Le Beauvallon

During World War I. the hotel became a hospital.

HISTORY IN BRIEF

1913: Opening year.

1997: Le Beauvallon was bought by its current owners.

HISTORY IN DETAIL

1911: Seduced by the beauty of the surrounding area, a Parisian entrepreneur by the name of Emile Bernheim asked the architect Flegenheimer, a friend of his, to design a grand hotel on the spot, in the same vein as the palaces at Cannes and Nice.
1913: Construction of the Beauvallon was finished.

 

1914: After the outbreak of World War I, Monsieur Bernheim, in an act of patriotism, offered his newly finished hotel to the French Red Cross as a hospital for convalescing soldiers.
1918: After the war and some renovation work including the building of a 9 hole golf course, the hotel finally opened for business.
1920s: Golden Era for the hotel when anyone who was anyone came to stay at the hotel, which at the time was known as the Golf Hotel de Beauvallon. The hotel was a haven for writers (see legendary stories).
1939-45: During World War II le Beauvallon was used as a military hospital then occupied by French, Italian and German troops until the arrival of the US troops shortly after the 15 August landings in 1944.
Post-1945: Extensive renovation work enabled Le Beauvallon to rediscover its pre-war splendour. The great and the glamorous flocked to holiday at the hotel, including Lady Churchill, Michelle Morgan, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, and Edward Kennedy, who brought his family in toe.
1997: The hotel was bought by its current owners.

Famous guests include Lady Churchill, Michelle Morgan, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, and Edward Kennedy, who brought his family in toe.

Legend has it that F Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece Tender is the Night was written at Le Beauvallon. The hotel was a haven for writers in the inter-war years. The likes of Colette, Berty Albrecht, Jules Berry, Henri Desgranges, Edmond Fleg, Professor de Gennes, Baron Hottinger, Professor Lepine and Henri Bernstein stayed and wrote at the hotel. After the success of his Toi et Moi, French playwright Paul Géraldy moved into a room on the fourth floor, where he continued to write.