EDITOR’S PICK
THE HISTORY
CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: The view of the French Riviera; the hotel sits in nine hectares of tropical gardens; a gazebo offering spa treatments; and the sea-water infinity pool
Diving off that board into that part of the Med underneath that 28C sun and heading to one of the floating pontoons to sit on while looking into the middle distance is holiday heroin. The swim of all swims brought on an appetite that chef Arnaud Poëtte knows how to satiate. He’s been filling tummies here for 27 years, which would suggest he’s doing OK. Traditional (in the best sense of the word) Mediterranean fare substantial enough to provide the energy required for several hours of tennis, but pretty enough to hang on the wall. I chose to eat it and hang it on Instagram.
The main Hotel du Cap opened to guests in 1870. Two years after the typewriter was invented and six years before the first phone message. So no free Wi-Fi at the time, although that has been rectified. Kings and queens, maharajahs, writers and artists loved the hotel, so it grew with the building of the Eden Roc pavilion (originally a tea room) in 1914. This was when the French Riviera switched from being a winter destination to a summer one. The big names started rolling in: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, F Scott Fitzgerald, Cary Grant, Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. Over time, 31 junior suites and the Eden Roc suite were added, along with the Eden Roc restaurant and the Grill. The Oetker Collection, which includes Le Bristol Paris and Fregate Island Private among others, bought the hotel in 1960 and spent €48m refurbishing it in 2011-12. In 2013, the open-air Eden-Roc Champagne Lounge was created on the upper terrace: the hotel works exclusively with 13 Champagne houses including Blanc de Blancs, Prestige Blanc and Rosé. In April, a renovated spa reopened, in partnership with Sisley. Here Sisley’s signature Phyto-Aromatic treatments make guests look and feel younger. Both marvellous aims. Although I achieved both without setting foot in the spa. If you have clients who give you sleepless nights and who think of you as their PA rather than their travel agent,
send them to this hotel. RATES FROM €950 A NIGHT FOR B&B€
HDCER.COM
aspire september 2015 — 45
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