Luxury developer Caudwell has unveiled Villa Zelda, a five-bedroom trophy home created around the former ballroom of Le Provençal on the French Riviera.
The €27.25m residence forms part of the conversion of the historic Art Deco hotel at the gateway to Cap d’Antibes into 35 apartments, penthouses and villas.
Arranged over two floors, Villa Zelda provides 6,458 sq ft of internal accommodation and 6,805 sq ft of private terraces and landscaped gardens, including a 30ft swimming pool.
Its centrepiece is a double-height rotunda that once served as the Hôtel Provençal’s ballroom and restaurant, hosting figures including Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Coco Chanel, Charlie Chaplin and Pablo Picasso.
GREAT SCOTT
The villa takes its name from Zelda Fitzgerald, who visited the hotel with her husband, author F Scott Fitzgerald.
The rotunda now provides a grand reception room with 16ft arched French doors, polished plaster walls, marble flooring and an 18ft coffered ceiling.
Pic credit: Caudwell
Other features include a family kitchen and breakfast room, private cinema, massage and beauty salon, passenger lift and sweeping curved staircase.
The principal bedroom suite has two walk-in dressing rooms and two marble bathrooms, while four further en-suite bedrooms are located on the upper floor.
Pic credit: Caudwell
Originally built in 1926-27 for American millionaire Frank Jay Gould and his wife Florence, the hotel closed in 1977 and remained dormant until Caudwell acquired it in 2014.
The developer has since transformed the 256,000 sq ft building into a residential scheme with a reported gross development value exceeding £300m.
Photo credit: Caudwell
Amenities include a cinema, health spa, children’s playroom, boutiques and six acres of landscaped gardens. Residents also receive services from the neighbouring five-star Hôtel Belles Rives.
Caudwell worked with Parisian architecture and interiors practice Affine Design on the wider development, while Invisible Collection curated bespoke furniture and artwork for Villa Zelda. Luma AI was used to create marketing visuals showing the proposed furnished interiors.
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
John Caudwell, British businessman, philanthropist and founder of Caudwell, says: “Villa Zelda is one of the most important marquee residences to be unveiled at Le Provençal.
“It combines Art Deco design details, exceptional contemporary living spaces and outstanding heritage since the rotunda was formerly the ballroom/restaurant which entertained Royalty, Hollywood stars and famous Prime Ministers.
“Villa Zelda provides a discerning buyer with a totally unique opportunity to acquire an iconic piece of Riviera history that has been transformed by Caudwell into one of the finest trophy residences on the Côte d’Azur.”
