French billionaire Bernard Arnault buys a jewel of the Côte d'Azur hotel industry for 200 million euros

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the luxury group LVMH - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has long been known to have an interest in the Côte d'Azur.

His 101-meter yacht, Symphony, is regularly spotted sailing between Monaco and Saint-Tropez. It was in Saint-Tropez that one of the world's richest men acquired the villa and five-star hotel La Résidence de la Pinède. The property was purchased in 2016 from Jean-Claude Delion, owner of the Réserve de Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

By acquiring the five-star Cap Estel Hotel in Èze through his company Agache, Bernard Arnault has acquired a true gem of a Côte d'Azur hotel and a unique location. A site that is both historic and private. Cap Estel features 28 rooms and suites and boasts an outdoor swimming pool in its vast grounds. A fitness room and spa are also available.

A legendary hotel steeped in history

In 1899, Irish author and publisher Frank Harris, a friend and confidant of Oscar Wilde, built a modest building on a barren 2-hectare cape made up entirely of rocks, which he transformed into a hotel. An establishment where he mainly received his friends. The building was purchased in 1904 by Count Méry de la Canorgue, a motorboat manufacturer, who planted magnificent trees there and transformed it into a private residence under the name of Villa Cap Estel. He sold it four years later to the Russian Count Sergei Stroganoff, a prominent figure of the Belle Époque, who lived there with his mistress Rose Levieuze. Then, in the early 1920s, the residence passed into the hands of Greek shipowner and racing driver André Embiricos, who lived there for many years. After the Second World War, in 1951, the Villa Cap Estel was bought by Robert Squarciafichi who enlarged it and transformed it into a real luxury hotel where great personalities from the artistic world such as Greta Garbo, David Niven, Anthony Quinn and the Beatles stayed.

The establishment was then bought in 2000 by a Russian who again carried out a complete renovation while preserving its 19th ^- century charm. He liked the place so much that he used it for part of the year as a private residence, closing it to customers during this period. He took the opportunity to reduce the number of rooms to increase the surface area and installed a gourmet restaurant there, run for a long time by Michelin-starred chef Patrick Raingeard, who left a few months ago to launch his own establishment, Père et Fils, at Sclos de Contes. Since April, Kévin Garcia, former chef of the Jules Verne in Paris (two stars), has been at the helm.

The price of this new transaction acquired by Bernard Arnault? 200 million euros. Information confirmed by the mayor of Èze, Stéphane Cherki. A price to pay for what is undoubtedly the most private hotel and the most hidden treasure on the Côte d'Azur.