Located at the extreme tip of Cap d'Antibes, in a nine-hectare pine forest facing the Mediterranean and the Lérins Islands, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, an Oetker Collection establishment, whose main Napoleon III-style building is one of the most beautiful properties in Europe, has attracted the largest in the world for 155 years. At its head for 20 years, its president and CEO Philippe Perd is the guardian of this heritage.
How did you arrive at the head of the hotel and what is your assessment of these years?
I was offered to become the director in 2005, after having supervised for four years another jewel of Oetker Collection, the Château Saint-Martin & Spa in Vence. Previously, I worked for the Savoy hotel and restaurant group after studying finance. I was trained in management at the Connaught Hotel in London, then I arrived at the management of the Hotel de Crillon, in Paris, until 2001. I also followed an advanced program in Executive leadership management and obtained a certificate in interior design at the Inchbald School in London. Today, I am also Director of Development and represent Oetker Collection as co-managing director.
Leading this great lady who is the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is every hotel manager's dream. Originally from Orange, in Vaucluse, I fell into the hotel and restaurant business at a young age, working passionately from my adolescence every summer for a local restaurant. What I like about this job is to please, to transform every moment into an unforgettable experience for hosts and employees. This is what I reminded my teams yesterday during our opening meeting of the hotel for the season, with whom I am building strong relationships. I also told the 125 employees who joined the annual team - there will be a total of 550 this summer - that 74% of them will return again in 2025, while seasonality is an obstacle to loyalty, it's exceptional! The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and its extraordinary heritage promote this loyalty.
There is also a very high level of customer loyalty: 80% of our guests come back every summer, as if they were returning to their vacation home. Most are Americans (60%), English (15%), 10% come from Europe, 6% from France and 4% from South America. The balance sheet since my arrival has been very positive, and I am surrounded by a daily team that is driven, like me, by a quest for perfection, and by shared values of respect and humility.
The destiny of this majestic establishment is unique. What is the atmosphere you want to embody and how do you maintain it?
We represent 155 years of history! Initially imagined as “La Villa Soleil” in 1863 by the founder of Le Figaro, Hippolyte de Villemessant, in 1863 to welcome writers in search of inspiration, the hotel was inaugurated in Napoleon III style in 1870. Scott Fitzgerald praised its delights by calling it the Hotel des Étrangers in his fourth and final novel. Tender is the night in 1934, and Alfred Hitchcock shot there The hand at the collar in 1954. When bought in 1987 by the spouses Rudolf-August and Maja Oetker, the Grand Hotel du Cap was restored to provide all modern comforts, then renamed the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Each year, it will be renovated to maintain its elegance and that aura that has always attracted the Who's Who of the arts: Hemingway, Picasso, Chagall, then Slim Aarons, Madonna and All-Hollywood, who found refuge there during the Cannes Film Festival. The place, with this sublime building and its majestic alley, preserves this magical, timeless atmosphere. Together with the hotel employees, we are the guarantors of this heritage, we must perpetuate excellence in service, be elegant and irreproachable in our attitudes.
Since my arrival in 2005, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc has been the subject of successive renovations each winter season. With a hotel unit composed of the main Napoleon III-style building, the Hotel du Cap, the Eden-Roc Pavilion and the Les Deux Fontaines building, the establishment currently offers 111 rooms, including 4 villas, renovated by Madame Bergit Gräfin Douglas, MM-Design in Frankfurt. The common areas, but also the iconic huts in the shade of the pine trees, have been enhanced. This eternal diamond that is the hotel has been repolished and magnified, while maintaining its very strong identity, in a classic and authentic style. The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc embodies the timeless charm of the French Riviera. More than a hotel, it is a destination in itself, a place where serenity and natural beauty blend harmoniously. Every moment of the day, whether you are in your room, at the Dior spa for an exceptional break, taking part in a tennis match on one of our five clay courts, whether you are going on a nautical activity from our private pontoon, whether you are sipping a signature cocktail at the Bellini bar, whether you are enjoying a pizza by Jérémy Viale, triple world pizza champion at Giovanni's, whether we bask in the sun at the edge of our mythical saltwater infinity pool dug into the rock in 1914, or that we stroll through the heart of our An extraordinary rose garden, we are entering into the history of the Riviera's golden age. Each summer season, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc celebrates creativity. This year, we will be exhibiting sculptures by the English artist Barry Flanagan and pieces by Fred Allard from Nice.
To rethink the three main restaurant spaces, masterfully managed by Executive Chef Sébastien Borda, who revisits the Mediterranean region, we called on the Brazilian star architect Patricia Anastassiadis. She respected the history of the place, including the piano bar La Rotonde, the piano bar La Rotonde, the restaurant Eden, the Michelin-starred restaurant Louroc, as well as Le Grill. For the revival of La Rotonde, she was inspired by the oval shape of the original piece to select curved and undulating furniture, which recalls that there are no salient angles in nature, and she favored a palette of green inspired by the path that leads to the sea. The result is more elegant than ever!
The traditional amfAR charity gala, which will take place during the Cannes Film Festival, will once again take place at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Was it your initiative to organize it here?
Indeed! It is a great pride to have been able to host this magical event here for seven years now, one of the most prestigious evenings of the Cannes Film Festival, which brings together nearly a thousand people. We have been preparing this 31th auction evening at amfAR for several months, a foundation created by Elizabeth Taylor for the fight against AIDS. Our chefs Sébastien Broda and his pastry chef Tarek Ahamada and their teams are at a high speed. As early as 2007, we organized the first evening of After of the gala with the talented Jonathan Gray from JG Events, the gala taking place at the time at the Moulin de Mougins. We were lucky enough to stay at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Sharon Stone, who hosted the evening, and some organizers of the gala. The latter mentioned the idea of organizing it here, in the park, but this solution was unfeasible, because it was necessary to set up a structure for dinner and requisition the central aisle. Unthinkable. And then, while walking in the gardens the next day, I offered them the solution that hit the mark: assembling the structure on the tennis courts at the top of the park. In total, they are 1,400 m2, and could therefore accommodate 1,000 people. Since 2018, we have been organizing the cocktail in our driveway with a breathtaking view, the dinner under the tent and the after by the pool. A pleasure that is renewed fervently every year!
Cover : © DR
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