The History of
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc
The French Riviera’s Grande Dame, attracting stars, royalty, heads of state and discerning travellers for generations.
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1870
Hippolyte de Villemessant, founder of the French newspaper Le Figaro, opens Villa Soleil on Cap d’Antibes as a seaside writers retreat.
1877
Antoine Sella, a young hotelier from the Italian region of Piedmont, buys the property, renovates it and reopens as Grand Hotel du Cap in January 1889.
1914
The iconic saltwater pool is carved out of the cliff.
1934
The hotel is immortalised as Hôtel des Étrangers in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fourth and final novel, Tender is the Night.
1936
The future Duke and Duchess of Windsor are frequent guests of the hotel, where Antoine Sella guaranteed them absolute privacy and discretion following the Duke’s abdication from the throne.
1939
The famous love affair between actress Marlene Dietrich and novelist Erich-Maria Remarque transpires, in part, at Grand Hotel du Cap.
1944
The hotel is repurposed as a military hospital for allied troops during WW2. After the war’s end, American soldiers were stationed in Antibes to help restore the Grand Hotel du Cap to its former glory.
1955
Pablo Picasso, a hotel regular, is commissioned to design the new restaurant menu. His only requests are paper, ink and a quiet table to sit and work.
1964
Rudolf August and Maja Oetker spot the Grand Hotel du Cap from their yacht sailing the Mediterranean.
1969
The couple learn the hotel is up for sale and propose to buy it from Antoine Sella, who is searching for an owner who shares his vision of refinement and hospitality. A deal is made.
1987
Grand Hotel du Cap is renamed Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.
2006
Major renovations are undertaken to modernize the hotel’s main building and annex.
2011
Chanel presents its Cruise 2011-2012 collection on the hotel’s Grande Allée.
2016
The hotel receives the prestigious Palace Distinction
2020
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc celebrates its 150th birthday.
2023
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc introduces new al fresco Italian restaurant Giovanni’s and reveals the new Dior Spa Eden-Roc, a unique partnership uniting two iconic French maisons.
