Luxury developer Caudwell has agreed a partnership with the five-star Hôtel Belles Rives to manage the concierge at Le Provençal on the French Riviera.
The deal will provide residents of the new £300 million plus (GDV) luxury residential address with concierge, lifestyle services, valet parking and the benefit of privileged reservation at the diverse gastronomy, activities and well-being on offer at Hôtel Belles Rives – including its one-star Michelin restaurant, famed cocktail bar, spa corner and private beach club.
At the gateway to Cap d’Antibes, located adjacent to Hôtel Belles Rives on Boulevard Edouard Baudoin, Le Provençal is the landmark former Hôtel Provençal, built in 1926-27 by architect Lucien Stable for American millionaire Frank Jay Gould, now converted to provide 41 residences, all with secure garaging.
Complete with Art Deco styled public areas, cinema, health spa, restaurant, children’s playroom, retail boutiques and six acres of landscaped gardens with a 30-metre swimming pool. Le Provençal offers gracious luxury living and amenities unrivalled on the Cote d’Azur.
CONCIERGE SERVICES
Under the new partnership Hôtel Belles Rives, which is renowned for its luxury and outstanding hospitality, will provide Le Provençal with a range of concierge services that are included in the service charges.
Pic credit: Caudwell
The concierge staff will have bespoke uniforms designed to complement the restored iconic building.
Managed from a dedicated concierge room the services include concierge, welcoming guests, valet parking, managing post and deliveries and operating and booking the health spa.
Pic credit: Caudwell
Residents at Le Provençal will benefit from privileged reservations, subject to availability, at each of the restaurants at the Hôtel Belles Rives, from the Michelin-starred La Passagère, its beachfront La Plage, the famous Bar Fitzgerald, and Paseo, the convivial all-day dining at Hôtel Juana, as well as beach chairs available at the private beach.
Pic credit: Caudwell
In addition, the luxury Swiss skincare house, Valmont, offers a jewel-box of a spa at the hotel where facials and body treatments are on offer.
SNACKS AND DRINKS
With snacks and drinks served at the water’s edge the private beach includes loungers, and a pontoon with a private landing for tenders ferrying guests arriving from superyachts berthed in the Bay of Golfe-Juan.
With professional lifeguards on duty daily the private beach can also provide on a tariff basis Le Provençal guests with swimming lessons, water-skiing, pedalos and paddleboards.
On a tariff basis, residents of Le Provençal can also benefit from apartment cleaning, bed linen clean and turn down and the provision of flowers.
Pic credit: Caudwell
Other concierge services include restaurant bookings, the organisation of museum visits, day trips and cultural tours; the hire of a chauffeur driven Bentley Flying Spur or Mercedes S-class limousine for airport transfer or other Riviera journeys; access to an exclusive collection of Ferrari, Mercedes and BMW sportscars that can be rented during a stay and the hire of skippered motoryachts.
MOUGINS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Golf enthusiasts can have access to the world-renowned Mougins Golf & Country Club and Golf Club Cannes-Mandelieu whilst teenagers and children can benefit from personalised sports and leisure activities including tennis lessons, dance, games, gym, art classes and French language lessons.
The new partnership reunites two iconic buildings which have a unique shared heritage. Hôtel Belles Rives and Hôtel Provençal (now Le Provençal) helped provide the glamorous backdrops for American author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life on the French Riviera during the 1920s and 1930s, which had a key influence on The Great Gatsby, completed in 1925, ironically celebrating the centennial of its release this year, and Tender is the Night which he penned between 1925 and 1933.
BOHEMIAN HISTORY
Hôtel Belles Rives was originally a private residence known as Villa St. Louis which was rented in the summer of 1926 by Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda and their daughter Scottie where the couple socialised with their bohemian circle who included Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway.
One evening Fitzgerald persuaded musicians performing at a restaurant in Juan-les-Pins to come to Villa St. Louis and perform until dawn, an event that helped to inspire the creation of the hotel’s famous Bar Fitzgerald. In 1929 the Villa St. Louis was extended and remodelled into the now iconic Hôtel Belles Rives.
Pic: Caudwell
The adjacent Hôtel Provençal, opened in 1927, provided another Riviera setting where Fitzgerald, Zelda, and their famous friends liked to socialise, the cocktail bar hosting the Fitzgeralds, Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Sir Winston Churchill.
Hôtel Provencal closed for refurbishment in 1977 and never reopened, its future uncertain until it was acquired in 2014 by luxury developer Caudwell. For the restoration Caudwell has worked alongside Parisian architecture and interior design house Affine Design, renowned for the renovation of celebrated hotels such as the Hôtel de Crillon, Hôtel de Paris and Hôtel Shangri-La Paris.
COMPLETION IN 2025
Le Provençal is scheduled for completion in summer 2025 with the building’s restored public areas including a porte cochère, grand reception lobby and a rotunda with an Ottoman style domed gold leaf ceiling.
Pic: Caudwell
There is also an Art Deco inspired 16-seat cinema and a 2,155 sq.ft. (200 sq.m.) health spa. Inside the spa a serene sanctuary of wellness beckons with a semi-circular tinted mosaic spa pool with a feature waterfall and jets, an inviting Jacuzzi, vitality pool and submersed beds. Complemented by a sauna, a hammam, a cold plunge pool, an ice fountain, hydrotherapy jets and soothing hot stone benches for a deeply rejuvenating experience.
There is also a gymnasium, treatment room, fitness studio and a separate female steam room and sauna in the ladies changing rooms. Residents will be able to book health, beauty and spa treatments and private fitness and gym coaching through the concierge.
MOUNTAIN VIEWS
The 41 residences are up to 9,440 sq.ft. (877 sq.m.) in size, and include lateral apartments, penthouses and garden houses/villas. Most of the residences offer outside terraces and views of the sea, with most also benefitting from views of the Alps.
Located across the 8th to 11th floors the three penthouses, each with six bedroom suites, all have a private mosaic lined swimming pool and offer panoramic views along the French Riviera including views of Cap d’Antibes, Nice, Monaco, Cannes and the Alps.
PREMIUM BUY-TO-LET
Pic credit: CAUDWELL
John Caudwell, British businessman, philanthropist and Founder of Caudwell says: “The partnership with the Hôtel Belles Rives provides Le Provençal with outstanding 5-star concierge and lifestyle services, valet parking and the benefit of privileged reservation at the Hótel Belles Rives restaurants, cocktail bar and private beach.
“The concierge security and services such as apartment cleaning, bed linen clean and turn down and airport transfer provide Le Provençal with the perfect lock-up-and-leave offering for second home owners and a premium buy-to-let opportunity for investors.”
GOLDEN AGE
Stéphane Vuillaume, Director & General Manager at Hôtel Belles Rives, adds: “For nearly a century, Hôtel Belles Rives has embodied the golden age of Riviera hospitality, where timeless elegance meets the refined art of personalized service.
“Our conciergerie upholds the storied tradition of the grand hotels of Europe, anticipating every need and crafting experiences that capture the effortless glamour of the Côte d’Azur.
“Residents of Le Provençal will have access to this unparalleled level of service, along with world-class wellness, leisure, and cultural offerings – including our renowned private beach, a cherished retreat on Cap d’Antibes that has welcomed discerning travelers for generations.”
