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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Old Hotel Alhambra, located in Nice on the boulevard de Cimiez, is a notable example of the neo-Maureque architecture of the Belle Époque. In 1900, commissioned by the Viscountess of Bernis and rented to Madame Sabatier, it was designed by the Nice architect Jules Sioly (1870–1935). The exotic style, with its minarets and arches, was designed to seduce a wealthy wintering clientele, eager for orientalism. The hotel, built on a V plan, opened in 1901 with luxurious comfort reserved for a tourist elite.

During the First World War, the Alhambra was requisitioned as an auxiliary hospital. After the conflict, the owner Louis Leospo revived it and opened a summer restaurant, extending the season beyond the winter months. The Second World War marked its decline: transformed into a residential building in 1947, it became a condominium in 1951. Despite this reconversion, its facades, hall, staircase and park were listed as historical monuments in 2000, and it received the 20th century Heritage label.

The building illustrates the golden age of the Azurean palaces, where architectural exoticism served as a showcase to attract a European aristocracy. Its construction technique blended neo-Mauresque decorative veneers with a classical Haussmannian structure. Villa Eliand, added before 1906 in the northwest corner, was complete with an insulating garden at the boulevard hotel. Today, the Alhambra Residence retains traces of this fascinating past, between heritage memory and contemporary use.

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