of this legendary hotel. Together, we are writing a new chapter in the history of Hotel du Cap-Eden- Roc.”
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is closely monitoring the Covid-19 epidemic and our foremost priority is the health and comfort of our guests and team members.
In addition to implementing new hygiene and safety measures, we have developed specific protocols for the following procedures, strictly adhering to the public health guidelines of the French Government, to ensure your stay with us is safe and secure:
Transport
• “Meet & Greet” Service:
Personalised greeting by a chauffeur wearing a mask (Simplified and accelerated passage through the Nice Côte d’Azur airport, respecting social distancing).
• Private transport: Provided by chauffeur in a vehicle secured with a plexiglass safety partition. Vehicles are disinfected with virucide after each use.
Guest and hotelier safety
• Guests to have their frontal temperature taken at the hotel entrance and before their arrival on site for hoteliers. • Plexiglass safety partition at reception and concierge desks. • Virtual check-in and check-out available.
• Sanitation kit containing individual- sized hydroalcoholic gel and disinfectant wipes in rooms.
• Masks available in guests room. Mandatory masking in public areas that do not allow social distancing of less than 1 meter (corridors, sanitary facilities, etc.)
• Hydroalcoholic gel distributors throughout hotel.
• Employee movement rules in place and traffic flow guidance throughout hotel to respect social distancing.
Cleaning and hygiene
• Employee use of preventive equipment (hydroalcoholic gel, masks, and gloves when necessary).
• Obligatorytrainingforallemployeesinupdatedsanitation protocols.
• Strict sanitation protocols for cleaning and disinfection, adhering to the guidelines of the French Government and the WHO.
• Strict sanitation protocols for laundry management (cleaned within the hotel by our trained teams).
Restaurants
• Breakfast and lunch buffets replaced by à la carte menus. • Updated room service offering.
• Food producers and artisans required to respect strict sanitation protocols.
Children
• Sanitation protocols adapted to children.
• Kids Club activities adapted for social distancing by a professional team trained in the updated procedures.
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