This year as the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc re-opens for the 2020 season it will also be celebrating its 150th anniversary with some new changes inside.

Established in 1870, each spring & summer season the iconic Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in D’Antibes opens its doors and welcome guests to the best the sun-drenched French Riviera has to offer.

Having played host to Hollywood stars Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, royalty and a historical writers Ernest Hemingway and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (who spent many a summer at the hotel in the 1920’s), Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is known as much for its famous guests as it is it’s legendary gala events and dinner parties.

But each year, as summer draws to a end, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc slowly closes the windows to the ocean breezes, locks the doors and all goes quiet as it takes time to rest between the months of November and March.

This year however, as it re-opens in April for the 2020 season and consequently it’s 150th anniversary, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc plans to surprise new and returning guests with a fresh update to their main restaurants and pavillions, commissioning Brazilian Architect Patricia Anastassiadis to design the changes.

Based in São Paulo, Patricia Anastassiadis is an architect, interior decorator and product designer who has worked with some of the top hotel groups including Four Seasons, Oetker Collection, Ritz Carlton, Fairmont and Hilton.

In 1993 she founded the Brazilian architecture firm Anastassiadis Arquitetos and now leads a team of over 35 international architects whose designs can be found all around the globe, including Brazil, the USA, Greece, Spain, Portugal and the Caribbean.

Having already completed design works for Oetker Collection, owners of Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Patricia’s focus this time was to create a design concept for the three main dining areas including the La Rotonde Bar, the Eden-Roc Restaurant, the Louroc restaurant and the Eden-Roc Grill, with a plan to respect the history and memories of the hotel, whilst celebrating the creative minds who were once guests.

When the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc was built in 1870 by Alexis de Pletscheyeff, former captain of the Hussards of the Russian Imperial Guard and a group of French aristocrats and investors, it was named the “Villa Soleil”.

The idea came from enterprising French journalist Hyppolite de Villemessant who envisioned the leafy location, nestled within walking distance of the famed French Riviera, as the perfect retreat for artists and intellectuals.

In a nod to its early days, Anastassiadis says, “It is a tribute to the intellectual abundance of the hotel’s history that it is as representative as the architecture of the building itself. With this project, we are developing the archeology of today by digging into the recollections of a vivid past that is still present in every single corner of the property.”

Like the original designers, Brazilian Architect, Patricia Anastassiadis also chose to use the unique location as inspiration when creating the design concepts for the dining areas and drew on her own childhood memories, noting, “The shades of blue and green that respectively recall the colour of the ocean and the flora of the French Riviera are imprinted in my memories ever since my childhood.”

“My family and I used to visit a destination near the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc because my uncle used to live near to Cap d’Antibes. This is why, for me, this project is all about memory and its many layers.”

While final designs are still under wraps, guests arriving in April will have the following to look forward to:

“The Eden-Roc Grill will feature nautical tones of blue and red that are synonymous with the style of the French Riviera. The dining areas of the Grill are connected through the pool and welcome a breezy and buoyant atmosphere while keeping the natural elegance of the location.

“The La Rotonde Bar is inspired by the lush gardens of the Hotel and how the vegetation itself is an architectural presence in the property. For that, we brought classic elements from the Riviera and mixed them with a more contemporary elements, all in various shades of green.”

“The Eden-Roc Restaurant is inspired by the idea of rocks meeting the sea. This restaurant is inspired by the hotel’s historic rendez-vous. Many notable guests sat at these tables as it has always been the place of legendary encounters. We have maintained the original arches but proposed a refreshed look which has been achieved with the introduction of contemporary bespoke furniture designed specifically for this project. We have also created a colour palette that showcases the ocean blue and coral tones – the latter in particular reflects the colours of sunset that represent the beauty of the passing of time.”